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artene's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
shallihavemydwarf's review against another edition
1.0
This book is not good. There is a lot of pain in these pages, but none of it is allowed to breathe, some of it is not dealt with well, and some is introduced briefly only to never be explained or brought up again.
Spoilers, if you can call them that, to follow.
At the beginning this book is about a Haitian ex-pat dealing with the fallout of the 2010 earthquake. We linger in that pain for about the first 50 pages but then her parents are abruptly alive but they didn’t tell her right away and a year has passed.
Her husband also has PTSD, and that definitely is not given its chance to breathe. There’s some religious trauma that’s mentioned once and never again, and obviously there’s the stuff with her parents that gets the most space but not enough as its should.
And then she goes to Haiti and her husband is really angry because he thinks its not safe, and although he’s acting awful apparently he’s totally justified because she lets her 3 year old daughter drown in a pool the second day there, which is the point at which I was done with this book.
Yes, good fiction writers do mine the depths of pain in their work. But pain itself is not a substitute for depth.
Spoilers, if you can call them that, to follow.
At the beginning this book is about a Haitian ex-pat dealing with the fallout of the 2010 earthquake. We linger in that pain for about the first 50 pages but then her parents are abruptly alive but they didn’t tell her right away and a year has passed.
Her husband also has PTSD, and that definitely is not given its chance to breathe. There’s some religious trauma that’s mentioned once and never again, and obviously there’s the stuff with her parents that gets the most space but not enough as its should.
And then she goes to Haiti and her husband is really angry because he thinks its not safe, and although he’s acting awful apparently he’s totally justified because she lets her 3 year old daughter drown in a pool the second day there, which is the point at which I was done with this book.
Yes, good fiction writers do mine the depths of pain in their work. But pain itself is not a substitute for depth.
melspeth's review against another edition
medium-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? No
2.0
niurkam's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.75
whitelotusreads's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
doddyaboutbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
brittanyisbooked's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this book, but I felt like it was too much for 200 pages. I loved the concept, and I loved the story-telling, I just wish everything hadn't felt so rushed. There is a seamless time skip of about a year in the book, and I just don't feel like it makes much sense in the grander picture of everything. Additionally, I had a difficult time relating to the characters because I felt like they weren't developed enough.
neverwithoutabook's review against another edition
3.0
This novel ended up being better than I thought it would be. 3.5
jherane's review against another edition
4.0
Will be writing a review for Rebel Women Lit soon + they'll be doing a giveaway. Follow them on Goodreads, Twitter and Instagram.