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rubyrosereads_'s review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
A story about loss, a story about celebrating the small wins, a story about friendship and the simplicity of the everyday.
“No one in my world seemed to be able to talk about death. It was a secret that we held inside while it corroded our organs, twisted our muscles.”
I really enjoyed this novel by Kavita Bedford set in Sydney. The narrator has recently lost her father and is navigating life in her twenties, living in a sharehouse in Redfern, and trying to work through the dark shapes that have built up in her psyche.
The writing style is quite unique and very easy to read. It flows so smoothly between present day happenings in the narrator’s sharehouse and nostalgic memories of time spent with her father before his passing.
I really liked the simplicity of this book. It is about loss, but it’s also about the minutia of everyday life. It doesn’t delve too deeply into the details of grief but it demonstrates the loss through the memory scenes and shows the close relationship she had with her father.
“I feel crushed. I can't breathe with all these memories everywhere.”
A great debut from an Australian author 👏🏼
“No one in my world seemed to be able to talk about death. It was a secret that we held inside while it corroded our organs, twisted our muscles.”
I really enjoyed this novel by Kavita Bedford set in Sydney. The narrator has recently lost her father and is navigating life in her twenties, living in a sharehouse in Redfern, and trying to work through the dark shapes that have built up in her psyche.
The writing style is quite unique and very easy to read. It flows so smoothly between present day happenings in the narrator’s sharehouse and nostalgic memories of time spent with her father before his passing.
I really liked the simplicity of this book. It is about loss, but it’s also about the minutia of everyday life. It doesn’t delve too deeply into the details of grief but it demonstrates the loss through the memory scenes and shows the close relationship she had with her father.
“I feel crushed. I can't breathe with all these memories everywhere.”
A great debut from an Australian author 👏🏼
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Cancer and Drug use
Minor: Sexual assault
ashyyy's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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? Yes
2.5
I love a good slice of life story, but this one was not engaging for me. I thought I'd find the plot relatable, but it was kind of just...boring. Nothing ever really happened in the book that was memorable.
I also felt the protagonist was more of a hovering third eye narrator and less like an actual character. Not even her grieving connected me to her as a reader. My favourite chapter was 43 when shehad a breakdown on the Ferris wheel because we finally got to see some emotion from her instead of this apathetic view of the world .
The biggest let down for me was the narrative style. I really did not like the chosen lack of dialogue. It often left me confused whether it was a person talking or the protagonist's inner thoughts. On top of that, it made me feel disconnected from the characters as it was told in such a dry, journalistic way. I did enjoy the memories between her and her dad, the little moments that she clings to in fear of losing him forever, but again, the narrative style left me feeling disconnected from it as a whole.
Maybe I missed something here, but it just didn't grab me.
I also felt the protagonist was more of a hovering third eye narrator and less like an actual character. Not even her grieving connected me to her as a reader. My favourite chapter was 43 when she
The biggest let down for me was the narrative style. I really did not like the chosen lack of dialogue. It often left me confused whether it was a person talking or the protagonist's inner thoughts. On top of that, it made me feel disconnected from the characters as it was told in such a dry, journalistic way. I did enjoy the memories between her and her dad, the little moments that she clings to in fear of losing him forever, but again, the narrative style left me feeling disconnected from it as a whole.
Maybe I missed something here, but it just didn't grab me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
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