I started this book Sunday night and I finished last night around midnight. Now, I am a pretty fast reader, but 3 days is impressive, even for me. This is the first book I've read since probably the Hunger Games that has kept me so engrossed.
Its hard to talk about this book without giving everything away. As I tried to tell Boyfriend last night as I was bawling uncontrollably, "Its about a girl and a lady and their life and its sad."
Anyway - I loved the whole book - cover to cover, despite the crying. Its wonderful and everyone should read it. I am curious if Chris Cleave's first book is as good. Also, I challenge you to read this book and not feel more aware about the world. What's frustrating is its such a pessimistic awareness. I don't know if that's what Mr. Cleave was going for, but I woke up this morning with an even heavy heart that usual. Not only are all the silly minute things wrong in my life, but there is a world out there full of terrible, terrible things that I am completely powerless to stop. So what do you do? How do you live with this new awareness? And how do you get over the fact that it took a novel to open your eyes - as if 26 years here wasn't enough?
3 comments:
See, I thought this book was overrated. The prose is beautiful, but the story isn't, to me, as magically and uniquely sad as everyone made it out to be. Don't get me wrong- it is sad and horrifying. Just not that unique.
That being said, it would have made an excellent bookclub selection, because there is a lot to discuss.
I just bought his other book, but I can't read it until after I start and finish Mennonite in a Little Black Dress. Because how can I force a title like that to wait?
I don't think its necessarily unique - but I do think that what it lacks in an original idea it makes up in lovely prose. Also, I haven't read anything that wrenched my heart quite so strongly. So I keep it. And yeah - the epic problem with my book club is that because we automatically take out books that people have already read we always read crappy stuff. Boo.
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