nadia's Reviews (587)

I listened to this on audio and was very intrigued at the beginning, curious as to where it was all going...

Ultimately, I got frustrated with the main character and her decisions and the key romance thread/theme in the book got rather repetitive. On top of that, based on what we'd been told about the characters, some of their actions at different times felt farfetched/unbelievable.

I wasn't as emotionally invested come the end as I thought I'd be given the beginning.

I really liked this book! I knew the sound of a novel in interconnected short stories set in a fictional town would be right up my alley. I love how all of the stories fit together but can be enjoyed standalone and I appreciated the variety of perspectives on the same characters and the different scenarios each story presented. I got a little confused with some of the relationships between the characters and also got a little confused with one of the plot points but overall I had a great time with this book. It got me tense and on edge quite a few times too!

A really good collection! I'm definitely a fan of Jhumpa Lahiri's writing and it's doubly cool that she wrote this in Italian and then translated most of it into English herself. 

Some of the stories lacked a little something for me, but I loved Part II — The Steps! Such a cool idea.

A great short story anthology! The graphics were beautiful and I learnt so much about this part of history.

It's more vignettes into different parts of the Indigieous peoples history in Canada as opposed to your more traditional short story, and though I was hoping for the latter, I very much appreciated what I got!

This was very cringe and one of the characters was sooo annoying, too annoying  — and it didn't help that I listened to this on audio and he was the second main character always talking to the main character called....Nadia... — but the full cast audio with sound effects was fun, they got a couple chuckles out of me, and I was intrigued to see what was going on. The authors' voice note at the end was fun too, though nearly as cringe as the book at times! 😅

I love Michael Lewis so was surprised at how boring this one got sometimes. It didn't really have a structure or arc at all, so kept jumping around but, if you're like me, a fascination with US politics and a BTS look at anything will keep you intrigued.

It's also especially interesting reading this now, knowing what's to come for some of the characters, e.g. John McCain.

It is tough to follow and keep track of all of the characters if you're not already familiar with the 1996 US Presidential Election, so keep that in mind!

A super solid collection! I really enjoyed it. I don't remember feeling too much like: "What?? That's it? I want/expected more!" with there, which is my number one pain point with short stories. 

Wow — it took me 5.5 years to get through this book! Originally I was planning on only progressing through the book as I reached each meditation stage, but then I realised that take forever (even longer than what it did take me to read the book...) or that I may never get to the end.

So I decided instead to read it cover-to-cover, highlighting and taking notes along the way.

Overall, this is a fantastic book and highly recommended to anyone who wants to get more out of their mindfulness practice. However, while I originally thought it might be a 5-star read, the book does get a little too bogged down in technical terms, which are tricky to grasp, especially for the layperson.

What an incredible, emotional, heart-wrenching book!

I'm so glad I started listening to audiobooks a few years back so I could experience The Only Plane in the Sky in this format, because reading this in print, while surely still being a 5-star read for me, would not have had the same impact.

A super solid collection of stories! I did not realise I was going into such dark, creepy, horror vibes, but I was here for it. As always, some stories were just okay, and even with some of my faves, I felt a little let-down with the endings. It's not that I'd need an explanation of what happens — oh no, that'd take away from the story — it's just that I felt like I spent time building up to an ending and then all of a sudden it was over. I guess you'd say it was a pacing thing.

Anyway, really good, with my faves being The Neighbor's Courtyard, Adela's House, and, Under The Black Water.