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gtrossi's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely wonderful!
This novel broke my heart and gave me hope all at once. It was beautifully written and translated. I can't wait for the author's next book.
This novel broke my heart and gave me hope all at once. It was beautifully written and translated. I can't wait for the author's next book.
littletaiko's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
sdloomer's review against another edition
2.0
This was so wordy; I nearly fell asleep a few times while reading. The historical part of this novel was perhaps its strongest point, while the romance...not so much, for me.
Also, I've never read so many versions of the sentence "my molecules loved her molecules" so many times.
Also, I've never read so many versions of the sentence "my molecules loved her molecules" so many times.
nainatai's review against another edition
3.0
I would have given it a higher rating if there was more of history and culture infused in the writing. The way it's written, it's mostly another love story with lots of pain and waiting. But it still manages to give you a glimpse of the culture of a city that's seen so much. Read, don't read; it's one of those books.
srcanedo's review against another edition
4.0
It lost me about half way through but overall good story. light read.
ellyrarg's review against another edition
1.0
Blah. A supposed great love story that’s broken and knitted back together and broken again. It was sluggish, the supposedly bright patches were sickly and slow and the broken meandered with ott longing. Wish I hadn’t picked it up (I prefer my epic romance to be more like Anna Karenina) and supremely glad to be done with it. I didn’t like the non linear time lines or the obvious patriarchy stereotype, but I did like the subplots, nomi with her kids, the Westfried house, the momentary. Tiny moments, picked out of otherwise a sea of maudlin blah.
lezreadalot's review against another edition
2.0
The runaways always did it again. Something about running away was painful to the point of clarity and clarifying to the point of pain.
2.5 stars. And that does seem like a kinda harsh rating for what it is, because I didn't dislike this book? But I'd be lying if I said it didn't bore me sometimes. It's historical fiction about a Turkish-Jewish woman and a Christian-Arab man who fall in love in 1947 Jerusalem, not long before the city is divided. It spans years and wars, and we also have a future timeline with Elias as a much older man in hospital care. I didn't run into the problem that I sometimes have with translated fiction, where the translation doesn't seem natural sounding or apt in English. I thought the writing was pretty good; beautiful, if somewhat overwrought at times. But some things about how the story was told really didn't appeal to me. Several times, we'd get pivotal moments between the couple from outsider POVs, and I really didn't understand that choice. Maybe the author had a reason for wanting to create that distance, but it didn't work for me. Or sometimes, even when we were still in the main characters' points of view, the narration just seemed so far removed. I just really couldn't connect with these characters as much as I would have wanted to; especially Elias, who was incredibly annoying and I don't know what Lila saw in him. It was interesting from a historical point of view, as I've never read fiction about this region in this time, and I think it did a good job of telling the story of the various wars from both sides of the divide? I'm not the best judge. Ultimately, as I said before, this was just kinda boring. I normally don't complain about slow books, but this one... oooof. And a lot of things in the last quarter just kinda annoyed me.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Mel Foster, which was fine. It's the kind of book that I think would have benefitted from dual narration, but the POVs very often weren't cleanly split (another pet peeve of mine) so I don't know how that would have been done. Overall, it was fine, just not really for me. It had all the good bones and makings of a moving story, but the end result was somewhat artificial and not all that well-realised.
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miscarriagesecreteeyore's review against another edition
5.0
I would rate this book higher if GR would allow me to. Sometimes a book falls into your lap at a time in your life when you need it to- just so with this book for me. This book weaves a tale of love ripped apart due to war and outside forces though somehow it endures. I absolutely adore that the author uses tea as way to emote feelings from the reader. It is sensual and detailed and delicate. Love, love, love.