booksinbedinthornhill's review against another edition
4.0
I want to read everything by Sigrid Nunez! The Friend and What Are You Going Through have sent me back to her earlier work.
dylankakoulli's review against another edition
4.0
“A Feather On The Breath Of God” is a relatively short -but utterly compelling and thought provoking read, all about the tumultuous relationships between parents and children. Exploring themes of heritage, displacement, language and identity.
We follow a relatively young -unnamed woman, as she looks back to the world of her immigrant parents: a withdrawn, Chinese-Panamanian father and a homesick, rather eccentric German mother. Who met and married in postwar Germany, before finally emigrating and settling in 1950’s New York City. Whilst growing up in a cramped housing project with her mum, dad and younger sister, our narrator would often escape the humdrum of family life, into dreams and aspirations -inspired by her parents tales of their past, the art and literature she was exposed too, and -for a short while, escaping into the otherworldly life of ballet.
Honestly, Nunez writing blows my mind every god damn time! She has this masterful way of using simple -yet unpretentious, language and structure, that perfectly manages to conjure such strong and evocative emotions and astute observations.
Made up of four parts, it is only until you come to the end, that you see how beautifully everything falls into place -not fully resolved, but it is undeniably a perfect exploration of someone attempting to find and piece together a sense of self, through both experiences and expressionism.
4 stars
Shout out to the one and only Chloe -who certainly knows me so well and for giving me this book!
We follow a relatively young -unnamed woman, as she looks back to the world of her immigrant parents: a withdrawn, Chinese-Panamanian father and a homesick, rather eccentric German mother. Who met and married in postwar Germany, before finally emigrating and settling in 1950’s New York City. Whilst growing up in a cramped housing project with her mum, dad and younger sister, our narrator would often escape the humdrum of family life, into dreams and aspirations -inspired by her parents tales of their past, the art and literature she was exposed too, and -for a short while, escaping into the otherworldly life of ballet.
Honestly, Nunez writing blows my mind every god damn time! She has this masterful way of using simple -yet unpretentious, language and structure, that perfectly manages to conjure such strong and evocative emotions and astute observations.
Made up of four parts, it is only until you come to the end, that you see how beautifully everything falls into place -not fully resolved, but it is undeniably a perfect exploration of someone attempting to find and piece together a sense of self, through both experiences and expressionism.
4 stars
Shout out to the one and only Chloe -who certainly knows me so well and for giving me this book!
yeahimtara's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
bgg616's review against another edition
5.0
This is a beautifully written book. It focuses on the experiences of a daughter of immigrants and the various sections of the book illuminate the experiences of a biracial woman with indepth portraits of her parents, who nonetheless remain a mystery to her. I loved this author's book The Last of Her Kind.
drapetomaniac's review
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Eating disorder, Drug abuse, and Racism
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Addiction and Animal cruelty
lena_k's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
marciag's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sarahmareacarr's review against another edition
4.0
A nice description of feeling alienated from an immigrant parent and their culture.
halkid2's review against another edition
3.0
A talented writer's first-person narrative, where the author, Sigrid Nunez, explores her immigrant parents and the impact family relationships have had on her own life.
Employing a distinctive, stream-of-consciousness style, Nunez shares sometimes random memories which, when taken together, paint rich, multi-dimensional images of her parents. They are both remote, complex, and struggling to fit into an America which does meet their expectations. And they are fundamentally mismatched.
Her Chinese-Panamanian father works so many hours, in low-paying jobs, that he barely has time for ANY relationship with his wife and children. Her stay-at-home mother, a German immigrant, is deeply unhappy and longs to return to her homeland, complaining to her family all the time. Neither parent loves the other and their fights provide a continuous soundtrack to the lives of their young daughters.
As a teen, the narrator eventually finds some satisfactory escape and identity in studying ballet -- in appreciating its beauty, recognizing its inherent sexism, and through exposure to fellow students from more privileged backgrounds. Though determined not to marry, the author also describes an intense, long-term affair with a Russian immigrant -- one whose personal values and experiences differ so completely from her own.
However, while the four portraits Nunez creates (father, mother, self, lover) are vibrant and complex, there is little story to this narrative. It feels much more like the author's recollections of episodes in her life. No one comes off as particularly admirable. The ending did not provide much resolution. Instead, it felt to me like A FEATHER ON THE BREATH OF GOD is a young writer's attempting to understand her parents' immigrant experience and the ways it damaged her.
Employing a distinctive, stream-of-consciousness style, Nunez shares sometimes random memories which, when taken together, paint rich, multi-dimensional images of her parents. They are both remote, complex, and struggling to fit into an America which does meet their expectations. And they are fundamentally mismatched.
Her Chinese-Panamanian father works so many hours, in low-paying jobs, that he barely has time for ANY relationship with his wife and children. Her stay-at-home mother, a German immigrant, is deeply unhappy and longs to return to her homeland, complaining to her family all the time. Neither parent loves the other and their fights provide a continuous soundtrack to the lives of their young daughters.
As a teen, the narrator eventually finds some satisfactory escape and identity in studying ballet -- in appreciating its beauty, recognizing its inherent sexism, and through exposure to fellow students from more privileged backgrounds. Though determined not to marry, the author also describes an intense, long-term affair with a Russian immigrant -- one whose personal values and experiences differ so completely from her own.
However, while the four portraits Nunez creates (father, mother, self, lover) are vibrant and complex, there is little story to this narrative. It feels much more like the author's recollections of episodes in her life. No one comes off as particularly admirable. The ending did not provide much resolution. Instead, it felt to me like A FEATHER ON THE BREATH OF GOD is a young writer's attempting to understand her parents' immigrant experience and the ways it damaged her.