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enobong's Reviews (492)
Biographies are difficult to review because either the person has to have lived an exceptional life or you have to be fully invested in them and their story. While Michelle Obama has lived an inspiring life, and is an inspiring woman there was nothing in this biography that gripped me. Her childhood, her tenacity, her aspirations were all good but there was nothing that tipped it over the edge for me to make it exceptional. Nothing she said was new or put in a new light.
I'm generally not a big fan of biographies anyway and this has just kind of confirmed why. *shrugs*
I'm generally not a big fan of biographies anyway and this has just kind of confirmed why. *shrugs*
When I started reading this book I will admit that it took me a minute to grow accustomed to Burns’ style. Burns writes in a stream of consciousness similar to Woolf and somewhat comparably to Joyce but more accessible, in my opinion. It reminds me in part of the mantra of the modernists to not write for the people. To almost not really write to be understood, but it is then infused with true, honest accounts of human life. From the way we come up with descriptive titles for people to the way in which communities are formed and ruled with a list of unwritten rules everyone simply abides by.
It’s a story of tangents. In @readingwithwine’s review on her instagram page she quotes the line, ‘“I’m confused… is that passage about the sky? If it is… then why doesn’t the writer just say so? Why is he complicating things with fancy footwork when all he need say is that the sky is blue?” commenting that she felt the same way when reading this book. There are many passages where you are searching for the point, searching to know what the colour of the sky is, and Burns’ takes several pages to tell you. She is self-aware of this, and that is part of what makes this novel brilliant.
‘“I’m confused… is that passage about the sky? If it is… then why doesn’t the writer just say so? Why is he complicating things with fancy footwork when all he need say is that the sky is blue?”
If you need a straightforward story with a clear timeline, stay away. If, like me, you’re a person who can appreciate how in telling a story you can often say a word that reminds you of another story that you have to insert into the first story before you can continue, then this book is for you.
Milkman requires patience. It is by no means a quick read. I’ve heard from many people that it might be better listened to if you have the opportunity, or you can do what I did and just hear the Northern Irish accent in your head. Take your time with it. Reread passages. It’s a read that requires an investment but in my opinion, it’s worth it.
It’s a story of tangents. In @readingwithwine’s review on her instagram page she quotes the line, ‘“I’m confused… is that passage about the sky? If it is… then why doesn’t the writer just say so? Why is he complicating things with fancy footwork when all he need say is that the sky is blue?” commenting that she felt the same way when reading this book. There are many passages where you are searching for the point, searching to know what the colour of the sky is, and Burns’ takes several pages to tell you. She is self-aware of this, and that is part of what makes this novel brilliant.
‘“I’m confused… is that passage about the sky? If it is… then why doesn’t the writer just say so? Why is he complicating things with fancy footwork when all he need say is that the sky is blue?”
If you need a straightforward story with a clear timeline, stay away. If, like me, you’re a person who can appreciate how in telling a story you can often say a word that reminds you of another story that you have to insert into the first story before you can continue, then this book is for you.
Milkman requires patience. It is by no means a quick read. I’ve heard from many people that it might be better listened to if you have the opportunity, or you can do what I did and just hear the Northern Irish accent in your head. Take your time with it. Reread passages. It’s a read that requires an investment but in my opinion, it’s worth it.
I’m going to be honest straight from the get go: I did not like this book. It started with the size of the copy I have, which I believe is A-format (?). Basically it’s larger than the average book which made for some very uncomfortable holding.
As far as the writing goes, I didn’t have any problems with it. The imagery was inventive, the characters were believable, but the story was dry. I just didn’t care. The story starts in a party in London celebrating the election of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States. The party is hosted by two characters on whom several pages of the chapter is spent but they then only reappear maybe once in the rest of the nearly 400 page book. The opening sets the stage for trouble in both Michael and Melissa and Damian and Stephanie’s marriages and then nothing happens for the next 3/4 of the book. By the time Michael begins his extramarital affair and Melissa and Damian *spoiler alert* (but not really because you know it’s going to happen from the beginning) have their affair you just don’t care. You don’t care about the deed, you don’t care about the outcome, you don’t care.
As a Women’s Prize long listed book I know that a lot of people will have high hopes for it and obviously it’s done something right for the judges to take notice but it really did nothing for me. The best thing about this book was the soundtrack and I can go to Spotify for that. However, I will say, go listen to John Legend’s ‘Get Lifted’ album. Now that is great writing.
The only reason I finished this book was because I had a heavy travel day and needed reading material, otherwise it would have been top of my DNF pile.
As far as the writing goes, I didn’t have any problems with it. The imagery was inventive, the characters were believable, but the story was dry. I just didn’t care. The story starts in a party in London celebrating the election of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States. The party is hosted by two characters on whom several pages of the chapter is spent but they then only reappear maybe once in the rest of the nearly 400 page book. The opening sets the stage for trouble in both Michael and Melissa and Damian and Stephanie’s marriages and then nothing happens for the next 3/4 of the book. By the time Michael begins his extramarital affair and Melissa and Damian *spoiler alert* (but not really because you know it’s going to happen from the beginning) have their affair you just don’t care. You don’t care about the deed, you don’t care about the outcome, you don’t care.
