Reviews

Clever Girl by Tessa Hadley

xtinevs's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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

4.75

juliecucos's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

mindthebook's review against another edition

3.0

"Hadley writes beautifully of the unpredictable mess of life." Mer än så, samt en kvardröjande 'London Train'-läsupplevelsekänsla, behövdes inte för att jag skulle återvända till denna författare.

En 'Stoner' från Somerset, men det litterära uppvaknandet jag sett fram emot att läsa om får förhållandevis lite utrymme, så den här når dessvärre aldrig in i min mindthebookska själ.

willwork4airfare's review against another edition

5.0

Plot-wise I’d give it a 4, but the writing was just so beautiful I often slowed down to savor it properly. 

lulumoss's review against another edition

2.0

Meh. It’s a life. Stella grows up; things happen to Stella; Stella has kids; Stella grows older. Life happens.
It wasn’t horrible, a bit boring in places, but it didn’t ever make me smile or open my eyes wide and say “oooooh”. A book has to do at least one of those things, preferably both, and even more preferably, both of those things multiple times.

wanderingjedi's review against another edition

2.0

I wish I could give half stars because I would love to give this book 2 and a half. It was interesting, but I had a lot of trouble getting into it. I enjoyed the story, but it wasn't the sort of book that I really wanted to just read straight through. The writing was good, and the characters were believable and even fairly easy to relate to, but in the end I just didn't care enough about Stella to really feel pulled into the narrative. I might try re-reading it someday to see if maybe my taste in books evolves over time, but for now I'll just have to settle for giving it a solid "liked it, but didn't love it" rating.

carbonaden's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

meghan111's review against another edition

3.0

"...many things that seem quaint now were current and powerful then: shame, and secrecy, and the fear that other people would worm themselves into your weaknesses, and that their knowledge of how you had lapsed and failed would eat you from the inside. My mother used to wear white gloves to go to the shops in summer."

Strongly reminded me of Alice Munro and Margaret Atwood, so... Canadian? It's actually set in England.

"Yet it's surprising how often I've thought about her since those days - not particularly warmly nor resentfully, just aware of her existing somewhere, picking at the knot of her life in her own way. Some people accompany you like this in imagination, long after you've dropped any real connection with them."

milly_in_the_library's review against another edition

4.0

I enjoy stories of mundane life and this one was very good. It has some lovely writing in it, and although I'm very different to the protagonist, I really did care about her.
This was written by a Uni lecturer I had, which was why I picked it up; a good find!

ajreader's review against another edition

3.0

Read my full thoughts over at Read.Write.Repeat.

I really enjoyed this book. I would categorize it as one of those books you do not fully appreciate until you finish it. Then, seeing the story as a whole, you realize what a beautiful piece about life and relationships it is. While your between pages, some of those over arching themes can be easier to miss.