A review by howifeelaboutbooks
Her by Laura Zigman
3.0
Her by Laura Zigman is an interesting read. As much as I/girls try to play it cool, I think we are often overanalyzing things and being jealous over the pettiest things that don’t actually matter. So it’s refreshing to read something that tells you No, you’re not the only one who thinks this way.
It was a bit heavy on the stalking and marriage talk. I wasn’t really connected with the main character. I know it’s harder in first person to know the narrator by name, since it’s not stated every other line like it might be in third person, but I only learned Elise’s name in the first part of the book, and was reminded of it once in the 2nd half. I’m not saying I don’t do that - I think it’s strange that I love writing first person because it’s so intimate, yet when it’s workshopped, most people don’t feel like they’re in the character’s head. That’s how I felt about Elise, and since I could identify that problem, I tried to learn from it and think of how I’d fix it.
I came up blank. Oh well. I guess I need to work on my first person intimacy...
It was a fun read though, and easy to get into once I could sit down and give it my full attention. Zigman has a fantastic way of ending the chapter on a cliffhanger without seeming overly dramatic. I read this book on my lunch breaks, and I’d be ready to close the book and get back to work when my eyes would flit over and see the next line of the next chapter. If the chapter endings were cliffhangers, the first sentence of the next chapters were even more intense. She’s very skilled with language, and can draw you in so completely it’s a rude awakening to come back.
The last few lines of the book are worth it alone; apparently I’m going to spoil it here, because I must share.
"Love, trust, faith - they are not equipped with radar devices,
sonar devices, night-vision devices, lifetime guarantees.
They are blind as bats.
But they are all we have.”
It was a bit heavy on the stalking and marriage talk. I wasn’t really connected with the main character. I know it’s harder in first person to know the narrator by name, since it’s not stated every other line like it might be in third person, but I only learned Elise’s name in the first part of the book, and was reminded of it once in the 2nd half. I’m not saying I don’t do that - I think it’s strange that I love writing first person because it’s so intimate, yet when it’s workshopped, most people don’t feel like they’re in the character’s head. That’s how I felt about Elise, and since I could identify that problem, I tried to learn from it and think of how I’d fix it.
I came up blank. Oh well. I guess I need to work on my first person intimacy...
It was a fun read though, and easy to get into once I could sit down and give it my full attention. Zigman has a fantastic way of ending the chapter on a cliffhanger without seeming overly dramatic. I read this book on my lunch breaks, and I’d be ready to close the book and get back to work when my eyes would flit over and see the next line of the next chapter. If the chapter endings were cliffhangers, the first sentence of the next chapters were even more intense. She’s very skilled with language, and can draw you in so completely it’s a rude awakening to come back.
The last few lines of the book are worth it alone; apparently I’m going to spoil it here, because I must share.
"Love, trust, faith - they are not equipped with radar devices,
sonar devices, night-vision devices, lifetime guarantees.
They are blind as bats.
But they are all we have.”