miromie's Reviews (148)

I had to read this for school and found it depressing, disgusting, and explicit in a way that grossed me out.

I really love this atmospheric story. It is a beautiful book about love and how fleeting it can really be. It also shows the complexities of love and relationships. 

"Jane Eyre" is one of my favorite books ever. I think everyone should read it.

This was an emotional memoir that I felt initially drawn to, but then once I started reading it, it sort of fell flat. 

Meg Wolitzer writes fantastic likable characters, Greer in particular. What I like so much about Greer is her ability to be human and recognize that. In her fight for feminist ideals, she makes mistakes, sometimes hurting, or even betraying, the women closest to her. Humans make mistakes even if we mean well in the grand scheme. The thing that makes Greer a great character is her ability to recognize the mistakes she’s made and try to fix the situation. It doesn’t always work, but at least she tries. 

I really enjoyed Wolitzer’s writing. It was straightforward, but casually elegant. She’s able to communicate the situation to readers clearly without any flowery language, but is still somehow able to make her writing beautiful. I also enjoyed how Wolitzer was able to advance the story in a way that was not necessarily fast-paced, but didn’t drag either. The pacing was a lovely balance between moving the story along and being able to relish the moment. 

However, I have one major complaint concerning this novel of Wolitzer’s. The lack of diversity within her characters is so astounding that it stupefies me. The only POC within the novel is an underprivileged woman who supposedly benefitted from Greer’s workplace. Other than that, there is no BIPOC representation. How can you write a novel about women and feminism and not include a wide range of diverse characters?  

I highly enjoyed Batuman’s writing in this novel. It’s about as straightforward as one could ask for. Each paragraph has an observational tone that allows readers to decide how the observations affect the characters. Though readers are seeing things through Selin, Selin has a way of observing situations as though she’s not truly there, which either makes her a reliable narrator, or not. I haven’t decided.  

I like this novel’s development. It’s sort of slow-paced, but Batuman does a good job of making sure the reader doesn't get bored. There’s just enough going on that the reader wants to know what happens next. 

There’s not much I disliked about this novel. My one complaint would have to be that the first half was much more intriguing than the second half, but that’s just personal preference. I much more enjoyed reading about Selin’s time at Harvard than I did her time in Europe. 

My favorite detail about this novel is how unreliable the narrator is purposefully made. As readers, we don’t know Josephine is unreliable until the novel comes to a close. It made me question everything I had just read. That was an exciting element that I had not expected! The unreliable narrator also brought the novel back down to earth, especially after I felt it had floated way above its own grasp. It made the characters and the story itself more human, more recognizable, without letting that dreaminess it had worked so hard to attain go. 

I liked the story overall. Like I mentioned, some of it floated beyond its reach. But, overall, I liked its story and aesthetic. 

I feel the story sometimes floated way into the heavens, way beyond what it could reasonably attain in 304 pages. It seemed to be hinting at something larger than what actually ended up happening, which made the ending a slight disappointment. All throughout the novel, readers are made to want some grand ending, but it doesn’t exactly happen that way.

Eman Quotah writes amazing characters. I found myself truly drawn to each character in the book, maybe because of their individual flaws. Each character changes, develops, and grows throughout the novel to become someone different, though still recognizable, by the end. Even minor characters were given thought, effort, and time to become a character that really added to the story instead of just being a minor background character that had no true purpose. 

I also enjoyed Quotah’s writing. It is simple and easy to understand while still being beautiful and lyrical to read. If anyone else had written this book, it wouldn’t have turned out in quite the same way, or had quite the same essence. I think Quotah was the perfect person to author this book. 

Despite my many likes of this book, I disliked how quickly it was wrapped up. That is not to say I wish it had gone on for longer, but rather to say that I think Quotah finished the novel hastily. There’s one major event that happens in the last twenty or so pages, and I think it takes away from the novel overall. 

I remember this one feeling very childish while still covering a heavy and important topic. The writing was strangely simplified. 

I am amazed by Vendela Vida’s writing. It is honest, funny, and beautiful. It reminded me of Elif Batuman’s The Idiot, but Vida’s writing was more humorous. It captured the unique feeling of being a young girl and discovering idle truths about oneself. 

I really enjoyed the protagonist of the novel, Eulabee. She is one of the most unique and beautiful characters I have ever come across. She is everything I wanted to be as an eighth grader. She is honest, funny, and loyal to herself. 

As much as I enjoyed this novel, I was confused by one of the scenes included within the story. It occurs near the beginning, but it doesn’t overall detract from the novel. It’s an inappropriate situation that happens, and while that may be the reality for many young girls, I didn’t feel it fit into Eulabee’s narrative.