A review by parisakamali
Out of Love, by Hazel Hayes
3.0
a love (?) story told in reverse
at first i wasn't so sure about the writing style but i found myself absorbed with the direction and voice of the story that it did not matter much to me anymore and i got used to it. sometimes i forgot that it was told in reverse and thought i was reading a collection of short stories. each chapter told its own story and so sometimes i had to recall what happened before that, but it was all good. my favorite chapter was Canadian Geese because it read like the author enjoyed writing it—a love letter to Ireland at the heart of it. i also liked Le Petit Mort because, well, ofc i do.
i liked the unique experience this novel gave me. the entire book would not have worked had it been structured in a conventional way. so i think it's a good novel. unqiuely told AND it's got that Irish signature of capturing the human condition so well. i liked this!
at first i wasn't so sure about the writing style but i found myself absorbed with the direction and voice of the story that it did not matter much to me anymore and i got used to it. sometimes i forgot that it was told in reverse and thought i was reading a collection of short stories. each chapter told its own story and so sometimes i had to recall what happened before that, but it was all good. my favorite chapter was Canadian Geese because it read like the author enjoyed writing it—a love letter to Ireland at the heart of it. i also liked Le Petit Mort because, well, ofc i do.
i liked the unique experience this novel gave me. the entire book would not have worked had it been structured in a conventional way. so i think it's a good novel. unqiuely told AND it's got that Irish signature of capturing the human condition so well. i liked this!