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janusfidibus's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
abiwyatt3's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
2.75
mstewa02's review against another edition
5.0
This is a really special piece of literature. What’s a woman to do when there’s no one left in the world but her and a handful of animals? What does it mean to be alive when your name, face, and former identities/roles no longer matter?
This is probably the slowest I’ve ever read a book. The detailed description of her chores for survival, her relationship with the land and creatures around her, and her reflection on her new-found purpose gripped me tight and raised me from perdition.* There was no speed-reading this one, there was only immersing myself in her world.
*Supernatural references will never leave me, sorry.
This is probably the slowest I’ve ever read a book. The detailed description of her chores for survival, her relationship with the land and creatures around her, and her reflection on her new-found purpose gripped me tight and raised me from perdition.* There was no speed-reading this one, there was only immersing myself in her world.
*Supernatural references will never leave me, sorry.
timscheller95's review against another edition
3.0
Intriguing but slow. At times beautiful--a meditation that insists upon itself--yet sometimes even an allergorical interpretation disappoints.
jennykre's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
youthfulexpression's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
kyxshi's review against another edition
I am enjoying this but it’s very slow and reflective, which makes for a very bad audiobook experience for me (this is unfortunate, as the narrator is great). I am also busy with work and classes right now and the time pressure of having a library book is stressing me out.
I’ll try again later with a copy I can read with my eyes.
I’ll try again later with a copy I can read with my eyes.
lulu333's review against another edition
reflective
relaxing
sad
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
4.0
cloudyafternoons's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
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? No
4.25
Initially, when I decided I wanted to read this book, I thought it was more of an adventure in a post-apocalyptic world. But that's not what this is. It's a story of survival, yes, but it's very introspective and meditative. Be forewarned that this is a very slow read, so I am grateful it's not a long book.
The book is the narrator's (whose name is not revealed to us) report of what has happened to the world and the measures she has taken to survive in it. She writes not with the hope that someone will find her writing, but rather as a means of survival, as a way to occupy her mind and prevent herself from dwelling.
This is a book that makes you think. It takes you on a journey, makes you realize how precarious your position in your current life is, makes you think about our place in the world. Oh, and if you love animals, it makes you cry. A lot. Sort of spoiler (but not really because it's revealed quite early in the book), but the adorable dog Lynx, who's so personable and protective and perfectly embodies the role of dogs in our lives, dies. I had grown so attached to him. He was like a little person, and his death HURT. My mind can't stop going over it. You would think I'd be more curious about the random man who suddenly popped up when the narrator has been living in solitude (aside from her animal companions) for over 2 years. I do wonder where he came from, and if there are more people. But at the end of the day, my focus is on poor Lynx. And now I realize, so is hers. She didn't write her report because of the man. No, she wrote it because she was heartbroken for the loss of her faithful, dependable little friend. Okay, now I feel like crying again.
This book is quiet and slow, but it's GOOD. Only giving 4 stars instead of 5 though because the pacing was quite slow and sometimes I felt like it dragged and I got a little bored.
SpoilerOkay, and now to add my favorite lines:
-"I had achieved little that I had wanted, and everything I had achieved I had ceased to want."
-"No, its better that I'm alone. And it wouldn't be good for me to be with a weaker partner, either; I'd reduce him to a shadow and kill him with care. That's the way I am, and the forest hasn't changed matters. Maybe only animals can put up with me."
-"Even now I'm nothing but a thin skin covering a mountain of memories."
-"I'm not ugly, but neither am I attractive, more like a tree than a person, a tough brown branch that needs its whole strength to survive."
-"But I've almost grown fond of dead Luise, perhaps because I now have so much time to think about her. In reality I never knew anything more about her than I know about Bella or the cat today. But it's much easier to love Bella or the cat than it is to love a human being."
-"The wall forced me to make an entirely new life, but the things that really move me are still the same as before: birth, death, the seasons, growth, and decay."
-"Yet there's no escape, for as long as there's something for me to love in the forest, I shall love it; and if some day there is nothing, I shall stop living."
-"I left a note on the table: "Gone to the Alm," and then locked up the hunting lodge. While I was writing the note, I was surprised at the absurd hope that it expressed, but I simply couldn't help it."
-"Sometimes my thoughts grow confused, and it is as if the forest has put down roots in me, and is thinking its old, eternal thoughts with my brain. And the forest doesn't want human beings to come back."
-"Because I have seen and felt all that, it's difficult for me to dream in the daytime. I have a violent resistance to daydreams, and I feel that hope has died in me. It frightens me. I don't know whether I will be able to bear living with reality alone."
-"Writing is all that matters, and as there are no other conversations left, I have to leep the endless conversation with myself alive."
-"I can no longer feel how beautiful it was, now I only know it was. There is a terrible difference."
-"I really wish her a calf. It would extend the term of my imprisonment and burden me with new worries, but Bella ought to be allowed to have her calf and be happy, and I won't question whether it fits in with my plans."
