megshulse's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. I really enjoyed the poetic writing, and the characters were intriguing. However, the story and connections themselves fell flat for me. I was confused most of the time! I’m seeing reviews that the audiobook doesn’t do it justice: I may need to add back into my TBR pile to read a physical copy.
sheshu45's review against another edition
Good writing but felt quite rambling and no story as such. This is certainly about the characters but I didn’t really feel I got to know them or connect with them.
readingwithcoffee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A lot to chew on but very interesting. The accent work in the audio book leaves much to be desired even if I love how she voiced Catherine and Amanda. Really interesting book, probably needs rereading to really dig into but you do see how she and Morrison were contemporaries.
sber8121's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
eglozoraitis's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
neugrowf's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
A brilliant work with an experimental style of storytelling! I love the way Gayl Jones weaves a strange and colorful tapestry for her characters to inhabit.
lindseyzwilson's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kpeps's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was a bit strange, but very engaging! I don’t think I was the best audience for it (the unlovable characters could be a bit too unlovable) so it didn’t hit quite right but that’s because of my preferences as a reader and not because the author is a bad writer.
changeablelandscape's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is the kind of literary fiction I really enjoy; I picked it up because it was on the ToB longlist, and I'm glad I did. The narrative skips all around in place and time, held together by the voice of the narrator, Amanda, a black author who has become enmeshed in the lives of Catherine, a black sculptor, and her husband Ernest -- whom Catherine periodically tries to murder. Other reviews have done a good job of framing what the novel is about, and indeed, it is about those things, but what struck me the most is how indirect it is about it all. Amanda talks about Catherine and Ernest, and about Catherine's friend Gilette, and about her own life, and all the pieces are there for the reader to put together how hard it is for a woman (especially a black woman) to create without the men around her either co-opting or flat-out destroying her work, or her ability to work -- but there is never a moment in which the women themselves are really able to articulate it directly. It's just there, it's the water they're swimming in, and Amanda can simultaneously It is really well done, and I am very glad I read it, but it is a tight, grim, sad view of the world so I'm not sure if I will ever want to read it again.
Spoiler
know that she left her own husband and child in order to be able to live on her own terms as a writer, and still (from time to time) participate in the narrative where Ernest is a very kind, lovable man who is overly loyal to his mentally ill wife. Men and children make women crazy in this book, and there are very few escapes other than violence, either towards the men and children, or towards oneself using the men as instruments so that one is 'right' to leave them.lisabunag's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0