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bookofcinz's review against another edition
3.0
Very strong storytelling elements…. But faltered at the end
In C.J. Washington’s debut novel we meet two women who are grieving in different ways and both their husband not being able to assist. Amanda recently had a miscarriage- she knows she is not pregnant- yet her body and brain tells her otherwise, she is diagnosed with a rare, mysterious condition called pseudocyesis. This is where her body shows she is pregnant, she feels pregnant but is not pregnant. It is hard for Amanda to go through this, and she is unable to connect with her husband who recently found God starts believing they are having a faith pregnancy. Amanda turns to a neuroscientist Patrick for help with her condition….. but maybe Patrick is a little too helpful.
Patrick recently went through a traumatic experience and so did his wife, Marissa. Marissa is a brilliant mathematician who is throwing herself into her work, her goal- to use maths to help people speak with the dead… yeah… wild.
What happens when Patrick and Amanda gets too close? Will Marissa solve for X?
Y’all, let me say this book is WILD A.F in some areas but what I will say is that it started out strong. The author has a way of drawing you in that you must find out what happens next. He does a great job with telling a strong that keeps you engaged and it is only when you are half way through that you think, “WAIT… WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?”
I definitely think the premise was solid, but I felt the ending was entirely all over the place- this book would have benefitted from a strong editor who is able to expertly pull all the strings together. I am not saying I wanted a neatly tied up story but this was just just… too all over the place.
Do I recommend this one… I do… I think it was an enjoyable read, just the ending fell flat.
In C.J. Washington’s debut novel we meet two women who are grieving in different ways and both their husband not being able to assist. Amanda recently had a miscarriage- she knows she is not pregnant- yet her body and brain tells her otherwise, she is diagnosed with a rare, mysterious condition called pseudocyesis. This is where her body shows she is pregnant, she feels pregnant but is not pregnant. It is hard for Amanda to go through this, and she is unable to connect with her husband who recently found God starts believing they are having a faith pregnancy. Amanda turns to a neuroscientist Patrick for help with her condition….. but maybe Patrick is a little too helpful.
Patrick recently went through a traumatic experience and so did his wife, Marissa. Marissa is a brilliant mathematician who is throwing herself into her work, her goal- to use maths to help people speak with the dead… yeah… wild.
What happens when Patrick and Amanda gets too close? Will Marissa solve for X?
Y’all, let me say this book is WILD A.F in some areas but what I will say is that it started out strong. The author has a way of drawing you in that you must find out what happens next. He does a great job with telling a strong that keeps you engaged and it is only when you are half way through that you think, “WAIT… WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?”
I definitely think the premise was solid, but I felt the ending was entirely all over the place- this book would have benefitted from a strong editor who is able to expertly pull all the strings together. I am not saying I wanted a neatly tied up story but this was just just… too all over the place.
Do I recommend this one… I do… I think it was an enjoyable read, just the ending fell flat.
mel_reads_too_much's review against another edition
4.0
Good plot, if a bit convoluted. It took some time to keep the large cast of characters straight.
aguaa's review against another edition
4.0
loved it!! the drama,,, the mystery,, the Shocking Revelations,,,,,,,
also meredith is the BEST
"she liked to believe that math existed in the universe, independent of discovery by her or any other mathematician. but if so, what were they discovering? truth. that was the simple answer. but that truth had to be packaged in language. and that language was mathematics. and when the math came, she felt as if she were scooping it from unvisitable regions of the cosmos, like water from the sea. she could drink and drink and never be sated. the magic was in the intangibility of it. the magic, patrick would say, is in the unconscious processing. you are your brain, and yet, so much of what it does happens beyond your awareness. it does its work unbeknownst to you and then passes you the fruits of its labor. that's magic."
