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A review by ada_elisabeth
Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was an okay book. I finished it about a week ago and just didn't have time to review it, so I'll keep this kind of short.
I liked the storyline and the plot and it was a relatively easy/light read, but I often found myself getting lost in the many perspectives. Each chapter was told by a different member of the North family, through various decades from the 1940s to the early 2000s. While I really liked this style of narration, there was no sense of chronology or consistency to when each character narrated a section, making it easy to get confused. I also found that the flashbacks to the forties or sixties felt out of place and very slow when stuck between two chapters about 2001, which they often were. I understand the point of using flashbacks here, but I'm not sure if it was the best idea to keep the reader engaged.
The story itself was sad, but not overly so, which meant that it didn't really fit the ✨sad book summer✨ vibe, but that's okay. Overall I liked it, but it wasn't my favorite book ever, so 4/5 stars.
(Sorry for the super apathetic review, I wasn't feeling it today for some reason.)
“The things women do for the sake of their daughters. The things women don’t. The shame of it all."
I liked the storyline and the plot and it was a relatively easy/light read, but I often found myself getting lost in the many perspectives. Each chapter was told by a different member of the North family, through various decades from the 1940s to the early 2000s. While I really liked this style of narration, there was no sense of chronology or consistency to when each character narrated a section, making it easy to get confused. I also found that the flashbacks to the forties or sixties felt out of place and very slow when stuck between two chapters about 2001, which they often were. I understand the point of using flashbacks here, but I'm not sure if it was the best idea to keep the reader engaged.
The story itself was sad, but not overly so, which meant that it didn't really fit the ✨sad book summer✨ vibe, but that's okay. Overall I liked it, but it wasn't my favorite book ever, so 4/5 stars.
(Sorry for the super apathetic review, I wasn't feeling it today for some reason.)
“The things women do for the sake of their daughters. The things women don’t. The shame of it all."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Rape