evelyn_parkhouse_reads's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
kingtoad's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
siina's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-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
4.0
gadilibe's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
klimatyczny_bluszcz's review against another edition
emotional
informative
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? No
4.0
I have quite a doubt what to think about this book. On one hand, it was written with such beautiful, eloqent, and well-chosen words and phrases, which showed me how Smith has a very much light and ease with playing with words, with language; it told a story of many layers and many topics, quite a mystical and mythological one. On the other hand though, I wasn't quite sure about how I feel about the whole of this book, at all times. It was chaotic, I've been getting lost. I'm not sure what this book is supposed to be about and what do I take with me from reading it. And if I take anything at all. Maybe it was just a beautifully phrased story that I read once. We'll see. Maybe I'll clarify one day what do I think about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness and Hate crime
bub_9's review against another edition
4.0
Not that it matters, but the hardback print of this book is extraordinarily beautiful.
And so is much of the writing within - the prose is colourful and direct, and the plot is relatively harmless without being at all uninteresting.
Curiously, for a novel so clearly of its time, it is those aspects of the novel that extend beyond its present moment that make it most attractive. Even the historically specific example of Pauline Boty (and this is a device which Smith extended to the other instalments of this quartet) is interesting but not, for me, what makes this work so memorable. Instead, this book is simply worth reading because it is often very intelligent and sensitive, earnest in its ideals and generous towards its characters.
One of the funnier lines is Daniel's response to Elisabeth when she mentions university: "You don't want to go to college ... You want to go to collage". In other hands, this might come across as irritatingly self-referential, but I actually think that, in the context of this light-hearted, overcast lament about decay, it is such a collage of observations that makes this witty (though rarely straight-up funny) novel worth reading.
And so is much of the writing within - the prose is colourful and direct, and the plot is relatively harmless without being at all uninteresting.
Curiously, for a novel so clearly of its time, it is those aspects of the novel that extend beyond its present moment that make it most attractive. Even the historically specific example of Pauline Boty (and this is a device which Smith extended to the other instalments of this quartet) is interesting but not, for me, what makes this work so memorable. Instead, this book is simply worth reading because it is often very intelligent and sensitive, earnest in its ideals and generous towards its characters.
One of the funnier lines is Daniel's response to Elisabeth when she mentions university: "You don't want to go to college ... You want to go to collage". In other hands, this might come across as irritatingly self-referential, but I actually think that, in the context of this light-hearted, overcast lament about decay, it is such a collage of observations that makes this witty (though rarely straight-up funny) novel worth reading.
intweed's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
By the final third of the book I was invested but I found it took me a while to get into. It may simply be that I picked it up right after reading a book by a journalist and the shift in prose to passages that were so lyrical and abstract threw me.
_marta_'s review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
3.0