jodipyle18's review against another edition
5.0
Intriguing, engrossing, and extremely beautifully written. I will be thinking about this book for a long time...I may just need to read it again.
k8iedid's review against another edition
Middle-aged un-husbanded lady living life by her terms in a new house?! Susan has a bit in common with Sam, the heroine of Wayward in that way. I gave it until 35% but then DNF'd b/c I just didn't see where the plot was going. Maybe another time?
silverjennydollar's review against another edition
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
mhall's review against another edition
3.0
Soon after Susan's husband dies on a trip to another country, she receives word she has inherited a mansion in Pasadena from a great-uncle she barely remembers. She ends up moving into a large house full of taxidermied animals in various stages of disrepair. As she is at loose ends with her life, she finds comfort in learning about them and feeling as though she is living in a old natural history museum.
The way this unfolded reminded me of [b:May We Be Forgiven|16061734|May We Be Forgiven|A.M. Homes|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1349221581s/16061734.jpg|19176680] by A.M. Homes. It felt restrained, though, and thoughtful.
The way this unfolded reminded me of [b:May We Be Forgiven|16061734|May We Be Forgiven|A.M. Homes|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1349221581s/16061734.jpg|19176680] by A.M. Homes. It felt restrained, though, and thoughtful.
skyroxy's review against another edition
2.0
Strange book, albeit I didn't read read the first two books in the trilogy (didn't know they were out there). It was well written in the beginning, but it turned into a very, very weird soap-opera style of writing. Not really that much of a story and the end was weird.
lindsaysofia_25's review against another edition
reflective
relaxing
slow-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? Yes
3.75
This is one of those novels that I appreciate for it's complexity and as a work of art but just didn't quite captivate me. I did like the second half better than the first though.
The social commentary, especially that pertaining to gender, was quite interesting and really served the story well. I enjoyed all the weird bits that seemed out of place at first but then after further contemplation were clearly smart symbolism and enhanced the atmosphere of the novel well. Millet is clearly a talented author.
I'm excited to read others by this author because although this one wasn't perfectly up my alley, I can tell by the writing style and the content that she clearly could write something I would absolutely love and I'm eager to seek that out!
The social commentary, especially that pertaining to gender, was quite interesting and really served the story well. I enjoyed all the weird bits that seemed out of place at first but then after further contemplation were clearly smart symbolism and enhanced the atmosphere of the novel well. Millet is clearly a talented author.
I'm excited to read others by this author because although this one wasn't perfectly up my alley, I can tell by the writing style and the content that she clearly could write something I would absolutely love and I'm eager to seek that out!
jessieb129's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
4.0
an_enthusiastic_reader's review against another edition
5.0
The final installment of the trilogy. Highly recommended for its feat of imagination and moral code.
maedo's review against another edition
4.0
The thing that I love most about Lydia Millet is that she not only captures the moment where one's brain goes off the rails into crazy talk born of desperate unhappiness in a way that's familiar, she takes it perhaps even a step further than you'd expect.
There is a scene in Magnificence where its protagonist, Susan -- late to an important appointment, a serial adulterer with a now-dead husband, heiress to a dusty mansion of taxidermied animals -- starts thinking about how she "loves pornography, loves gangsta rap, loves war video games" all of the simulated violence that "stops insane men from committing actual murder." It is hysterical to me, the way Millet dashes off these hyperbolic opinions with nonchalance. (She does so in Ghost Lights too, which you must read before reading this.)
There is a scene in Magnificence where its protagonist, Susan -- late to an important appointment, a serial adulterer with a now-dead husband, heiress to a dusty mansion of taxidermied animals -- starts thinking about how she "loves pornography, loves gangsta rap, loves war video games" all of the simulated violence that "stops insane men from committing actual murder." It is hysterical to me, the way Millet dashes off these hyperbolic opinions with nonchalance. (She does so in Ghost Lights too, which you must read before reading this.)
rdebner's review against another edition
5.0
A luminous novel about loss, both on the micro (human) level and on a macro level, and what one does with that. Finely observed characters, and some truly excellent sentences that shine.