jo_22's Reviews (399)

AMAZING - last time I read this, I was in elementary school. It is wayyy better than I remembered it. So many great moments and quotes I never realized were there.

This book is a thought-provoking memoir that increased my empathy and shed light on aspects of society that my upbringing didn’t naturally have me cross paths with. There were both relatable moments and moments I learned about those different than myself, which is one of the purposes of a memoir.

Other reviews criticize it for the perspective of writing — the author uses “you” to address her unconceived daughter throughout the book. However, I think it works because it adds depth to her story and emphasizes her dilemma in appreciating her past while being grateful for her socioeconomic growth.
I think criticizing the author for writing the book as intended for her non-existent daughter is equivalent to criticizing her life experience itself. While writing from this perspective isn’t necessarily “my thing,” it works and even adds to the author’s message of reflecting on her personal background/family while realizing she spent her whole life working to avoid reliving the life of her poor ancestors.

This book made me thankful for my upbringing, appreciative of my parents and grandparents, and angry at systemic forces that tell a false narrative about being poor in America and the American Dream.
Highly recommend especially in this “post-Trump” but not post-Trumpism world we are heading into.

I enjoyed this. It got a tad long and the writing itself was too dramatic a few times, but I enjoyed seeing a well-researched snapshot into the 80s/90s AIDS epidemic - makes me want to learn more which the author even mentioned in her acknowledgements was her hope.

2015-version of Fiona bothered me a bit but I think her character development tied together ok in the end. I liked how she is the common character across all the sub-plots. Charlie bugged me, I mostly liked Yale, and did not like Roman. Overall, the author did a great job writing imperfect characters who are just trying to find stability amidst chaos, and figure out who they are.
I also liked how there is not a "traditional" nuclear family throughout the entire book, but yet we see the essence of the importance of family, friendship, and community - and how those are the core of our common humanity.

As I always write to remind myself later: my favorite themes from the book were that of abandonment, living & dying, love, non traditional family, gay rights and human rights.

So so funny and relatable, really quick read but made me feel seen and I would read again.

3.5 rating but rounded up to 4, due to the thorough and impressive research that clearly went into this work and how it was engaging as a story in addition to a historical telling. I listened to this book and enjoyed hearing the often untold history of the Great Migration through the life stories of three migrants. Listening to it rather than reading gave it the feeling of having these individuals' stories "passed down" to my generation.
Before this, I did not realize just how many black Americans migrated from the South during the entire 20th century, and I liked how the author told that story through focusing on 3 individual people. I empathized with George, Robert, and (especially) Ida Mae.
I wish I had learned more about this in history class.

Only reason it is not a solid 4 is it is pretty lengthy (and was daunting at first seeing "22 hours left" in Audible). However, I appreciate the thoroughness on a topic that is not given the attention it deserves, and I happily finished the entire thing not just to find out how the migrants' lives end up, but to understand how their stories are evidence of a larger impact that Southern migrants have had on our society. And, that it isn't just about if they "made it," but the joys and struggles that they went through on their life journey.

It is also an important writing about racial injustice that sets a historical foundation for the ongoing systemic racism that is ongoing.

WOW was this quite the story. While slow in the beginning, I learned later how crucial it was to setting up the characters so the author could then tug at my heartstrings in the end, causing me to bawl throughout the last 20 pages or so (which isn't necessarily common for me when reading books). Finished it in just under 2 days, which is slightly ironic considering it involves some deep/heavy topics - yet it is a testament to how engaging the author's writing style and character development was for me.

I want to sit with this one for a while - especially as I reflect on 2020 and the book's themes of living vs. dying, compassion, morality, and being self- vs. others-focused.
The writing was one of the best parts - descriptive and detailed so the characters were fulled formed and active.
For example, I so enjoyed how the author personified the cat, causing me to smile to myself in many interactions between Ove and the cat.
I was a sucker for the relationships between Ove and Parvaneh and Ove and her daughters. Many parts reminded me of my grandparents, which added to the emotion of the book, and other parts didn't but still were very relatable.

I don't want to forget the impact of this book - not just the sweet plot but the way I fully felt the moments of humor, loss, and compassion. So many little moments that turned on my empathy in full force (

when the girl says "Granddad," when Ove lists Parvaneh as next of kin, how the iPad from the beginning is Ove shopping for the girl, when the cat is resting in his hand, when 300 people are at the funeral, the young couple with a Saab, etc.

).

In conclusion, I love the author's reflection/thesis put into words towards the end:

"Death is a strange thing. People live their whole lives as if it does not exist, and yet it's often one of the greatest motivations for living. Some of us, in time, become so conscious of it that we live harder, more obstinately, with more fury. Some need its constant presence to even be aware of its antithesis. Others become so preoccupied with it that they go into the waiting room long before it has announced its arrival. We fear it, yet most of us fear more than anything that it may take someone other than ourselves. For the greatest fear of death is always that it will pass us by. And leave us there alone. [...] And time is a curious thing. Most of us only live for the time that lies right ahead of us. A few days, weeks, years. One of the most painful moments in a person's life probably comes with the insight that an age has been reached when there is more to look back on than ahead. And when time no longer lies ahead of one, other things have to be lived for. Memories, perhaps. Afternoons in the sun with someone's hand clutched in one's own. The fragrance of flower beds in fresh bloom. Sundays in a cafe. Grandchildren, perhaps. One finds a way of living for the sake of someone else's future. [...] Life is a curious thing."

Thanks Kate for the book borrow!

I read this book as part of book club, and though it’s not one that I would’ve picked up on my own, I’m so glad to have read this! It was just what I needed to start 2021, as it is a calming and slow narrative with beautiful, descriptive language and musings on life and faith.

Robinson’s writing is therapeutic and encouraged me to meditate on life’s simple moments and existence. The form of a dying Reverend Ames writing to his young son gives his words meaning in the context of the story. Although the novel doesn’t have significant plot points (it moves quite slowly), I bought in to the writing as teaching about life, belief, and fatherhood rather than a climactic story.

Gilead actually reminds me of the new movie “Soul,” in that they both have the theme of deeply experiencing life, especially the simple and mundane moments.
Other themes are forgiveness, family and fatherhood, faith, and one’s relationship with our hometown. There’s also messages about growth and legacy.