isabezza's reviews
325 reviews

This is the second book I have read by Max Porter, and both have left me feeling conflicted.

I really struggle to engage with this writing style, and each section in this book was written in a different form, with a different creative layout. With the changing prose my engagement suffered. However, there were five or six moments in this story where I was DEEPLY moved, particularly the brutally honest insights Max reveals about our human nature. 

So, this story will definitely stay with me, and there are multiple quotes I want to return to, contemplate and share. However, the brain power needed to decode the shifting narrative style made the reading process challenging and often not enjoyable. 

This was so insightful and moving. I had not read Simone de Beauvoir before, but learnt so much about her from this semi-autobiographical novella. This detailed the lives and expectations of women in the 1920s so beautifully. The characterisation of Andree was deeply moving, and Simone clearly loved her friend.  

I loved the plot of this book, the imagery of anxiety, and the complex characters. The way women's roles/knowledge in the world during the 1950s was expressed was brilliant (and terrifying!!) The narrative however was not consistently gripping and the ending felt a little underwhelming. 

Elements of this book were very cute and enjoyable because of the autumn theme (e.g. ghost hunting, pumpkins, Halloween, etc.) However, the romance was difficult to enjoy because the plot felt forced and the characters difficult to befriend.   

This is a deeply moving and important read. The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five was because it became repetitive in reading out women's traumatic stories. 

I understand this is part of the book -to challenge us to see the horrors that women face and blame the patriachy, not ourselves. However, the anger and upset I felt was so much that it was almost not possible to finish the book! 

The ending chapter was the most important and the most inspiring. The messages here could have been moved forward - to give us hope and power to read on. 

Ultimately though, I cannot stress enough how incredibly important this book is - it should be read by teachers, police officers, politicians, and everyone else who can make a difference.