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caspertheeghost's review against another edition
5.0
this is just a perfect novel. as an exploration of the transition from girlhood/adolescence to womanhood and the pressures of femininity, i've never read anything as painfully accurate or as gorgeous.
i think part of the reason it resonates so strongly with me is the vastness of experiences it portrays, while at the same time it doesn't feel forced or like too much is going on. i thought the plot from the 1970s timeline could have existed on it's own and it would still have been a strong novel, but with the addition of ruth's perspective as an adult (more specifically as a mother) and maeve's story it elevates the book to perfection.
if this doesn't end up becoming a classic, i'll be surprised.
i think part of the reason it resonates so strongly with me is the vastness of experiences it portrays, while at the same time it doesn't feel forced or like too much is going on. i thought the plot from the 1970s timeline could have existed on it's own and it would still have been a strong novel, but with the addition of ruth's perspective as an adult (more specifically as a mother) and maeve's story it elevates the book to perfection.
if this doesn't end up becoming a classic, i'll be surprised.
aventadistrict's review against another edition
2.0
cws for the plot of this is about a teenage girl being groomed and i would've probably not read it had i known this, homophobia, alcohol abuse, drowning
kind of made me feel miserable and not in a good way. excellently written but. you know
kind of made me feel miserable and not in a good way. excellently written but. you know
ms_tiahmarie's review against another edition
~I have run from that summer, tried to forget its hazy pleasures and its tragedies, how it ended, how things fell apart. I have trusted the years to fade my memories and destroyed those photographs, never to be looked at again. But now, twenty-four years later, back in my childhood home in that same hamlet above the woods, and now a mother myself, the memories keep returning, like driftwood washed ashore.~
~The piles of boxes, the sheer weight of my father's belongings crowding out the room, makes me angry. Why should i be the one to have to clear it out, why couldn't he have done it?~
~Lately, she has started to feel a curdle of dislike for her father, noticing for the first time what he is like as a man, a husband, and the friction between her mother and him, the gendered expectations upon her.~
~As I adjusted the lens, I felt the weight of trying to record her as she was, beautiful, sad aching; of trying to capture what she was trying to say, words that could not be spoken or heard or understood.~
~What does the camera see, what will it record?~
~What makes a photograph good is a question that some of the best theorists have tried, but mostly failed , to answer.~
fabtasmagoria's review against another edition
4.0
This is a book about desire and unspoken truths.
It was a great book to read during the last couple of days of Summer -- the hazy Texas heat mirrored the sticky, suffocating heat the characters experienced in their countryside vacation.
I enjoyed the mother-daughter aspect of the story taking place simultaneously in 1973 and in the 1990s as they both come of age in the same country house and experience desire, hope, confusion and fear. Each chapter is from a different perspective, sometimes overlapping where the other person left off in the previous chapter or filling in the gaps of how the other character felt during a part of the story.
You know early on that something terrible happened in the Summer of '73 which deeply impacted Ruth, the mother, and set the course for the events in 1990. You also get the feeling that another terrible occurrence will happen int he present (the 90s) that will also impact the characters and change the course of the story.
I enjoyed that Healey didn't give everything away all at once. You get flashes of the horrible thing that happened in the past, but it doesn't all come together until the end, when past and present collide.
There are some uncomfortable situations and discussions around sexuality, su*cide, adult/minor relationships/grooming so that is something to note.
It was a great book to read during the last couple of days of Summer -- the hazy Texas heat mirrored the sticky, suffocating heat the characters experienced in their countryside vacation.
I enjoyed the mother-daughter aspect of the story taking place simultaneously in 1973 and in the 1990s as they both come of age in the same country house and experience desire, hope, confusion and fear. Each chapter is from a different perspective, sometimes overlapping where the other person left off in the previous chapter or filling in the gaps of how the other character felt during a part of the story.
You know early on that something terrible happened in the Summer of '73 which deeply impacted Ruth, the mother, and set the course for the events in 1990. You also get the feeling that another terrible occurrence will happen int he present (the 90s) that will also impact the characters and change the course of the story.
I enjoyed that Healey didn't give everything away all at once. You get flashes of the horrible thing that happened in the past, but it doesn't all come together until the end, when past and present collide.
There are some uncomfortable situations and discussions around sexuality, su*cide, adult/minor relationships/grooming so that is something to note.
sarahp85's review against another edition
3.0
Oh the cover is absolutely beautiful!
And the blurb made me think that it was a book like the Secret History or something along those lines.
