ajunejane's reviews
410 reviews

Once I got past the initial confusion of whose thoughts we were experiencing at any given time, I really enjoyed it. As I read, I really felt I began to know the characters as people, represented by their own good and bad perceptions of themselves, and the good and bad perceptions of the other characters. I've been thinking a great deal about the concept of "seeing" lately, and the character of Lily Briscoe really "opened my eyes" (excuse the pun and cliche) to a new way of seeing and thinking about people. The whole story was really fascinating, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading fiction closely (otherwise it's easier to be confused with her style).

This book was/is amazing. I think I'll make a point of reading it once a week. She just gets it, being a little snarky and jaded and depressed, while gardening. I know that might not sound great, but to someone who feels similarly her writing is a godsend. And the collection flows together even better than Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon album.

At first I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to get through the book...I made it through the five-year-old section of Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man because I knew that he (and the language) would grow up sooner rather than later. So, the prospect of reading a full-length novel told in the voice of a five-year old seemed kinda nuts. However, once the plot starting picking up it was much easier to get through the five-year old monologue (he was very literate, for a five-year-old). At this point, I was glad to hear the story from his perspective, instead of the adult one of his mother. It puts a whole new spin on something that pops up disgustingly often in the news. Overall, I'd say it's very clever and a quick read, and would recommend it to anyone who's been missing good contemporary fiction in their lives.

No words yet.