-"The barriers between animal and human come down very easily. We belong to a single great family, and if we are lonely and unhappy we gladly accept the friendship of our distant relations."
-"Time only seemed to be passing quickly. I think time stands quite still and I move around in it, sometimes slowly and sometimes at a furious rate."
-"But I was colder than the wind and didn't feel the chill."
The book is the narrator's (whose name is not revealed to us) report of what has happened to the world and the measures she has taken to survive in it. She writes not with the hope that someone will find her writing, but rather as a means of survival, as a way to occupy her mind and prevent herself from dwelling.
This is a book that makes you think. It takes you on a journey, makes you realize how precarious your position in your current life is, makes you think about our place in the world. Oh, and if you love animals, it makes you cry. A lot. Sort of spoiler (but not really because it's revealed quite early in the book), but the adorable dog Lynx, who's so personable and protective and perfectly embodies the role of dogs in our lives, dies. I had grown so attached to him. He was like a little person, and his death HURT. My mind can't stop going over it. You would think I'd be more curious about the random man who suddenly popped up when the narrator has been living in solitude (aside from her animal companions) for over 2 years. I do wonder where he came from, and if there are more people. But at the end of the day, my focus is on poor Lynx. And now I realize, so is hers. She didn't write her report because of the man. No, she wrote it because she was heartbroken for the loss of her faithful, dependable little friend. Okay, now I feel like crying again.
This book is quiet and slow, but it's GOOD. Only giving 4 stars instead of 5 though because the pacing was quite slow and sometimes I felt like it dragged and I got a little bored.
SpoilerOkay, and now to add my favorite lines:
-"I had achieved little that I had wanted, and everything I had achieved I had ceased to want."
-"No, its better that I'm alone. And it wouldn't be good for me to be with a weaker partner, either; I'd reduce him to a shadow and kill him with care. That's the way I am, and the forest hasn't changed matters. Maybe only animals can put up with me."
-"Even now I'm nothing but a thin skin covering a mountain of memories."
-"I'm not ugly, but neither am I attractive, more like a tree than a person, a tough brown branch that needs its whole strength to survive."
-"But I've almost grown fond of dead Luise, perhaps because I now have so much time to think about her. In reality I never knew anything more about her than I know about Bella or the cat today. But it's much easier to love Bella or the cat than it is to love a human being."
-"The wall forced me to make an entirely new life, but the things that really move me are still the same as before: birth, death, the seasons, growth, and decay."
-"Yet there's no escape, for as long as there's something for me to love in the forest, I shall love it; and if some day there is nothing, I shall stop living."
-"I left a note on the table: "Gone to the Alm," and then locked up the hunting lodge. While I was writing the note, I was surprised at the absurd hope that it expressed, but I simply couldn't help it."
-"Sometimes my thoughts grow confused, and it is as if the forest has put down roots in me, and is thinking its old, eternal thoughts with my brain. And the forest doesn't want human beings to come back."
-"Because I have seen and felt all that, it's difficult for me to dream in the daytime. I have a violent resistance to daydreams, and I feel that hope has died in me. It frightens me. I don't know whether I will be able to bear living with reality alone."
-"Writing is all that matters, and as there are no other conversations left, I have to leep the endless conversation with myself alive."
-"I can no longer feel how beautiful it was, now I only know it was. There is a terrible difference."
-"I really wish her a calf. It would extend the term of my imprisonment and burden me with new worries, but Bella ought to be allowed to have her calf and be happy, and I won't question whether it fits in with my plans."
-"The barriers between animal and human come down very easily. We belong to a single great family, and if we are lonely and unhappy we gladly accept the friendship of our distant relations."
-"Time only seemed to be passing quickly. I think time stands quite still and I move around in it, sometimes slowly and sometimes at a furious rate."
-"But I was colder than the wind and didn't feel the chill."
mercapto's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
A little gem of a book!
Beautiful descriptions, devastating story, and with a realism of survival that I thoroughly enjoyed. The narrator doesn’t become a super human in ‘survival mode’ - she’s limited in very realistic ways, bound by the lack of knowledge she has.
I adore Bella the cow - the author did very well to make you love all the animals, to really feel like they were characters with as much weight as the narrator. And yet she didn’t humanise them to make them loveable, she portrayed them as the animals they are.
My only comment is that it did become quite repetitive at times - I suppose survival is - but there is a fine line between being eager for the hinted-at ending and impatience.
Beautiful descriptions, devastating story, and with a realism of survival that I thoroughly enjoyed. The narrator doesn’t become a super human in ‘survival mode’ - she’s limited in very realistic ways, bound by the lack of knowledge she has.
I adore Bella the cow - the author did very well to make you love all the animals, to really feel like they were characters with as much weight as the narrator. And yet she didn’t humanise them to make them loveable, she portrayed them as the animals they are.
My only comment is that it did become quite repetitive at times - I suppose survival is - but there is a fine line between being eager for the hinted-at ending and impatience.