Scan barcode
konvineo's review
2.0
1.5 stars
and then I'm being nice.
The writing is lovely, no doubt about it, but the book still manages to be meh. It falls short of the promise:
"[...]reveals characters capable of unspeakable cruelty, but also unspoken love."
It's just not there. The characters feel flat and comes across quite boring with very few moments of exception. Also the climax just falls to the ground because... everybody still ends up sort of happy? There's no lasting punishment for the men - or the island as a whole- who decided to fetch a seal-wife out of the sea. If the book had ended around page 253-256 I might've felt more positive... forgiving (don't know if that's the word I'm looking for, but anyway) towards the book.
This book would probably be a great book for reading aloud as background noise, to have something pretty to listen to. But too boring for any more than that, in my opinion.
and then I'm being nice.
The writing is lovely, no doubt about it, but the book still manages to be meh. It falls short of the promise:
"[...]reveals characters capable of unspeakable cruelty, but also unspoken love."
It's just not there. The characters feel flat and comes across quite boring with very few moments of exception. Also the climax just falls to the ground because... everybody still ends up sort of happy? There's no lasting punishment for the men - or the island as a whole- who decided to fetch a seal-wife out of the sea. If the book had ended around page 253-256 I might've felt more positive... forgiving (don't know if that's the word I'm looking for, but anyway) towards the book.
This book would probably be a great book for reading aloud as background noise, to have something pretty to listen to. But too boring for any more than that, in my opinion.
dawnwich's review against another edition
5.0
I found this hard to get into at first. I found the dialect thick and offputting, and the book started with some point-of-view changes that threw me off. But once I got my bearings it was as wonderful as I'd hoped. I'm glad I persevered through the beginning. I'd loved Tender Morsels so much that I was pretty much going to read this no matter what. This is nearly as good as Tender Morsels.
jadandersen's review against another edition
3.0
Sea Hearts was not what I was expecting... at all.
It was seemed to be promising more romance and mystery, but after reading it, I didn't feel that.
The book was done quite well, however, in its changeability of perspective. It made me view the story from many different eyes and constantly change my opinions of characters. Is that a good thing?? I dunno.
Interesting. Very interesting, indeed. Lets just say that it's worth reading. Kapeesh?
It was seemed to be promising more romance and mystery, but after reading it, I didn't feel that.
The book was done quite well, however, in its changeability of perspective. It made me view the story from many different eyes and constantly change my opinions of characters. Is that a good thing?? I dunno.
Interesting. Very interesting, indeed. Lets just say that it's worth reading. Kapeesh?
emmaslittlerathands's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-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
3.5
hoboannie's review against another edition
5.0
There were many time during the reading of this book that I would take in a breath, a little gasp, if you will, at the poignancy of the prose. Times I had an unbearable need to share a passage I'd just read with anyone, because the beauty of it begged sharing. The concept of this story, the thoughtful, frightful, sad and mysterious manner in which it is slowly exposed through the stories of the island inhabitants really makes this a classic.
michelehoward's review against another edition
3.0
I was sure I would like to start, it was very slow, but then it was like sitting round a fire and listening to an old legend. A very comfortable read.
mlliu's review against another edition
4.0
A little slowgoing, but the writing is beautiful, the stories bittersweet.
jrosenstein's review against another edition
4.0
This is one of the books where you can see how the author started with a simple idea and then followed it out to its natural conclusion. The starting point to me seems something like, "what if there was an island where all the men married selkies..." Lanagan takes Irish folklore and sees what happens when you bring it into the real world. Admittedly the first half of the book drags a bit, but overall I found the world fascinating and the characters very real and moving. Lanagan tones down her hallucinatory prose here but it's still beautifully written and evocative of the sea and windy Rollrock. I also like the seal-women as a sort of metaphor for the distance between men and women and mothers and sons.
fishsticks26's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-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
4.25
today_catsandbooks's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
An interesting retelling of the selkie story. Those poor women!