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A review by syliu
Pages for You by Sylvia Brownrigg
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
It took Pages For You a while to become what I suspected it would be: emotional and introspective without being particularly revealing or thought-provoking.
The main qualm I could have with the book is that there are no particularly resonant messages, and I don’t think I’ve taken much away from it.
But for its pros? I do think it managed to capture something of female desire/sapphic sexuality that was enjoyable. A lot of it was easy and beautiful, complete with a brief encounter with shame and homophobia that was well done, and of course didn’t dent the rosy optimism of the protagonist.
I also appreciate the slow progression of the tone of the story: the whimsical and naive whirlwind of hot sensory overload gave way to something with heavier realism and dulled emotion.
Honestly, it was a pretty enjoyable read. I wish it had said more, but the literary quips and brief character studies were enough to be interesting. If this novel had been an autobiography I would’ve thought better of it, maybe so that I can more easily believe that the book offered some healing to the author for the tumultuous and problematic relationship of her youthful past. That said, if you told me this book was an autobiography (or based close to real life) I would’ve believed it, so props for realism.
Hoping to read more sapphic literature this year to have more to compare to.
The main qualm I could have with the book is that there are no particularly resonant messages, and I don’t think I’ve taken much away from it.
But for its pros? I do think it managed to capture something of female desire/sapphic sexuality that was enjoyable. A lot of it was easy and beautiful, complete with a brief encounter with shame and homophobia that was well done, and of course didn’t dent the rosy optimism of the protagonist.
I also appreciate the slow progression of the tone of the story: the whimsical and naive whirlwind of hot sensory overload gave way to something with heavier realism and dulled emotion.
Honestly, it was a pretty enjoyable read. I wish it had said more, but the literary quips and brief character studies were enough to be interesting. If this novel had been an autobiography I would’ve thought better of it, maybe so that I can more easily believe that the book offered some healing to the author for the tumultuous and problematic relationship of her youthful past. That said, if you told me this book was an autobiography (or based close to real life) I would’ve believed it, so props for realism.
Hoping to read more sapphic literature this year to have more to compare to.