jessicaxmaria's Reviews (1.04k)

As my stars demonstrate, I liked this book. But I didn't "*really* like it" nor did I "love it."

I think I have issues with novels in first-person narrative. And this book above all is very "diary" and "let me tell you this story, friend" which was my first note of its exhaustiveness.

There are some truly comedic parts here, that made me laugh out loud. Which is why it was shallowly enjoyable. The dinner scene at the Italian's apartment was, as Sally Jay would say, "a real hoot." However, in between those enjoyable parts, there were definitely moments that lagged. That I couldn't wait to get to the next scene, the next city, the next something!

The story improves by the end, and actually after my last update on page 206, it's pretty fast reading. It's pretty good reading. Dundy has the wit to write about a flighty girl, but I was too often looking for some sort of point. When the shocker comes through near the end, I felt tired already and like, "eh." The structure confused me as it became a literal diary in Part 2 with dated entries - but was written exactly like Parts 1 & 3. Just confusing.

In the end Sally Jay was a somewhat relatable character, and the comedic scenes were all fun, but I felt like there was something missing. The story was too scattered for me to like it more than averagely.

When I first picked up this book and understood it was supposed to be a comedy, I was a bit skeptical when I saw the publication date of 1952. Would a novel set in its present post-war England be as funny today as it must have been then? I was quickly corrected within the first few pages of Pym's novel, told through the character of Mildred Lathbury: in her 30s, single, and thus considered an inevitable spinster.

In the way that I (and many others) have read and loved the romance of books like Jane Eyre and Austen novels, Pym outrightly satirizes the romantic notions of each (sometimes by name like Jane Eyre, other times by situation like many Austen novels). Because I know the source of satire so well, I found myself laughing out loud many a time during reading.

There's no way to explain how funny this book is by explaining the plot - about Mildred who finds herself always thrust in the middle of other people's problems, mainly because she is an "excellent woman" who, because she is single, people believe to have nothing much to do and enlist her help far too often. Her inner thoughts and considerations show off her serious gamut of emotions while everyone else tells her how she feels or should feel. See? I can't even explain it properly.

Pick up this quick read for fun.

Some pretty terrific stories with quite awe-inducing sentences. Paley's descriptions and the weaving of her characters' stories in such short bursts are robust; sometimes sad, other times comedic. There were one or two stories I couldn't delve into quite as much - something off with the characters, the unrealistic dialogue. But though the female characters in her stories range from stubborn to wry to self-conscious, I loved them all. There was always something in those characters and their lives worth noting.

This book felt incredibly honest and real - but wholly original, and I can say without doubt I've never ready anything like it or with characters such as these.

There is honesty in the romantic relationship between Monica and B, and the first-person narrative helps supplement the story and her own complex personality. Nothing in life is easy, but what if it were made easier? There are so many questions among these pages - discussion points about money, power, sex, family, relationships, etc. - that I want someone else to read it just so we can have those discussions.

The writing is beautiful; I must read more Mary Gordon. It may also be the first book in which a passage on sex doesn't elicit a wince from me (this leaves out the Erotica genre, like Anais Nin). To write so lovingly about two people in love, but not in a corny or offensive way, may be one of the hardest challenges for any writer - Gordon in this respect, and in her entire book, accomplishes so much.

I'm adding this to my favorites because I cannot wait to read it again, to revisit these characters, the beautiful writing and descriptions, and those issues that rise out of the fiction about our own world. Loved it!

I began this book not knowing too much about it's premise, only knowing that some people found it difficult to read and the film Angelica Huston directed was banned in certain areas. It's quite a frightening tale; one that is only more so because the narrator is a little girl whose voice only becomes stronger (but more questioning) as she also gets older. It's sad, and the ending left me repulsed and even depressed. The novel is excellent and powerful.

I'm slowly making my way through Didion's novels, and this one was a surprise. In her non-fiction, she has a way of writing about things and inserting herself into subjects like "Hawaii" and "water sources in southern California" - always interesting; however, I've never seen her do it in her fiction until this novel.

She acts as another character nearly, at first just as the writer and divulges in how she means to introduce these characters and their tragedy. In this way, it almost reads like a true first-person account. Once again, many great sentences I relished in, as I usually do with Didion.

A gamut of emotions as I read this book - mostly confused, sometimes annoyed - but I have to admit I liked it by the time I reached the end. I liked what Egan was going for, how the future of her people hinged on her idea of "time these days." "Time" - the goon, "these days" - technology, the internet, social networks, etc. However, for how much I like connected stories and remarking on coincidences and coincidental meetings, Egan's stories and vignettes still felt a little - disjointed and meandering. Not until her later chapters did her theme seem to present itself, and I felt a few of the middle chapters (while good) were not necessary or broke the flow. Upon reaching the end and realizing that many of these chapters were actually all stand-alone stories published in various magazines or books previously - disappointed me a bit, as well.

There were things I really enjoyed in Egan's writing: some of the imagery (a paragraph about a man "folding up his desire" for his wife over the years comes to mind), the character of Sasha, the testing of the reader's memory to connect the puzzle pieces as you read. But there was an equal amount to complain about - especially the way she detailed certain thoughts/situations matter-of-factly, "this happened and then this happened and then this happened." It seemed uncreative among the rest of the novel.

And so: a good book, an interesting read, but not amazing.

As a huge fan of Jane Eyre, when I heard about this book - a prequel - I was definitely curious. The fact that it has so many accolades helped ease my skepticism about another author writing about the same characters. It's an incredibly sad story, but fitting. It is powerful in what it makes you think of the characters you know - marring the gothic romanticism of Jane just a touch. But it's a story worth considering, and besides some disjointed stream-of-conciousness writing from Rhys that threw me off, a solid read. I started and finished the book in the same day.

Truly surprised by this novel and how much I related to it. When I began it, I definitely did not think I would relate to Annie John, a 12 year old girl growing up in Antigua in the Carribean in the last century. But here's what holds true about this story, as you see Annie grow up from a pre-teen through a teenager: her relationship with her mother. I've read a lot of attempts of people trying to evoke that relationship between a daughter and her mother - and how the view of your mother shifts and changes as your own adolesence sends you through a gamut of emotions. It's a loving relationship, but there are those emotions I've never read captured before until now. I think that there are exceptions, but for the most part, this is a truly great piece of writing about a mother/daughter relationship.

I started out this graphic novel pretty confused - there was a lot going on that I couldn't quite piece together. But I soon got past my confusion (I could not stare at the same 4 boxes any longer), and get swept away in a true horror story. Lots of questions, little clues, and big mysteries. I like this so far, and having heard that it has an actual ending (my big qualm with comic books: WHEN WILL IT END?), I may continue to read them! Also, Joe Hill is Stephen King's son I guess!