shelfimprovement's review against another edition
3.0
Arcadia is something of a coming-of-age story. It follows Bit, a young boy who grows up on a failing hippie commune in the 1970s. The story begins when Bit is five and the commune is all he's ever known. Though the narration is third-person, it is vaguely Bit's point of view so we see the struggles of the commune from a child's perspective. Bit doesn't quite understand what's going on as the adults hope for a community house that never seems to come to fruition, illness and poverty lead to a dwindling population, and depression takes over his mother, who is torn between wanting to get the hell out and wanting to stay loyal.
I couldn't quite get into this one. It moved too slowly, and was told in jarring - almost disconnected - snapshots of life on the commune. There were times where I wasn't entirely sure what was going on, and I'm not sure if it's because the POV was of a five year old boy or because it was telling of a time and a place that I couldn't even begin to relate to.
Having read the positive reviews of this book, I can certainly understand why other people enjoyed it. I don't think this was a bad book by any means -- it just wasn't for me.
I couldn't quite get into this one. It moved too slowly, and was told in jarring - almost disconnected - snapshots of life on the commune. There were times where I wasn't entirely sure what was going on, and I'm not sure if it's because the POV was of a five year old boy or because it was telling of a time and a place that I couldn't even begin to relate to.
Having read the positive reviews of this book, I can certainly understand why other people enjoyed it. I don't think this was a bad book by any means -- it just wasn't for me.
lisagray68's review against another edition
4.0
Well I related to this book that was about a boy raised in a commune, and the difficulty all the kids had integrating with the larger world when they grew up. Even though I didn't grow up in a commune, I grew up in a rather closed community and the larger world & culture was largely unknown. I loved the characters in this book -- loved how there were so many good things about his childhood, and how he saw it as so idyllic, even while seeing there were some problems with it. Good read.
moonglue's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
wow. beautifully written (goes without saying since it’s by lauren groff). arcadia and bit’s memories feel tangible. i am a person with severe anxiety surrounding death, aging, the passing of time; i am always mourning, and i wish i lived in a time where our attention and focus was not stolen from us by technology. this book simultaneously healed and erupted these sore spots. the first part that focuses on bit’s childhood is…so much, and is definitely my favorite part. others say the latter half dragged as a result, which i agree with, but it was a necessary drag. besides, how can anything compete with the vivid chaos of arcadia? my rating might dip down to a 4.25 after i have had more time to process, but overall— couldn’t put it down. increased my longing for community.
kkilburn's review against another edition
3.0
I wish I could rate this book in sections. Arcadia tells the story of Bit, who grew up in the Arcadia commune, from his early childhood to his middle adulthood. For me, the book comprised four sections: Bit's earliest childhood in the new commune; his 14th year as the commune was falling apart; a very brief glance at his early adulthood, marriage, birth of his child, and desertion by his wife; and his return to Arcadia, which time includes the death of his father and the long death of his mother from ALS. The first two parts mesmerized me; the latter two, unfortunately, bored me. The difference between them, I think, was this. In the first two sections, we live Bit's experience of a complex, fascinating community from its birth to its death. Because the story is told in the present tense, we live those experiences in two fundamentally distinct ways - as a young child more capable of experiencing than understanding, and as a teenager who can be both a more faithful narrator and an interpreter of events. We learn about Bit himself and the people who matter the most to him, and we learn about the dynamics of the community. This is rich stuff.
The latter two parts, in contrast, felt more superficial. To begin with, I found the adult Bit to be far too passive to sustain my interest as a character. He seemed far more distant from people as an adult than as a child, so he engaged less with others. He is, as we are repeatedly reminded, a photographer - an observer by nature. But I just wasn't excited about what he was given to observe. We get a little bit about what happens to the kids he grew up with. We get only a glimpse of what I thought would be one of the most important parts of his life: the return of his childhood love, now a recovering addict, 20 years after she left Arcadia; the birth of his daughter; and his desertion by his wife. We get a pandemic that, for me, serves very little narrative function. Finally, we have his return to Arcadia and his mother's long decline and death from ALS. This last part, at least, offers food for thought - but again, I just didn't find Bit's thoughts very interesting. Of course, this is one person's opinion only, and I can understand that others may feel differently!
That said, one thing that kept me reading to the very end was Groff's gorgeous prose. As Goodreads author Lydia Netzer points out in her review, she uses the present tense narration brilliantly to immerse us in Bit's world. I also found her imagery to be powerful and evocative without being contrived. Just a few examples: The young Bit is happy -- "A good bubble rises in Bit, and he moves lightly to keep it whole." Bit's mother, Hannah, suffers from depression and has gone weeks without stirring from bed. The commune's women come to get her up and wash her. "Slowly, her smell is thinned with Astrid's rose soap. Her skin, her hair, her sleep, is watered until, at last, what is her own disappears.", If you've ever suffered from depression, that last phrase is staggering. As an adult, at a party with his childhood friends, now successful urban or suburbanites, a stray word triggers a quick, shared memory: "He thinks of the rotten parachute they played with as kids in Arcadia: they hurtle through life aging unimaginably fast, but each grasps a silken edge of memory that billows between them and softens the long fall."
