liralen's review against another edition
2.0
I'm beginning to think that I'm not the right reader for these grim little 90s books (this was first published in the late 80s, but...close enough), with the characters' dislike of everyone around them and a choice of language designed to shock and titillate. This particular book is packed with seemingly random snippets of text from ads and radio shows and instruction manuals and notices; they were interesting enough for a while, when I thought they might have some sort of Greater Meaning connected to the plot, but...I think this is it:
I don't know. The book ends with the death of a character who is important to the main characters but not to the reader: there is confusion and grief and then the book is just...over. It got quite good reviews at the time, but...I'm no literary critic, and less interested in grim and gritty, and the experimental-ish nature of the writing / lack of characters I felt any connection with / lack of a satisfying ending did not resonate with me.
I knew I was in a bad way when I could no longer read a book. I couldn't even get through the first sentence of a book. Never since my first painful exposure to Aesop had I been without the burden of a book.
The only things I could read now were personal ads, TV guides, problem pages, recipes, technical handbooks, and junk mail... (106)I actually relate to that to a certain extent (as somebody who is never without a book in hand but will, if desperate, resort to reading the backs of cereal boxes, the ingredient list on the box of Pflegetücher that sits on my table, etc.; and as somebody who also knows that if I can't read, I am Quite Ill), but eventually I tuned out the random snippets in the book because they were just...random. Sometimes with marginal connections to the text, yes, but I'm not really sure what they were meant to do beyond that.
I don't know. The book ends with the death of a character who is important to the main characters but not to the reader: there is confusion and grief and then the book is just...over. It got quite good reviews at the time, but...I'm no literary critic, and less interested in grim and gritty, and the experimental-ish nature of the writing / lack of characters I felt any connection with / lack of a satisfying ending did not resonate with me.
katiesendlesstbr's review
dark
emotional
funny
sad
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
4.25
Equal parts clever and heartwrenching. Could be a little confusing with the random inserts of magazine excerpts, and I didn't get the emotional reaction I was expecting, but overall I really liked it and can't wait to read more Ellmann!
hayley_bopp's review
1.0
I found this book to be pretty dull. I didn't like all the random extracts from diet plans, cookery books etc - maybe I missed something but for the most part I couldn't see how they were supposed to link to the story.
The best thing I can say about this book is that it was short - in fact that was the only reason I finished it.
The best thing I can say about this book is that it was short - in fact that was the only reason I finished it.
nkhensani_m's review
I bought this on holiday and I think that's where it will stay.
The first 100 pages were okay, but the style was so dated that I can't remember the details. It's the kind of thing that shows the skill of a writer, but doesn't actually entertain.
The first 100 pages were okay, but the style was so dated that I can't remember the details. It's the kind of thing that shows the skill of a writer, but doesn't actually entertain.
catdad77a45's review
4.0
Ellmann's award-winning debut novel shows glimmers of the vitriol and fun to come in her later works. It is at least semi-autobiographical, since Lucy is clearly based on the author herself, and the dying father is surely Richard Ellmann (who indeed died the year before this was initially published). The interpolation of bits and pieces from outside sources doesn't QUITE work here, I don't think, but she hones those skills further on in her career. Not a major work, but short and sweet.
paintedverse's review
3.0
I randomly selected Sweet Desserts by Lucy Ellmann as my next read. I picked it up. I read. I laughed; I clicked my tongue in sympathy. Somehow, I finished reading the book. I read articles and interviews concerning the author. I read a few reviews. However, even after doing everything that I normally do after finishing a book, I am still not sure if I want to talk about this book. It was not bad, but it was nothing special either. A recounting of the lives of two sisters, especially the younger ones’, was sometimes put on hold for a few passing seconds to tell the reader that there is a world beyond. The two sisters, like their father, are art historians. Simultaneously, they are exploring their romantic and/or sexual interest. That’s it, that’s nearly everything I took away from this book. Even though my first experience has not been what I had expected it to be, I am still looking forward to reading more by Ellmann.
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