Scan barcode
cyruspapyrus's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jcharlton's review against another edition
3.0
Not my favorite. Followed one man through 3 continents by others telling his story. But I didn’t like him that much.
letterbetty's review against another edition
2.0
Really wanted to like it. But it never took off for me.
ericgaryanderson's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent. Such good decisions about how to tell this story, and the cumulative effect makes for a really pleasing and (if the metaphor holds) thought-provoking aftertaste. This is a book about Lafcadio Hearn, and a book about so much more, as he is seen and heard and grieved by three (four?) women whose own lives are partly but by no means entirely involved with his. For me the Koizumi Setsu section is a masterpiece.
beththebookdragon's review against another edition
4.0
Marvelous writing by an award-winning author. Truong writes the fictionalized lives of (Patrick) Lafcadio Hearn's three women in Lafcadio Hearn's life--his mother and two wives--with distinctive voices and each as a fully realized woman strong in subtle ways. Hearn was a gifted newspaper journalist and nonfiction author but is best known for his writings on and passion for traditional Japan.
Truong puts much richness into creating the atmosphere of every place the characters live--a sunny, sensual and socially claustrophobic Greek island, gloomy Ireland, urban Cincinnati, and Meiji-era Japan--so one feels one is almost living with the characters. Much is said and much is unsaid about each woman's life and comparatively little is said--but so much is implied--about Hearn. Truong truly gets inside the personas of these three women on the margins who make the most they can of their lives and each adore and care for (in both senses--he is needy) Hearn in their own ways.
Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, has an interest in Hearn, or enjoys reading fiction narrated by women who are not respectable white women of middle or wealthy classes.
Truong puts much richness into creating the atmosphere of every place the characters live--a sunny, sensual and socially claustrophobic Greek island, gloomy Ireland, urban Cincinnati, and Meiji-era Japan--so one feels one is almost living with the characters. Much is said and much is unsaid about each woman's life and comparatively little is said--but so much is implied--about Hearn. Truong truly gets inside the personas of these three women on the margins who make the most they can of their lives and each adore and care for (in both senses--he is needy) Hearn in their own ways.
Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, has an interest in Hearn, or enjoys reading fiction narrated by women who are not respectable white women of middle or wealthy classes.
supernines's review against another edition
1.0
I couldn't figure out where this book was going the whole time I was reading it. I thought it was going to draw an interesting conclusion, but instead it just seemed to be about a guy who was really shitty and self absorbed. I like that it centered women and the middle of the book was the most interesting part, but ultimately it felt like a bunch of disparate ideas that didn't have much connection other than being tangentially connected to this one shitty guy.
I get that he had sort of an interesting life path from Greece>UK>US>Japan but I don't fully understand why the author chose to write about it.
I actually didn't finish it, which is rare for me.
I get that he had sort of an interesting life path from Greece>UK>US>Japan but I don't fully understand why the author chose to write about it.
I actually didn't finish it, which is rare for me.
stephanoelle's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
tylopoda's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
materialambition's review against another edition
3.0
such a random book revolving around the most random man
abookishtype's review against another edition
5.0
At one point in Monique Truong’s novel, The Sweetest Fruits, one of the narrators tells her interviewer that it’s not enough to just get the story of one person: you have to also get the stories of the people around them. And that’s exactly what we get in this novel based on the life of author Lafcadio Hearn and three of the women in his life. (Technically four, if you count the excerpts from Elizabeth Bisland‘s biography of her friend.) While we learn a lot about Hearn, I was more fascinated by the lives of the women who loved him than I was about a man who often struck me as selfish and fussy. The women tell us about love, sacrifice, abandonment, difficult choices, compatibility, and so much more. This book is an amazing piece of writing that, while it hews very close to actual history, amplifies it in ways that only faction can do...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.