Whatever the parts I didn't care for, I'm really glad I read this book.
The latter two parts, in contrast, felt more superficial. To begin with, I found the adult Bit to be far too passive to sustain my interest as a character. He seemed far more distant from people as an adult than as a child, so he engaged less with others. He is, as we are repeatedly reminded, a photographer - an observer by nature. But I just wasn't excited about what he was given to observe. We get a little bit about what happens to the kids he grew up with. We get only a glimpse of what I thought would be one of the most important parts of his life: the return of his childhood love, now a recovering addict, 20 years after she left Arcadia; the birth of his daughter; and his desertion by his wife. We get a pandemic that, for me, serves very little narrative function. Finally, we have his return to Arcadia and his mother's long decline and death from ALS. This last part, at least, offers food for thought - but again, I just didn't find Bit's thoughts very interesting. Of course, this is one person's opinion only, and I can understand that others may feel differently!
That said, one thing that kept me reading to the very end was Groff's gorgeous prose. As Goodreads author Lydia Netzer points out in her review, she uses the present tense narration brilliantly to immerse us in Bit's world. I also found her imagery to be powerful and evocative without being contrived. Just a few examples: The young Bit is happy -- "A good bubble rises in Bit, and he moves lightly to keep it whole." Bit's mother, Hannah, suffers from depression and has gone weeks without stirring from bed. The commune's women come to get her up and wash her. "Slowly, her smell is thinned with Astrid's rose soap. Her skin, her hair, her sleep, is watered until, at last, what is her own disappears.", If you've ever suffered from depression, that last phrase is staggering. As an adult, at a party with his childhood friends, now successful urban or suburbanites, a stray word triggers a quick, shared memory: "He thinks of the rotten parachute they played with as kids in Arcadia: they hurtle through life aging unimaginably fast, but each grasps a silken edge of memory that billows between them and softens the long fall."
Whatever the parts I didn't care for, I'm really glad I read this book.
dmahanty's review against another edition
4.0
Bit grows up in Arcadia commune in the late '60s. At age 14 the commune dissolves and he has to find a way to live on the outside. Beautifully written with compeling characters.
abookdork's review against another edition
3.0
I feel like a crazy person for not loving this book. It just felt like I was reading it forever. The book was well written and the beginning of the book was really interesting, but I lost interest about halfway through. I was hoping that it would pick up toward the end of the book, but that didn't happen. I just don't get all the fuss is about.
sch91086's review against another edition
3.0
Im torn on this one honestly. There were some things I loved about it but overall I just wasn’t sure what the message or point was, and I disliked some of the ambiguity.
One of the characters has an accident at some point that impacts him in a pretty meaningful way. Another character just disappears and we never find out what happens to her, which I get, is life, but as a reader I wanted some closure to that story.
Groff definitely enjoys exploring humans and the relationships they form and maybe that’s all this one is. I think I enjoyed the earlier bits in the commune more so than the later parts. I did like Bit as a character but mostly when he was a child- I think the way he saw the world was very unique and then as he grows and becomes an adult he becomes less unique, so it started strong and ended less strong.
The writing, as ever, and is probably what keeps me coming back, was gorgeous, but I just don’t know that it was enough to carry the story.
I much preferred Matrix by Groff, though I will likely keep reading her work. Somehow her writing has sucked me in.
One of the characters has an accident at some point that impacts him in a pretty meaningful way. Another character just disappears and we never find out what happens to her, which I get, is life, but as a reader I wanted some closure to that story.
Groff definitely enjoys exploring humans and the relationships they form and maybe that’s all this one is. I think I enjoyed the earlier bits in the commune more so than the later parts. I did like Bit as a character but mostly when he was a child- I think the way he saw the world was very unique and then as he grows and becomes an adult he becomes less unique, so it started strong and ended less strong.
The writing, as ever, and is probably what keeps me coming back, was gorgeous, but I just don’t know that it was enough to carry the story.
I much preferred Matrix by Groff, though I will likely keep reading her work. Somehow her writing has sucked me in.
stepnic's review against another edition
5.0
This book was originally 4 stars but I can’t stop thinking about it (in a good way) so I’m upping it to 5.
strawberrryboy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Groff’s writing is really lovely, but there’s no actual plot? It just follows Bit along through his life. It doesn’t seem like he has any driving force at all but is merely existing. That sometimes made the book hard to continue?
Also, she has a sometimes strange way of writing about fat people and people of color that sometimes feels dismissive and also fatphobic? Not sure how to feel.
Also, she has a sometimes strange way of writing about fat people and people of color that sometimes feels dismissive and also fatphobic? Not sure how to feel.