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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Vilken liten pärla! Wales och allt welshigt en kan önska. Ett par enäggstvillingars liv från 1900 fram på 1980-talet när de är gamla och slitna. Jag gillar verkligen författare som kan få fram så mycket känslor och kvalitet utan att skriva sentimental röra. Tack Karin H för tipset ❤️
There’s a simplicity to this book that hides a real skill in telling the story of lives and the things that matter within them. Absolutely brilliant. It reminded me a little of One Moonlit Night, which is no bad thing. I loved it, I loved the twins. It’s a fabulous work.
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Life of 2 brothers staying put and their whole life story. Nothing amazing a little sad, one can feel pain of another and also obsessed with plane crashes
challenging
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
It’s such a shame to think of how good it could have been, but I just found it a bit of a letdown. There were definitely some positives; it was very vivid and had, despite not much happening, some pretty interesting character dynamics and relationships. Furthermore, due to the style of story (very reminiscent of Stoner, chronicling the entire life of a character), the book does hit the standard emotional beats e.g first loves, aging, loss. Despite this, I just found it overall a slog. Books with very little plot are fine, but when this is coupled with very little character development for much of the novel it’s quite challenging. From very early on, the main characters are pretty developed, but from here nothing changes, and their lives play out how you might expect. Furthermore, I was not a fan of the ending, no matter how ‘realistic’ it may seem; there just didn’t seem to be any pay off for a single character. Consequently, I finished the book just feeling a bit sad and dissatisfied. Disappointing.
A rural story of a couple of twins born and raised in a farm on the border between England and Wales. The story of their lives, of their relationship, of their dreams and frustrations. A good book.
Reminded me of Stoner: the sort of very sad opening letting you know to keep your expectations low for the lives of your protagonists, which makes it really painful to read their hopes and dreams for the next couple hundred pages. Also a lot of not fighting in World War One. I think Stoner likes its protagonist (and human beings) more than On the Black Hill though, which finds them cartoonish and tragic and strange. Was moved by the ending regardless.
Having read and loved "In Patagonia," I was curious to see if Bruce Chatwin's fiction stood up to his travel writing. I wasn't disappointed, as "On The Black Hill was a delightful novel.
The book tells the story of Lewis and Benjamin Jones, identical twins who grow up on "The Vision," a farm in Wales. They are so intertwined that they rarely leave each other or the farm where they were born and raised. It's a simple setting for a fairly simple book.
There isn't a ton of plot. It's mostly a series of vignettes about the twins and their parents and the neighbors with whom the twins' lives intersect. Chatwin has an amazing ability to set a scene and his descriptions of the landscape, the farmhouses and the people are what really carry the story forward.
There isn't a meaty book that requires a deep level of thought, but for a lighter read, it still managed to keep my interest. Overall, just a fun, easy read.
The book tells the story of Lewis and Benjamin Jones, identical twins who grow up on "The Vision," a farm in Wales. They are so intertwined that they rarely leave each other or the farm where they were born and raised. It's a simple setting for a fairly simple book.
There isn't a ton of plot. It's mostly a series of vignettes about the twins and their parents and the neighbors with whom the twins' lives intersect. Chatwin has an amazing ability to set a scene and his descriptions of the landscape, the farmhouses and the people are what really carry the story forward.
There isn't a meaty book that requires a deep level of thought, but for a lighter read, it still managed to keep my interest. Overall, just a fun, easy read.
What a beautiful little book. It tells the entire life stories of two Welsh twins but also 80 years of local and world history that happens along the way. I truly loved this. Magical.
gosh, such heavy, evocative writing. Oddly desperate and quiet and moving. Excellent really.
I don't know guyssss I wasn't super gripped by it or anything but there were some descriptions, especially of the mother's interiority that felt so clear and poignant. In fact I think I'd rather have read the whole book from the mother's perspective. It was kind of interesting to hear about world events from the perspective of two inseparable twins in the Welsh countryside... and there were some moments that made my jaw drop which I feel like is a sign of good writing... but it was definitely missing something for me.