As a Women’s Prize long listed book I know that a lot of people will have high hopes for it and obviously it’s done something right for the judges to take notice but it really did nothing for me. The best thing about this book was the soundtrack and I can go to Spotify for that. However, I will say, go listen to John Legend’s ‘Get Lifted’ album. Now that is great writing.
The only reason I finished this book was because I had a heavy travel day and needed reading material, otherwise it would have been top of my DNF pile.
Aside from it being a Sunday Times bestseller, I first heard about this book due to Sarah Perry’s residence in Norwich, the fine city of my birth. I was forced to read it fast as it was overdue but I have to say, it was worth the £1.20 in fines.
It was a slow start, however. A story that reminded me of the complexity and multiple narrative viewpoints of Middlemarch with about the same level of initial confusion and the added level of the artificialness of a put on style. The Victorian I found to be heavily put on and it was difficult for me to initially get into the novel because of this. There were moments when it read almost like a translation or an adaption, like Perry was struggling to get her ideas across to a foreign readership.
However, once I was in, I was hooked. Once I got my head around the vast number of cast members it was easy to find myself invested in each one of their stories and outcomes. My favourites being the amiable Charles and Katherine Ambrose, a preference that concerns me slightly as they are clearly set up as the lovely but naive rich aristocrats content to live in their bubble of comfort despite the plight of their peers to awaken their senses to the destitution of those living in poverty in London, right on their doorstep. For me, these two were painted in the best light. Those on the front lines of the fight against the Victorian housing crisis – with clear echoes to our current housing crisis – Martha and Spencer, came across overbearing and annoying. I will say though, Spencer’s character was redeemed at the end.
Our protagonist, Cora Seaborne, never quite won me round. I saw who she was meant to be, a type of modern female, shedding the social constraints of her sex, but didn’t buy it. I read a post recently from a fellow bookstagrammer about how, for all we talk of diversity, literature in still the domain of the educated liberal and I see this often in books. It is very rare to find a true portrayal of a Christian and Perry’s portrait of Cora’s love interest, Will Ransome, was another disappointing example. The reasons for his faith and the manifestation of his faith, were all lacking, and he’s supposed to be the devout clergyman. What’s more, this was yet another book in the line of recent reads in which an extra-marital affair was not only excused but justified; almost portrayed as a good thing. It’s a fine perspective but not true of the way in which the good Christian man is portrayed to be. Where are the Jane Eyre’s who abide by biblical law despite the longings of heart, body and soul?
What worked in this book is that it kept me guessing. Perry uses her literary talents to create imagery that puts the reader into the marshlands of Essex and painted a Victorian England that truly did challenge my preconceived notions and, reading the author’s note, it wasn’t all just the whimsies of her imagination. It was in part gothic and had me questioning the legitimacy of the supernatural creature along with the townsfolk. I truly felt taken along for the ride and appreciated the twists and turns.
It was a slow start, however. A story that reminded me of the complexity and multiple narrative viewpoints of Middlemarch with about the same level of initial confusion and the added level of the artificialness of a put on style. The Victorian I found to be heavily put on and it was difficult for me to initially get into the novel because of this. There were moments when it read almost like a translation or an adaption, like Perry was struggling to get her ideas across to a foreign readership.
However, once I was in, I was hooked. Once I got my head around the vast number of cast members it was easy to find myself invested in each one of their stories and outcomes. My favourites being the amiable Charles and Katherine Ambrose, a preference that concerns me slightly as they are clearly set up as the lovely but naive rich aristocrats content to live in their bubble of comfort despite the plight of their peers to awaken their senses to the destitution of those living in poverty in London, right on their doorstep. For me, these two were painted in the best light. Those on the front lines of the fight against the Victorian housing crisis – with clear echoes to our current housing crisis – Martha and Spencer, came across overbearing and annoying. I will say though, Spencer’s character was redeemed at the end.
Our protagonist, Cora Seaborne, never quite won me round. I saw who she was meant to be, a type of modern female, shedding the social constraints of her sex, but didn’t buy it. I read a post recently from a fellow bookstagrammer about how, for all we talk of diversity, literature in still the domain of the educated liberal and I see this often in books. It is very rare to find a true portrayal of a Christian and Perry’s portrait of Cora’s love interest, Will Ransome, was another disappointing example. The reasons for his faith and the manifestation of his faith, were all lacking, and he’s supposed to be the devout clergyman. What’s more, this was yet another book in the line of recent reads in which an extra-marital affair was not only excused but justified; almost portrayed as a good thing. It’s a fine perspective but not true of the way in which the good Christian man is portrayed to be. Where are the Jane Eyre’s who abide by biblical law despite the longings of heart, body and soul?
What worked in this book is that it kept me guessing. Perry uses her literary talents to create imagery that puts the reader into the marshlands of Essex and painted a Victorian England that truly did challenge my preconceived notions and, reading the author’s note, it wasn’t all just the whimsies of her imagination. It was in part gothic and had me questioning the legitimacy of the supernatural creature along with the townsfolk. I truly felt taken along for the ride and appreciated the twists and turns.