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watermelleon's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It has taken me a long time to find the right time to read this.
I watched the film when it came out, so already knew what to expect. I have never ever cried so much in a cinema. I initially watched it at a time of crisis, hoping for an answer on a long resolved question. Reading this now felt very cathartic, and in some ways more painful than before as I continue on in the world.
Edward is so much more horrible than I remember him. He represented to me all of the things I hate about the attitudes of men that I have come to know since, especially those that are raised by emotionally illiterate parents.
Florence seemed more empowered than I remembered her. Absolutely, she is naive and absorbed the messages that the world will push into young women, but she knows what she wants and ultimately gets it. Not in a girl-queen boss way, but in a silently marching on and smiling way.
We meet these two all too real characters on their wedding night. This is not a happy story, but a cautionary tale on the importance of communication, and the inability to communicate in a time on the cusp of an era of freedom, that still witholds all of the previous guilt and oppression of the generation before.
I was very impressed by mcewan's writing throughout, his gross metaphors integrated into everything that could make you feel uncomfortable about the topic yourself. It felt very much that he understood both Florence and Edward extremely well, with incredible anxiety ridden pacing which felt like a sequence of events unfolding in real time.
Its a short book, and just like the marriage of Florence and Edward there is so much more to say.
I watched the film when it came out, so already knew what to expect. I have never ever cried so much in a cinema. I initially watched it at a time of crisis, hoping for an answer on a long resolved question. Reading this now felt very cathartic, and in some ways more painful than before as I continue on in the world.
Edward is so much more horrible than I remember him. He represented to me all of the things I hate about the attitudes of men that I have come to know since, especially those that are raised by emotionally illiterate parents.
Florence seemed more empowered than I remembered her. Absolutely, she is naive and absorbed the messages that the world will push into young women, but she knows what she wants and ultimately gets it. Not in a girl-queen boss way, but in a silently marching on and smiling way.
We meet these two all too real characters on their wedding night. This is not a happy story, but a cautionary tale on the importance of communication, and the inability to communicate in a time on the cusp of an era of freedom, that still witholds all of the previous guilt and oppression of the generation before.
I was very impressed by mcewan's writing throughout, his gross metaphors integrated into everything that could make you feel uncomfortable about the topic yourself. It felt very much that he understood both Florence and Edward extremely well, with incredible anxiety ridden pacing which felt like a sequence of events unfolding in real time.
Its a short book, and just like the marriage of Florence and Edward there is so much more to say.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting