Reviews

Briefly, A Delicious Life by Nell Stevens

sleepy_ink's review

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

napavore's review against another edition

dark funny reflective medium-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? Yes

3.75

katyboo52's review

5.0

Blanca is the narrator of this novel. She is also dead. Dying in childbirth aged 14 she has been stuck in her ghostly existence for hundreds of years, bored of watching humans but unable to move on, her death changes dramatically when George Sand, Chopin and her two children arrive in Mallorca to escape Paris for health reasons. Blanca becomes obsessed by Sand and her modernity and it is through Blanca that we learn of Sand's life and relationships. This is slyly humorous, delightfully queer and wonderfully odd. I found myself finishing it in a day and feeling rather sad when it was done.

_enoughalready's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

speckops's review

4.0

i would give 3.5 so i’ll err on the side of grace. i like the writer’s style and ability for SURE and i think there’s great potential here. it was hard for this book to keep my attention. it just didn’t really feel like it was going anywhere specific. there were a few characters i cared about, and a few plot lines that hooked my interest, but i wouldn’t call this your typical novel. and that’s ok!! i personally need a more familiar structure within my stories, but just because this doesn’t tickle my fancy greens doesn’t mean it won’t yours! mm

ro16's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

flykites's review

3.25

I couldn’t entirely get to into it. Stunning prose but I think I was in a slump before this and tried to use this to catapult myself out and that will greatly influence my interpretation. Also had no idea this was about like actual Chopin until I googled if he did in fact end up in Mallorca which yes he did and that interested me more - the how of how the author came to the write the book about this. 

Also and maybe it’s because I read this in bits and pieces but the love Blanca had for George seemed almost out of the blue like idk maybe I missed sumn but I wanted the yearning, longing and realising she couldn’t really have her.

hayleykriegs's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.0

I read this book soooo slowly, but it’s not because it was bad! I think it was pretty great, honestly. I think it’s unconventional to have a ghost narrate, and I liked the nonlinear narrative. All of the characters were precious and lovable, and I was dying to know their stories faster than they were presented to me. There’s a certain lushness and beauty to this book that really transported me.

aubrey_sawyer's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Absolutely beautiful and one of the best things I’ve ever read. The story itself is funny and heartbreaking and lush but the writing is what really sticks with me. The author manages to write in the voice of a 14-year old while at the same time conveying the knowledge she has gained during her almost 400 years.

elinchadwick's review

3.0

Truthfully this is more like a 2.5 star for me. It had a lot of little story arcs that interested me separately but as a whole I didn’t feel like they worked. Also fully realize that I’m biased because I was originally drawn to this story because Chopin was in it, and he got very little airtime and what he did get was… unfortunate.