denaiir's review against another edition
3.0
Brass is a quiet family drama, but a little too quiet. I enjoyed reading about the Luthuanian/Albanian immigrants because I had not read about this community boefre, so it was very interesting. Luljeta's discovery of her Albanian relatives was a part that I really enjoyed reading about.
However, I feel like the mother/daughter relationship could have been more central, it was almost not developed at all. In addition, none of the stakes seemed high enough to keep me engrossed in the sotry, which seemed just average.
Overall it was a well-written book but it will not leave a long-lasting impression on me.
However, I feel like the mother/daughter relationship could have been more central, it was almost not developed at all. In addition, none of the stakes seemed high enough to keep me engrossed in the sotry, which seemed just average.
Overall it was a well-written book but it will not leave a long-lasting impression on me.
literatehedgehog's review against another edition
3.0
A contemporary realistic fiction set in Waterbury, CT.
I really liked the style of this book. The chapters alternated between mother and daughter voices, but not as you'd expect on the same timeline. Rather, you hear from the daughter in the present, being rejected from NYU and figuring out her family background, and the mother in the past, at about the same age when she met the daughter's father. It was interesting hearing their voices at the same age, but I did want to interact more with the mother in the daughter's chapters to see how she had grown and changed. The writing style was also fantastic - although it depends on your taste and mood. I'd say it's somewhere between gritty and lyrical with a propulsive speed that hooked me from the start. The daughter's chapters are written in the second person which I found helpful to distinguish and gave her an interesting proximity to the narration. Again, not to everyone's taste, but I found that it worked. The plotting towards the end and the denouement itself felt realistic in its stop and start pacing, emotional drift, and not quite satisfying conclusion. In a novel, no, I don't like that feeling, but as this felt like such a mirror to real life (and perhaps the author's own family experience), it made sense and fit with the story.
I really liked the style of this book. The chapters alternated between mother and daughter voices, but not as you'd expect on the same timeline. Rather, you hear from the daughter in the present, being rejected from NYU and figuring out her family background, and the mother in the past, at about the same age when she met the daughter's father. It was interesting hearing their voices at the same age, but I did want to interact more with the mother in the daughter's chapters to see how she had grown and changed. The writing style was also fantastic - although it depends on your taste and mood. I'd say it's somewhere between gritty and lyrical with a propulsive speed that hooked me from the start. The daughter's chapters are written in the second person which I found helpful to distinguish and gave her an interesting proximity to the narration. Again, not to everyone's taste, but I found that it worked. The plotting towards the end and the denouement itself felt realistic in its stop and start pacing, emotional drift, and not quite satisfying conclusion. In a novel, no, I don't like that feeling, but as this felt like such a mirror to real life (and perhaps the author's own family experience), it made sense and fit with the story.
kbranfield's review against another edition
3.0
Brass by Xhenet Aliu explores the relationship of a mother and daughter who both dream of escaping their economically depressed town.
In 1996, Elsie Kuzavinas is working as a waitress at a diner owned by Alabanian immigrants. She has big dreams of earning enough money to purchase a car and leave behind both her dead-end job and hometown. Entering into an affair with Bashkim, whose wife, Agnes did not accompany him to America, an unplanned pregnancy threatens to derail her plans. With promises to help raise their baby, Bashkim convinces her to continue the pregnancy but he leaves before she gives birth. Now following in the path of her own mother (but hopefully minus the drinking problem), Elsie barely ekes out a living for herself and her daughter Luljeta "Lulu".
Fast forward seventeen years and Lulu also dreams of leaving Waterbury for New York where she plans to attend college. A bit of a social outcast, she is a painfully shy young woman who always follows the rules. When she receives a college rejection letter, she ends up suspended from school following an altercation with the school bully. Lulu decides it is time to learn the truth about the father she has never met.
The storyline weaves back and forth in time so readers get to see both mother and daughter at the same age as they each attempt to reach the same goal: leave their bleak hometown with hopes of a brighter future. Elsie and Bashkim are both a little naive about finances but once Elsie gets pregnant, reality strikes rather quickly. Life with Bashkim is not easy and she is planning a way out when he betrays her. Lulu wants to avoid the same fate as her mother and she has worked hard to ensure she makes it into college, but the rejection letter hits her hard and she becomes a little cynical.
