Was this quite slow? Did nothing much happen? Was it a very interesting study of family, aging, masculinity, etc that I very much enjoyed? A yes on all counts.
In the traditional sense, there was not much of a plot. But we did get to follow a person growing into adulthood, at least for a few months, and if our lives don’t have a story, then what are we doing.
I loved the style of this book, especially once Williams explains why it is written in such a long, convoluted, musical, reflective manner.
I loved the style of this book, especially once Williams explains why it is written in such a long, convoluted, musical, reflective manner.
This took me far too long to finish, something about having to jump around instead of reading straight through. Loved the concept, but I’m left not fully convinced that love can transcend the body if one soul does not remember its past…
This was an entertaining enough read, especially in the days leading up to Halloween. That being said, I just did not love it. I thought it was an interesting lens through which to view what it means/meant to be gay throughout history, but I feel the character development was lacking. Maybe that was due to the POV jumping around, but it felt like there were big jumps from characters being portrayed positively to extremely negatively, Charlotte especially. All in all: had fun, would not read again.
This book was on a display at the library and, knowing nothing about it, I decided to give it a try. Other than the near term dystopia that seems way too similar to the real world, this was honestly a delightful read. It might not be the most technically sound, but I really enjoyed the day in the life of it all. Was not super satisfied by the ending, but I just don’t really think that the plot matters that much. This was more just about people being people and making community, regardless of the setting. I actually liked Book 2 the most, even though that was very much separate from the characters of Books 1 and 3.
Elena knows. Elena doesn’t know. I thought this was an interesting exploration of female body autonomy, through the lenses of illness, ritual, and abortion. “People confuse thinking with knowing, the let themselves confuse the two…but you only know something once you’ve experienced it in your life.” I can’t claim to have personal perspective on much of this novel, but if knowing is more important than thinking, thinking must be more helpful than ignoring. So I’ll keep reading.
The concept here was good, it’s too bad I absolutely hated every single character…none of them felt real but all of them sucked
Mr Everett is a silly goose. Or maybe I am for enjoying this.
Maybe this is my emotional failing, but I could not empathize with the protagonist at all. I am choosing to blame it on the writing though. This also ended far too clean and happily.
This was certainly a different book than I expected it to be. Maybe that is because I didn’t know anything going in, other than it was supposed to be about a lost hiker. While that was true, the focus on motherhood, and love in general, made for a far more expansive read. “Backcountry is my mother,” “Love…is the mother.” Does that mean love is the backcountry, and/or the backcountry is love? I’d like to think so.
I'm not really sure what to say about this one...just a very sad story that, while fictional, clearly drew on a lot of historical truths.