"his own memory of the eclipse had been darkened by disillusionment. the celestial display had triggered something akin to a spiritual experience in him. for a moment, he'd believed that marissa's goals transcended the bargaining of grief. he would be exercising his own form of denial to believe that the sight of the eclipse had gifted him with insight. spirituality, he knew, was mediated by the temporal lobe. no divinity required. epilepsy could lead to hallucinations that were experienced as holy."
also meredith is the BEST
"she liked to believe that math existed in the universe, independent of discovery by her or any other mathematician. but if so, what were they discovering? truth. that was the simple answer. but that truth had to be packaged in language. and that language was mathematics. and when the math came, she felt as if she were scooping it from unvisitable regions of the cosmos, like water from the sea. she could drink and drink and never be sated. the magic was in the intangibility of it. the magic, patrick would say, is in the unconscious processing. you are your brain, and yet, so much of what it does happens beyond your awareness. it does its work unbeknownst to you and then passes you the fruits of its labor. that's magic."
"his own memory of the eclipse had been darkened by disillusionment. the celestial display had triggered something akin to a spiritual experience in him. for a moment, he'd believed that marissa's goals transcended the bargaining of grief. he would be exercising his own form of denial to believe that the sight of the eclipse had gifted him with insight. spirituality, he knew, was mediated by the temporal lobe. no divinity required. epilepsy could lead to hallucinations that were experienced as holy."
sbojo32's review against another edition
3.0
After finishing this book, I'm still not sure what to think of it. I liked it, yes, but it also took a long time to get through. It is very character-driven, rather than action-driver or even plot-driven. We learn a lot about Amanda and Patrick (and Marissa). Amanda is married to Derrick (we don't get a lot about him), and they kept trying to have a baby. She got pregnant when she had an affair and then miscarried. However, her body still looks pregnant, she knows in her head that she is not pregnant, but she still feels all the pregnancy symptoms.
For this, she seeks the help of Patrick, a neuroscientist married to Marissa, a mathmetician. Patrick and Marissa have experienced their own trauma and are growing apart as they each try to deal with it.
This isn't a story of torrid love affairs but marriages that are struggling to stay together and what it means to be there for someone the way they need you to be - rather than the way you need to be. There is a difference and for me, this book explored that.
For this, she seeks the help of Patrick, a neuroscientist married to Marissa, a mathmetician. Patrick and Marissa have experienced their own trauma and are growing apart as they each try to deal with it.
This isn't a story of torrid love affairs but marriages that are struggling to stay together and what it means to be there for someone the way they need you to be - rather than the way you need to be. There is a difference and for me, this book explored that.
bethwalser's review against another edition
3.0
Strange at times, enjoyable at others
This book took a while to get into, I'm not really sure I ever fully got into it but there were definitely more enjoyable parts than others. It weaved in themes of science, mathematics and religion.
I would give it a 2.5 if I could. It was interesting but also, very slow moving and got very thick at times especially into the mathematics realm and seemed to drag on. The characters for the most part were enjoyable and the ending I did not fully see coming.
I enjoyed the themes of how different people deal with pain and grief in so many different ways but don't know if it is enough to recommend others read it.
This book took a while to get into, I'm not really sure I ever fully got into it but there were definitely more enjoyable parts than others. It weaved in themes of science, mathematics and religion.
I would give it a 2.5 if I could. It was interesting but also, very slow moving and got very thick at times especially into the mathematics realm and seemed to drag on. The characters for the most part were enjoyable and the ending I did not fully see coming.
I enjoyed the themes of how different people deal with pain and grief in so many different ways but don't know if it is enough to recommend others read it.
bobbeym's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
d_youngggg's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
nbub123's review against another edition
4.0
Kindle First Read.
Wow. I've never read anything like this book. It was one big metaphor in what felt like different dimensions. It was dark, psychological, and twisty. Some parts were dragged out a bit like during one of Marissa's perspectives, she had a monologue about consciousness that I will never understand no matter how many times I read it over.
I'm impressed with the amount of research writing this book probably took for the author. I didn't really like the time stamps and the going back and forth especially toward the end, it made the climax a bit confusing but nonetheless points for this book being different and enjoyable.
Wow. I've never read anything like this book. It was one big metaphor in what felt like different dimensions. It was dark, psychological, and twisty. Some parts were dragged out a bit like during one of Marissa's perspectives, she had a monologue about consciousness that I will never understand no matter how many times I read it over.
I'm impressed with the amount of research writing this book probably took for the author. I didn't really like the time stamps and the going back and forth especially toward the end, it made the climax a bit confusing but nonetheless points for this book being different and enjoyable.
maclement's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
2.0