Brass is an unflinchingly honest portrayal of life in a financially depressed town. Xhenet Aliu paints a rather hopeless and depressing future for both Elsie and Lulu as they fail to realize their dreams of escaping the same fate as the previous generations. While the storyline is interesting, the pacing of the story is rather slow. Elsie's chapters are much easier to read than Lulu's which are written in second person. The novel comes to a bit of an unexpected conclusion that is a little heartrending.
In 1996, Elsie Kuzavinas is working as a waitress at a diner owned by Alabanian immigrants. She has big dreams of earning enough money to purchase a car and leave behind both her dead-end job and hometown. Entering into an affair with Bashkim, whose wife, Agnes did not accompany him to America, an unplanned pregnancy threatens to derail her plans. With promises to help raise their baby, Bashkim convinces her to continue the pregnancy but he leaves before she gives birth. Now following in the path of her own mother (but hopefully minus the drinking problem), Elsie barely ekes out a living for herself and her daughter Luljeta "Lulu".
Fast forward seventeen years and Lulu also dreams of leaving Waterbury for New York where she plans to attend college. A bit of a social outcast, she is a painfully shy young woman who always follows the rules. When she receives a college rejection letter, she ends up suspended from school following an altercation with the school bully. Lulu decides it is time to learn the truth about the father she has never met.
The storyline weaves back and forth in time so readers get to see both mother and daughter at the same age as they each attempt to reach the same goal: leave their bleak hometown with hopes of a brighter future. Elsie and Bashkim are both a little naive about finances but once Elsie gets pregnant, reality strikes rather quickly. Life with Bashkim is not easy and she is planning a way out when he betrays her. Lulu wants to avoid the same fate as her mother and she has worked hard to ensure she makes it into college, but the rejection letter hits her hard and she becomes a little cynical.
Brass is an unflinchingly honest portrayal of life in a financially depressed town. Xhenet Aliu paints a rather hopeless and depressing future for both Elsie and Lulu as they fail to realize their dreams of escaping the same fate as the previous generations. While the storyline is interesting, the pacing of the story is rather slow. Elsie's chapters are much easier to read than Lulu's which are written in second person. The novel comes to a bit of an unexpected conclusion that is a little heartrending.
kristie5's review against another edition
4.0
This was a well written compelling story that I enjoyed overall. You get to see the journeys of both mother and daughter, the daughter's journey to try to find herself and learn who she is and the mother's past and how her decisions have brought them to where they are now. I would rate this book between a 3.5 to 4, I really liked it but was a little disappointed in the ending.
findyourgoldenhour's review against another edition
4.0
A tender book about a mother and daughter trying to make their way despite difficult circumstances. Their relationship feels so real, and their misunderstandings are sometimes painful to read. I look forward to reading what this author writes next!
hadu's review against another edition
5.0
Extremely relatable for me in many spots, believable, with a sense of humor that is darkly funny and never stupid.
lindsaydrue's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was amazing. Switching chapters between mother and daughter, it covered so many topics: unplanned teenage pregnancy, abandonment, and self-doubt are just a few. I loved the way Aliu wrote in quick little analogies in almost every single paragraph. I will definitely read her book of short stories and root for her to write more.
katmackie's review against another edition
4.0
A touching family drama told from two different perspectives: Mother and daughter. As the perspectives shift we're given the internal insight these two characters will never witness in the other. There's something very lonely in realizing such powerful parallels will never fully connect, though they live and breathe in the same rooms. As children it's easy to forget or ignore that our parents lead lives and made important and often impossible choices before we existed. Some things can never be fully understood, even as the connection strengthens.
I finished Brass with a feeling of relief for the characters, and of excitement. They felt so real, and I can't shake the sense that they're out there now.
I finished Brass with a feeling of relief for the characters, and of excitement. They felt so real, and I can't shake the sense that they're out there now.