Maybe it was me, assuming it was similar to a book like that, which in the end let me down a bit.
This book was just.... very slow. And the story was nothing like I expected it to be. It was overall a nice story but yeah, just not what I expected
And the blurb made me think that it was a book like the Secret History or something along those lines.
Maybe it was me, assuming it was similar to a book like that, which in the end let me down a bit.
This book was just.... very slow. And the story was nothing like I expected it to be. It was overall a nice story but yeah, just not what I expected
a_novel_idea11's review against another edition
3.0
My interest with this novel really waxed and waned. I was very intrigued by Maeve's storyline of her being very sick and wanted more of that. I also liked the parallels with Stuart from the past story and the present.
This novel was excellently written. The language was beautiful and almost lyrical at parts. I loved how it focused so much on an artform (photography) too, as that felt fitting.
However, the gorgeous writing and the setting also made me keep forgetting that the newer storyline was taking place in the early 2000s (it read much more historical than that to me). This wasn't a major flaw, but it was a bit jarring at times when things like cell phones were mentioned and it just didn't feel like it fit.
There was some very sexy parts of this novel - the swimming, the forbidden desires and affairs, the photographs. Some of it was a bit racy and potentially triggering with underage girls but all in all I thought Healy handled those more illicit parts pretty well and without crossing the line too far.
It took me a bit to get into this (hence the waxing and waning), but once I did, I really enjoyed it.
This novel was excellently written. The language was beautiful and almost lyrical at parts. I loved how it focused so much on an artform (photography) too, as that felt fitting.
However, the gorgeous writing and the setting also made me keep forgetting that the newer storyline was taking place in the early 2000s (it read much more historical than that to me). This wasn't a major flaw, but it was a bit jarring at times when things like cell phones were mentioned and it just didn't feel like it fit.
There was some very sexy parts of this novel - the swimming, the forbidden desires and affairs, the photographs. Some of it was a bit racy and potentially triggering with underage girls but all in all I thought Healy handled those more illicit parts pretty well and without crossing the line too far.
It took me a bit to get into this (hence the waxing and waning), but once I did, I really enjoyed it.
translator_monkey's review against another edition
4.0
Beautifully written. Another reviewer put it best: the author writes the way dreams feel. I couldn't agree more.
Two tiny histories are offered in tandem - the first is Ruth's story from the early 1970s, her involvement with her friends in their homemade photography project as the Ophelia Girls, dressing up in turn-of-the-century togs and floating on the river's surface - or just below - and the second is the late 1990s story of Ruth's daughter, Maeve, a cancer survivor, still unsure of who she is at the brink of 17, having spent most of her recent past fighting her disease instead of being an otherwise everyday teenager. The histories provide a glimpse at two summers, one for each character, with the common thread the mildly (?) creepy Stuart, Ruth's childhood friend, who insinuates himself back into adult Ruth's life for the summer, and appears to be trying to insinuate himself very much into Maeve's life.
The reader recognizes classic grooming behaviors very early on, both from Ruth's flashback and Maeve's story. This was a particularly stressful read, because the reader is the only one picking up on the cues, to the point that we'd like to just quickly insert ourselves into the book and whisper into the ear of the loved ones who should have a better idea of what Stuart is all about. Argh.
There's a little something for everyone in this book; I've heard that's the Jane Healey standard - using lighter-than-air words to lightly tiptoe through memories that are common to almost anyone: youth, love, loss, and overcoming the harshest elements of each while trying to maintain the tenderest as well.
Four stars. Time for me to go grab more from this author. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a pre-pub ARC. This in no way influenced my rating or review.
Two tiny histories are offered in tandem - the first is Ruth's story from the early 1970s, her involvement with her friends in their homemade photography project as the Ophelia Girls, dressing up in turn-of-the-century togs and floating on the river's surface - or just below - and the second is the late 1990s story of Ruth's daughter, Maeve, a cancer survivor, still unsure of who she is at the brink of 17, having spent most of her recent past fighting her disease instead of being an otherwise everyday teenager. The histories provide a glimpse at two summers, one for each character, with the common thread the mildly (?) creepy Stuart, Ruth's childhood friend, who insinuates himself back into adult Ruth's life for the summer, and appears to be trying to insinuate himself very much into Maeve's life.
The reader recognizes classic grooming behaviors very early on, both from Ruth's flashback and Maeve's story. This was a particularly stressful read, because the reader is the only one picking up on the cues, to the point that we'd like to just quickly insert ourselves into the book and whisper into the ear of the loved ones who should have a better idea of what Stuart is all about. Argh.
