xxsabrina_d's review against another edition
I did not want to spend anymore time in the mind of the author. Beautiful style of writing, very unsympathisch
linneahedvig's review against another edition
5.0
Reread November 8, 2020:
This was the beginning of my November rereads, which I loved and might do every November. The first time I read this book it all flowed so nicely and was so soothing to read. This time, because of everything that has happened in the world since 2015, Julavitz felt a little more grating. Her thoughts and worries felt more petty. I'm sure that anything I wrote in 2015 feels this way too. A lot has changed since then and this was an especially weird year to reread stuff. I still listened to this book so fast and enjoyed it a lot. I'd like to find more books like this that just give a lot of thoughts, mostly soothing, but without trying to present any kind of moral or self-help.
Review from May 23, 2015:
So good! Read this book!
This was the beginning of my November rereads, which I loved and might do every November. The first time I read this book it all flowed so nicely and was so soothing to read. This time, because of everything that has happened in the world since 2015, Julavitz felt a little more grating. Her thoughts and worries felt more petty. I'm sure that anything I wrote in 2015 feels this way too. A lot has changed since then and this was an especially weird year to reread stuff. I still listened to this book so fast and enjoyed it a lot. I'd like to find more books like this that just give a lot of thoughts, mostly soothing, but without trying to present any kind of moral or self-help.
Review from May 23, 2015:
So good! Read this book!
mpatshi's review against another edition
As a writer of diaries myself I really wanted to like this book.
It started out so funny and I was glad to be reading it but after a couple of chapters of 'Today I ....' I just couldn't care less about what was coming.
I started to really dislike the author and I needed to just stop reading before I got angry at a person I've never met ,who just wrote down a bunch of personal stories.
To me, many of the stories she wrote down are the kind of stories you tell your friends, or you use them to entertain new people you just met in a bar, they are fun that way... they are just not interesting enough to be put in a book, well written or not.
It started out so funny and I was glad to be reading it but after a couple of chapters of 'Today I ....' I just couldn't care less about what was coming.
I started to really dislike the author and I needed to just stop reading before I got angry at a person I've never met ,who just wrote down a bunch of personal stories.
To me, many of the stories she wrote down are the kind of stories you tell your friends, or you use them to entertain new people you just met in a bar, they are fun that way... they are just not interesting enough to be put in a book, well written or not.
k8iedid's review against another edition
5.0
Julavits' personal revelations are filled with such a specific level/kind of concentration and over analysis that I went to wikipedia to see if she was a fellow Virgo. Finding out that she's a Taurus completely threw me! So then I had to reframe and wondered if we possibly shared the same type anxiety brain. I'm going to ask my therapist if she's ever read this book - it could help us cut to the chase.
This is all to say that I absolutely loved this collection of journal entries.
This is all to say that I absolutely loved this collection of journal entries.
emily_nelson's review against another edition
3.0
I'll be honest, I picked up this book purely because of the pretty cover. But I was pleasantly surprised by "The Folded Clock," the diary of a writer from New York. It is at times, in my mind, a bit detached from reality -lets just say I think Gywneth Paltrow would be really into it - but her observations and the memories she can conjure from everyday interactions are at times provoking and profound. It's a slow read at times, but witty and thoughtful throughout. As a side note, Julavits represents (in at least some ways) the type of writer I would like to be, one who lives a full life well into middle age and never stops wanting to learn.
katmackie's review against another edition
4.0
In Heidi Julavits' The Folded Clock, I found joy in reading thoughts that were candid and fiercely relatable. I questioned how easily I would be able to explore her experiences and feelings, as this is a diary, but in the end I'm left wishing that I could meet her.
I read [b:Her|15794110|Her|Christa Parravani|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1366215570s/15794110.jpg|21586563] at the same time, and found the two books complemented each other somehow. I feel like Lidia Yuknavitch's [b:The Chronology of Water|9214995|The Chronology of Water|Lidia Yuknavitch|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1336629501s/9214995.jpg|14094773] is a natural sibling, which I also read recently. All three have evoked similar discomforts and wonder and I can't help but recommend them all in this brief review.
I read [b:Her|15794110|Her|Christa Parravani|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1366215570s/15794110.jpg|21586563] at the same time, and found the two books complemented each other somehow. I feel like Lidia Yuknavitch's [b:The Chronology of Water|9214995|The Chronology of Water|Lidia Yuknavitch|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1336629501s/9214995.jpg|14094773] is a natural sibling, which I also read recently. All three have evoked similar discomforts and wonder and I can't help but recommend them all in this brief review.
bexreid's review against another edition
4.75
The Folded Clock has been a companion of sorts of late. The kind of book you carry around and dip in and out of when moments allow. Each time I pulled it of my bag it felt like resuming a conversation with a friend. I'd find something that made me laugh, or I'd be compelled to underline lines here and there with excitement, "yes, I feel this!" & often paused to reread a line simply because it surprised me. Heidi Julavits writes about the daily mundane things that no one thinks are important, but it's those boring mundane things that make up the very fabric of who we are. She's honest about the thoughts we all (or at least many or some??) have but don't always voice/share. The less socially acceptable person underneath the face we show.