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culpeppper's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I loved following Zorrie on her life, through the joy and heartbreak and the everyday tragedies. In particular, Zorrie's observations about the natural world struck me. So often books that take place outdoors lack the observations that someone who spends a lot of time outdoors would make, but Hunt took great care to explain her relationship with it just as he would any other character in story. Besides Zorrie herself, the natural world is her oldest friend. They cry together, sharing moments of grief and release, often the only witness to Zorrie's most truthful moments.
This isn't a happy story, but it is hopeful. Hunt pulls on different threads of history to tell Zorrie's story and, while there are moments of light and dark, feels less concerned with any final destination beyond peace for her at the end of it all. As if to say that the every person is part of a larger narrative but the personal journey is what ultimately matters, that it's those private tragedies and miracles that matter most to the shape our lives end up forming.
This isn't a happy story, but it is hopeful. Hunt pulls on different threads of history to tell Zorrie's story and, while there are moments of light and dark, feels less concerned with any final destination beyond peace for her at the end of it all. As if to say that the every person is part of a larger narrative but the personal journey is what ultimately matters, that it's those private tragedies and miracles that matter most to the shape our lives end up forming.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Cancer, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death and Sexual harassment
philosopher_kj's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death and War
autumnleafgirl's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Read for book club
This book is odd to me. It's a dreamy pastoral, nearly a fairytale version of the midcentury Midwest. The titular Zorrie is a likeable character, but one who experiences very little in terms of development over what's supposed to be 60+ years of narrative, apart from what I felt was a bafflingly bad decision towards the end of the book. Being only 160ish pages, nothing had a stunning amount of detail, though there was a nice sensory exploration thrown in any time fruit was mentioned.
Overall, the writing was pleasant and poetic, and the short length flew by. I don't regret reading it, but I probably won't think too much about it again.
This book is odd to me. It's a dreamy pastoral, nearly a fairytale version of the midcentury Midwest. The titular Zorrie is a likeable character, but one who experiences very little in terms of development over what's supposed to be 60+ years of narrative, apart from what I felt was a bafflingly bad decision towards the end of the book. Being only 160ish pages, nothing had a stunning amount of detail, though there was a nice sensory exploration thrown in any time fruit was mentioned.
Overall, the writing was pleasant and poetic, and the short length flew by. I don't regret reading it, but I probably won't think too much about it again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death, Infertility, Dementia, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death and Body shaming
laurenwash's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I wish there had been more characterization of Zorrie. I felt like I didn't learn much about her wants, needs, hobbies, etc. I wish Harold had been more characterized, too.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage
serendipitysbooks'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
4.0
Zorrie is a slim novel spanning the life of the titular character and encompassing many key events of the twentieth century, although they are mostly in the background. This is a very quiet, insular novel notably for its mostly rural setting and sparse, yet beautiful writing. There is a lot of pain and hardship in Zorrie’s life yet she doggedly carries on. Best saved for when you are in the mood for something slow and melancholic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage
dreesreads's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This book is nice. One 20th century Indianan’s life: orphan, friend, wife, widow, farmer. It is fairly melancholy, with bits of joy and happiness. Is it major-prize-worthy? Not in my opinion.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage
deedireads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.25
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.comr/reads/.
TL;DR REVIEW:
Zorrie is a quiet but emotional novel. It’s short, and yet contains a woman’s whole life — with deep characterization. I read it in one day and enjoyed it very much.
For you if: You like character-driven historical fiction.
FULL REVIEW:
TL;DR REVIEW:
Zorrie is a quiet but emotional novel. It’s short, and yet contains a woman’s whole life — with deep characterization. I read it in one day and enjoyed it very much.
For you if: You like character-driven historical fiction.
FULL REVIEW:
“Grief seemed to constitute a kind of connective membrane, not a divide, and the ‘fragile film of the present’ felt strengthened, not threatened, by the past. Tears, it struck her—even ones that spilled out of your mouth or off a table—formed a fretwork the wingless could learn to walk over, if there had been enough of them and you tried.”
Zorrie landed on my radar because it was longlisted for the National Book Award. This was my first Laird Hunt novel, and I really liked it! The prose is truly beautiful, and it made me feel so many emotions.
The book is less than 200 pages long, but it covers Zorrie’s entire life — from looking for work as a young woman during the Depression, to her short stint in a radium plant, to her years as a farmer. It covers much of the 20th century in America. And yet I don’t feel like it was rushed — the blurbs compare this one to Elizabeth Strout, and I think this economy of language and impressively efficient characterization are exactly why. It’s also been compared to Marilynne Robinson, which I can also understand. It’s the same kind of soft but powerful language — and of course, it’s historical fiction set in the midwest.
I read this book in one day, and I think it could be enjoyed that way or savored. It’s melancholy, but somehow also like warm sunshine on amber fields of grain. It’s about family and loneliness and purpose and grief and America. It probably won’t be for everyone, but if you like quiet, character-driven historical fiction, pick this one up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage and Grief
Moderate: Death
Minor: Ableism