There's a little something for everyone in this book; I've heard that's the Jane Healey standard - using lighter-than-air words to lightly tiptoe through memories that are common to almost anyone: youth, love, loss, and overcoming the harshest elements of each while trying to maintain the tenderest as well.
Four stars. Time for me to go grab more from this author. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a pre-pub ARC. This in no way influenced my rating or review.
theresaalan41's review against another edition
4.0
The Ophelia Girls is partially set in 1973, when Ruth and her girlfriends spend their summer days taking pictures of each other in the river with flowers adorning them, reminiscent of drowning Ophelia. It jumps to 1997, when Ruth has a 17=year-old daughter, Maeve, and two young twins. Ruth is barely holding it together, partially from the economic expense of their large, old house. She did her best during the years Maeve battled leukemia, finally beating the cancer thanks to a bone marrow transplant from her younger brother.
When Ruth and her husband Alex’s good friend from their youth, Stuart, stays with them, Maeve feels seen as an adult and not the sick child she was for so long.
This is not a fast-paced book. The writing is good, but some of the content made me wince a little. It’s fun to imagine the social mores of 1973 and 1997 and how I might have flourished or not under those circumstances, but I didn’t find this a particularly enjoyable read.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES AUGUST 10, 2021.
When Ruth and her husband Alex’s good friend from their youth, Stuart, stays with them, Maeve feels seen as an adult and not the sick child she was for so long.
This is not a fast-paced book. The writing is good, but some of the content made me wince a little. It’s fun to imagine the social mores of 1973 and 1997 and how I might have flourished or not under those circumstances, but I didn’t find this a particularly enjoyable read.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES AUGUST 10, 2021.
miaheartsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Thanks to the publisher for an ARC of this brilliant novel of girlhood and motherhood that's low on plot but big on vibes.
Struggling mum Ruth is back at her childhood home remembering the summer she was 17 that her friends spent photographing each other as Ophelia until things take a tragic turn. Meanwhile Ruth's 17 year old daughter is recovering from leukaemia and excited to be receiving attention from a handsome friend of Ruth's whose keen to photograph her as Ophelia.
This book made me nostalgic for a teenage summer I never even had, and furious about all the experiences I did have fending off the advances of men decades older. It reminded me of The Souvenir and My Dark Vanessa in its exploration of the vulnerable naivety of teenage girls desperate to feel grown up, and I thought it was a great depiction of trauma and grief.
I think this won't be for everyone, but if you like a slow burner and novels about women's interiority, or if like me you have a lot of feelings about Pre-Raphaelite art or teenage queerness, I'd recommend checking out The Ophelia Girls.
Struggling mum Ruth is back at her childhood home remembering the summer she was 17 that her friends spent photographing each other as Ophelia until things take a tragic turn. Meanwhile Ruth's 17 year old daughter is recovering from leukaemia and excited to be receiving attention from a handsome friend of Ruth's whose keen to photograph her as Ophelia.
This book made me nostalgic for a teenage summer I never even had, and furious about all the experiences I did have fending off the advances of men decades older. It reminded me of The Souvenir and My Dark Vanessa in its exploration of the vulnerable naivety of teenage girls desperate to feel grown up, and I thought it was a great depiction of trauma and grief.
I think this won't be for everyone, but if you like a slow burner and novels about women's interiority, or if like me you have a lot of feelings about Pre-Raphaelite art or teenage queerness, I'd recommend checking out The Ophelia Girls.
nerdmaid's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to love this book, and the writing itself is beautiful, but it was a bit slow I’m afraid. Running a dual story is always a risk in this way, and I often find books that flip back and forth in time a little slower, but neither story really got going, and whilst I enjoyed the ending in terms of how each person’s story was concluded, I wanted more of that part of the story, more of a build up to that, and less meandering. For example, we know from the very start that modern day teen Maeve has just come out the other side of a long term illness, but we didn’t really need a whole chapter of her visiting the hospital for a check up, when a summarising sentence or two that told how she felt about it would have done the same job. What I would have preferred is to have more of the 1973 story - more development of those characters, which would in turn have given us more understanding of the modern day relationship dynamics. We see a group of girls doing the same thing over and over in the same place, but never get a sense of who they are and what it was like to live in that time and with those ideals. Considering how great this author is, and how well researched Animals of Lockwood Manor was, this could have been an amazing dip into a time of political and social change, and how a group of teenage girls react to it.