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A review by liaaaaaa
Pearl by Siân Hughes
4.0
throughout marianne’s life, meanings she ascribes to the happenings of self-identity and love are tinged by an abrupt, heartbreaking day — her mother’s unsolved disappearance. i admire how the author created a meditative tale out of a difficult story — there are some pit stops in her journey of coming to terms with her loss that will stick to me for many, many days to come.
as she shapes who her mother was as the years go by, through memories that are real, imagined, and often a concoction of both, marianne dissects the disappearance through the vantage point of different stages in her life, including her own motherhood. the author also weaves fairytale and folklore seamlessly, they set the tone for each chapter and shapeshift our interpretations as marianne begins to heal. I will say that it took me longer to read than I anticipated simply because the focus of the book was so singular, it called for a complete re-immersion into her grief on my end every time I opened it.
I picked up this book at a beautiful bookstore in Bangalore, on the hunt for something that would let me be consumed by a character’s inner life. I’m delighted it did exactly that.
as she shapes who her mother was as the years go by, through memories that are real, imagined, and often a concoction of both, marianne dissects the disappearance through the vantage point of different stages in her life, including her own motherhood. the author also weaves fairytale and folklore seamlessly, they set the tone for each chapter and shapeshift our interpretations as marianne begins to heal. I will say that it took me longer to read than I anticipated simply because the focus of the book was so singular, it called for a complete re-immersion into her grief on my end every time I opened it.
I picked up this book at a beautiful bookstore in Bangalore, on the hunt for something that would let me be consumed by a character’s inner life. I’m delighted it did exactly that.