Reviews

a story divided into five parts, each describing a woman's struggles and her life. the first three sections were most interesting.
first, we meet paula, who got divorced and her daughter died. she starts dating a man and telling him about the problems she's had in her numerous previous relationships. second is judith, paula's friend. judith enjoys bdsm and sex in general, she's a very strong person and works as a doctor. she has a much more intense personality than paula. she's never had a spouse or kids. third is brida, a woman who left her husband whom she has two children with. the main focus is on brida's complicated relationship with her ex husband, who is now dating a new woman. brida also discusses her struggles with being a writer and raising kids at the same time. the fourth and fifth parts discuss two sisters, malika and jorinde, both of them connected to brida.
my issue is that the characters weren't developed enough, especially malika and jorinde. brida had the best development, but it still wasn't great. we know what these women do and we know they're struggling, but we don't get anything deeper about them as fully formed individuals. still, i liked how the women were connected to each other in subtle ways, i enjoyed the book being separated into parts, and some elements of the stories were good. the writing style was just alright, not amazing, but not bad.

lauramai's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

wiebkejml's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

hannahbright's review against another edition

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3.0

Again with the Rooney comparions... don't see it at all. The novel is divided into five parts about 5 women, all somehow connected. Set in Leipzig, Germany and there's some interesting elements of GDR history here that could only happen in this part of the world. None of these women are especially compelling or strong, but I think they are meant to show we are all broken and flawed in our own unique ways. Deeply nuanced and emotional, but left me wanting.

beatriks's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

(German below)
Lovely storytelling, I really enjoyed how the characters were connected.
I generally love jumps in time, and this one didn’t disappoint.
I liked to learn about the different perspectives of friends, ex-girls friends and sisters.

Ich habe einige Kommentare zur Sprache gelesen, mir hat das Buch sprachlich extrem gut gefallen.

Sachlich, klar, aber trotzdem voller Poesie.

Extra Punkte für das Hörbuch, toll gelesen und die verschiedenen Sprecherinnen haben es sehr gut gemacht.

Content Warnings

kotabova's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

kamna's review against another edition

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challenging reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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