The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
akaravenousreader's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Reread category
amandavano's review against another edition
3.0
Hmm. I honestly hated the main character Anna the entire time...It was an intriguing story and I definitely wanted to know what happened. But holy man. I need to read something happy now!
debi_g's review against another edition
5.0
I hope Hausfrau is never made into a movie, but I fear it will be attempted. The plotting and beauty of this book relies upon incisive wording, phrasing, and grammatology and such significant minutia would be lost in translation.
This is a novel that I can imagine English literature courses delving into and analyzing from fragments to whole and from all modes and styles. In fact, at first the book took me aback because it seemed so deliberately literary and linguistic, yet I was quickly engrossed and the novel informed my waking and dreaming lives. I'm reluctant to admit how and why I could recognize parts of my past selves in Anna and her ennui, her insomnia, her hikes, her aimlessness and recklessness, her depression.
Feminists will find a platform within and concerning this book, though many will misconstrue the issues and their contexts.
The least likable aspect of this book (aside from the cover, which will drive away male audiences) is the inevitability of its trajectory and conclusion. I want to steer Anna toward different choices, to show her the array of possible outcomes if only she...
Alas, in spite of what it means and how it disappoints me, that final sentence is a gem around which the book seems to have been built.
I hope no one reads the last page first.
A few of my favorite lines:
"A secret's safest hiding place is in the open...If you don't advertise, you needn't hide" (90).
"There is a correlation between the security of a person's moods and a lack of self-knowledge" (42).
This is a novel that I can imagine English literature courses delving into and analyzing from fragments to whole and from all modes and styles. In fact, at first the book took me aback because it seemed so deliberately literary and linguistic, yet I was quickly engrossed and the novel informed my waking and dreaming lives. I'm reluctant to admit how and why I could recognize parts of my past selves in Anna and her ennui, her insomnia, her hikes, her aimlessness and recklessness, her depression.
Feminists will find a platform within and concerning this book, though many will misconstrue the issues and their contexts.
The least likable aspect of this book (aside from the cover, which will drive away male audiences) is the inevitability of its trajectory and conclusion. I want to steer Anna toward different choices, to show her the array of possible outcomes if only she...
Alas, in spite of what it means and how it disappoints me, that final sentence is a gem around which the book seems to have been built.
I hope no one reads the last page first.
A few of my favorite lines:
"A secret's safest hiding place is in the open...If you don't advertise, you needn't hide" (90).
"There is a correlation between the security of a person's moods and a lack of self-knowledge" (42).
dcmr's review against another edition
3.0
I have such mixed feelings for this book. In parts, the writing is beautifully moody; in others, it plods along, annoying in its techniques: dreams as metaphors, foreign language as device, clipped writing style.
Much has been said about the "unlikable" protagonist. While I didn't like her, I did "get" her, and wasn't bothered by her unlikability.
Much has been said about the "unlikable" protagonist. While I didn't like her, I did "get" her, and wasn't bothered by her unlikability.
mhoffrob's review against another edition
2.0
I like a book where I care about the characters; I just couldn't connect to the protagonist. She wasn't likeable, or even that interesting. I was left uninspired by this novel.
_amanda_k_'s review against another edition
1.0
Is this an intentional retelling of Anna Karenina? I found the adultery portion to be too long and then when I thought a growth of character was going to happen and have a resolution, Anna throws herself in front of a train. It is also upsetting that she doesn't have any control over her own life, doesn't drive, no bank accounts, and barely speaks the language in the place she lives. This is a modern book, why is the only way to move past adultery still suicide?
elliemcc11's review against another edition
4.0
I'd read the blurb and reviews for this book and was really pleased when Netgalley and the published selected me to review it. And I am glad I have read it. This review is my own opinion of the book and I have not been paid to review it.
