thatweirdlibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
I really like Zevin's books but this one was just odd. I started reading it thinking ok this is original but then it just didn't even out enough to make total sense to me. I recommend it to those interested in randomness but for those not I wouldn't read it.
lydiahephzibah's review against another edition
4.0
What a strange little book. Thirteen years ago, I read my first Gabrielle Zevin book (Elsewhere) and fell head over heels in love with it. I can't remember how many times I read that book, but it was a lot. When I remembered it the other day, I bought it again and a couple more by Zevin.
Margarettown is a hard book to describe. Parts are told by the narrator, N. Some are third person, centred on his wife, Maggie. A few short chapters are narrated by his unborn twins. The last section of the book is third person again, but this time centred on his daughter, Jane. It's something of a jumble of a book, weaving realism and strangeness together so closely that it's hard to tell what happened and what didn't.
Something tells me John Green must have read this book before he wrote Paper Towns.
Was Margaret really five people? I have no idea. Did N invent that as a coping mechanism? I have no idea. But I kind of loved that. It was an odd book, but a great one, and a crazy quick read despite being 300 pages. I can't wait to read more by Zevin (two of her others are featured in this picture; another is lost somewhere in my room). This book was magical. A little break from reality, without feeling like it was unrealistic. I loved it.
Margarettown is a hard book to describe. Parts are told by the narrator, N. Some are third person, centred on his wife, Maggie. A few short chapters are narrated by his unborn twins. The last section of the book is third person again, but this time centred on his daughter, Jane. It's something of a jumble of a book, weaving realism and strangeness together so closely that it's hard to tell what happened and what didn't.
Something tells me John Green must have read this book before he wrote Paper Towns.
Was Margaret really five people? I have no idea. Did N invent that as a coping mechanism? I have no idea. But I kind of loved that. It was an odd book, but a great one, and a crazy quick read despite being 300 pages. I can't wait to read more by Zevin (two of her others are featured in this picture; another is lost somewhere in my room). This book was magical. A little break from reality, without feeling like it was unrealistic. I loved it.
znelson's review against another edition
5.0
What a wonderfully absurd and complex book. The way Maggie thinks, the way N. loves her, Jane's story... I always love the premise of someone dying telling their life story, but the twists and fictionalized story really grabbed me. Maggie/May/Mia/Marge/Margaret were all interesting stories. The lies and the love of the terribly untrue love story added to the sexiness of the entire story.
kalake96's review against another edition
3.0
Well, this was confusing. Good, but confusing. Just when I thought I understood, BAM, we're left thinking that maybe the narrator just made it all up. Stupid unreliable narrators. The switching of perspective in the sections really confused me. Jane confused me. I liked the plot toward the beginning but then it ran off in several different directions and I'm like WAIT WHAT IS HAPPENING. That's how I felt about Margarettown.
marcellajoa's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
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
katherinew's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Death of parent and Child death
barbarak's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jens_bookshelves's review against another edition
4.0
What an odd but wonderful little book! Devoured in a few short hours, I absolutely disappeared inside it.
yosafbridg's review against another edition
4.0
In Margarettown Gabrielle Zevin writes with a vaguely Nabokovian flavour that i can't quite place (i'm thinking maybe an earlier King, Queen, Knave Nabokov not an accomplished Lolita voice, but Nobovovian, nonetheless) but i know i absolutely love. Margaret M. Towne (Maggie for short) comes from a town in upstate New York called Margerttown (oddly enough, an ex-boyfriend of mine came from a town in upstate New York called Margaretteville...anyway...) where she lives in a house called Margaron with her family: Old Margaret, Marge, Mia, and May. Needless to say, nothing in this world is quite like any place else.
But before you go getting any ideas, Margarettown is a love story, and an exquisitely told love story at that. It's a true fairy tale. A fairy tale about the nature of love, about the many women inside every woman. And the women that we leave behind when we grow out of them. About how our lovers can never seem to love all of those women (usually they can only love just one of them). And how that is almost always the downfall of love. Or ourselves. And about how history tends to almost always repeat itself.
Do i really need to tell you that i loved this novel? That i loved all the plays on words? All the plays on names? Plus it's an extremely quick read.
Go forth. Read.
I'll just leave you with this closing thought: "...love is usually finite, but still worthwhile for as long as it lasts."
the rest, as they say, is just stuff and nonsense.
But before you go getting any ideas, Margarettown is a love story, and an exquisitely told love story at that. It's a true fairy tale. A fairy tale about the nature of love, about the many women inside every woman. And the women that we leave behind when we grow out of them. About how our lovers can never seem to love all of those women (usually they can only love just one of them). And how that is almost always the downfall of love. Or ourselves. And about how history tends to almost always repeat itself.
Do i really need to tell you that i loved this novel? That i loved all the plays on words? All the plays on names? Plus it's an extremely quick read.
Go forth. Read.
I'll just leave you with this closing thought: "...love is usually finite, but still worthwhile for as long as it lasts."
the rest, as they say, is just stuff and nonsense.
katsreadingagain's review against another edition
3.0
I have to say that I considered stopping this book several times. I thought the weird outweighed anything else. I have to say, I am glad I finished it. The payoff was sweet and tender and changed my mind about the entire story up to that point.