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trilobite's review against another edition
4.75
This was my first time reading anything by Carol Shields. Unless was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2002. It lost to Life of Pi by Yann Martel.
I was captivated by the premise: a 44 year-old wife, mother, and writer is living a content life until her 19 year-old daughter drops out of university to sit on a downtown street corner with a begging bowl in her lap and a sign that says, “Goodness.”
While this is the most interesting part of the story, it does not make up the bulk of the story. Instead we get the protagonist’s struggle to write a novel, her struggle on what to do with the characters she’s created, her thoughts and interactions with another fictional writer, letters she writes to others pointing out their omission of women, and her thoughts on domestic life. While this may sound not as compelling as the primary plot, it had a powerful pull on me and I was fascinated by Shield’s writing and completely invested in figuring out what Shields was trying to do with this novel. I feel a strong connection to Shields now. Unless is one of my favorite reads of 2024 so far.
According to her Wikipedia page, “Unless contains a passionate defense of female writers who write of 'domestic' subjects.”
Shields had been diagnosed with breast cancer when she started writing Unless, which she figured she would not live long enough to complete. Am so thankful she was wrong about that. She passed away in 2003. I feel such sorrow at the lost of her talent and light. I am looking forward to reading more of her novels.
I was captivated by the premise: a 44 year-old wife, mother, and writer is living a content life until her 19 year-old daughter drops out of university to sit on a downtown street corner with a begging bowl in her lap and a sign that says, “Goodness.”
While this is the most interesting part of the story, it does not make up the bulk of the story. Instead we get the protagonist’s struggle to write a novel, her struggle on what to do with the characters she’s created, her thoughts and interactions with another fictional writer, letters she writes to others pointing out their omission of women, and her thoughts on domestic life. While this may sound not as compelling as the primary plot, it had a powerful pull on me and I was fascinated by Shield’s writing and completely invested in figuring out what Shields was trying to do with this novel. I feel a strong connection to Shields now. Unless is one of my favorite reads of 2024 so far.
According to her Wikipedia page, “Unless contains a passionate defense of female writers who write of 'domestic' subjects.”
Shields had been diagnosed with breast cancer when she started writing Unless, which she figured she would not live long enough to complete. Am so thankful she was wrong about that. She passed away in 2003. I feel such sorrow at the lost of her talent and light. I am looking forward to reading more of her novels.
sarahpineislandme's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.5
kirstym25'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
chiaraki's review
4.0
So well written and I liked all the stuff about feminism and women erasure. I especially liked the dialogue between Reta and Springer with all the interruptions and thought it was cool that Shields didn’t include any “he said” or any narration apart from the dialogue. The story was really interesting and I thought she did a good job weaving the parts into each other, though I’m not fully sure how Norah’s story relates to the feminism. Maybe it was Reta projecting onto her.
pattiillbee11's review against another edition
First person narrative, just not my thing. Parts of it were interesting but the stream of consciousness type of writing drives me crazy.
martha_imani's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
bookhound's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
"Did we transform our shock into goodness, did we do anything that represented the goodness of our feelings? I didn't."
This was a recommendation from Ann Patchett, Shields' final work that she wrote while she knew she was dying and therefore didn't hold back. It felt scattered between anger at not taking women's writing seriously and handling a situation that is bewildering and all-consuming. I was glad that I had heard Patchett's comments so I could understand more of what was going on with the author internally. The main character is trying to help her daughter find her way and understand why she is living in the streets holding a sign that says "goodness." She assumes it's because the world is unfair to women. It ends up being related to a traumatic event that the mother referred to in a discussion with friends mid-book (where she states the above quote).
This was a recommendation from Ann Patchett, Shields' final work that she wrote while she knew she was dying and therefore didn't hold back. It felt scattered between anger at not taking women's writing seriously and handling a situation that is bewildering and all-consuming. I was glad that I had heard Patchett's comments so I could understand more of what was going on with the author internally. The main character is trying to help her daughter find her way and understand why she is living in the streets holding a sign that says "goodness." She assumes it's because the world is unfair to women. It ends up being related to a traumatic event that the mother referred to in a discussion with friends mid-book (where she states the above quote).
ljm57's review against another edition
4.0
What a wonderful novel about a 44 year old woman who is desperately trying to go on with her day to day life as a wife, mother, friend, daughter-in-law & author when the eldest of her three, up until now, beautiful & talented daughters, drops out of university & functional life as we know it. This book will resonate, on so many levels, with other parents who have known the heart-break & grief of having a child who they cannot reach or help.
faintgirl's review against another edition
4.0
Unless runs almost along a similar vein to the narrative in "The Gathering," where a mother loses her daughter to a cause that no one understands, and has to deal with the situation both practically and emotionally. In Unless though, as opposed to The Gathering, this process is dealt with with a vast amount more insight, more positivity, and depth of feeling. As with life, there are comic moments in the dark, there are strong relationships, idiotic bosses, and funny friends to get you through. A quick but worthy read, I really enjoyed this one.