Where to begin? Well this is on the face of it a story of an American woman, Anna, living as an ex-pat in Switzerland. She's married to a Swiss man called Bruno and has 3 children, Victor, Charles, and Polly-Jean. At one level this is an explanation of life in Switzerland and the behaviours of the Swiss, from the eyes of an ex-pat. I've visited and the descriptions of the country and the towns is very accurate. I don't necessarily know a lot about Swiss demeanour or language but I am aware they speak a different dialect of German - Swiss German - which can be difficult to understand. Anna struggles - she takes German lessons to try and fit in better and recounts very visits to grocers and attempts to speak the language, but doesn't feel accepted.
She is generally unhappy with her lot in life. And her husband and his mother, Ursuala, have noticed and she's told to get psychoanalysis. I understand this was an important aspect of the novel but it didn't quite mesh with me and I skim read the dream analysis bit, especially after half-way through the novel. She's not necessarily that happy in her marriage either, and frequently leaves her children with the MIL whilst she ponders her life.
We are also told of ex-pat parties and get a glimpse of a different life. Anna and Bruno are particularly likeable characters and each appear to exist in their own bubbles, especially where these parties are concerned. In her German lessons she actually finds she is capable of speaking German and also finds friendship in the form of Mary, another ex-pat, but who is happier with being in Switzerland and the family life she has there. In the class is also Archie, a Scot. Knowing looks are exchanged between Anna and Archie and an affair quickly ensues.
We find that this isn't the first affair for Anna, and maybe this is partly the reason for her unhappiness? It's not necessarily clear. We, the reader, are left to decide, and decide, I suppose, if we think this is appropriate behaviour.
One thing after another happens and when tragedy strikes Anna's world unravels. The end of the book is rather abrupt and we are left to decide what happens next. I enjoyed this read, it's very well written, but I think there are unanswered questions.
Where to begin? Well this is on the face of it a story of an American woman, Anna, living as an ex-pat in Switzerland. She's married to a Swiss man called Bruno and has 3 children, Victor, Charles, and Polly-Jean. At one level this is an explanation of life in Switzerland and the behaviours of the Swiss, from the eyes of an ex-pat. I've visited and the descriptions of the country and the towns is very accurate. I don't necessarily know a lot about Swiss demeanour or language but I am aware they speak a different dialect of German - Swiss German - which can be difficult to understand. Anna struggles - she takes German lessons to try and fit in better and recounts very visits to grocers and attempts to speak the language, but doesn't feel accepted.
She is generally unhappy with her lot in life. And her husband and his mother, Ursuala, have noticed and she's told to get psychoanalysis. I understand this was an important aspect of the novel but it didn't quite mesh with me and I skim read the dream analysis bit, especially after half-way through the novel. She's not necessarily that happy in her marriage either, and frequently leaves her children with the MIL whilst she ponders her life.
We are also told of ex-pat parties and get a glimpse of a different life. Anna and Bruno are particularly likeable characters and each appear to exist in their own bubbles, especially where these parties are concerned. In her German lessons she actually finds she is capable of speaking German and also finds friendship in the form of Mary, another ex-pat, but who is happier with being in Switzerland and the family life she has there. In the class is also Archie, a Scot. Knowing looks are exchanged between Anna and Archie and an affair quickly ensues.
We find that this isn't the first affair for Anna, and maybe this is partly the reason for her unhappiness? It's not necessarily clear. We, the reader, are left to decide, and decide, I suppose, if we think this is appropriate behaviour.
One thing after another happens and when tragedy strikes Anna's world unravels. The end of the book is rather abrupt and we are left to decide what happens next. I enjoyed this read, it's very well written, but I think there are unanswered questions.
kiwialexa's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Grief, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
keh510's review against another edition
4.0
I want to say this was a bad book. I want to throw the book down the stairs, but I kind of loved it. I hated the first half and I love hated but mostly hated the main charecter. I disagreed with most things she believed in, but she was very insightful. Deffinately a boom Im going to be thinking about for a while.