jenswagner's reviews
445 reviews

A story about marriage and divorce and how we write stories in our own heads in which the world revolves around us (except the narrator of this book, which was a little odd). Often witty and well written, this was a fast read that straddles the line between a beach read and something more. I’m rounding up to 4 stars - you have to swallow a lot of insufferable privilege to learn anything from the characters.

This book was well written, readable, and a bit trite. I appreciate the attempts at moral ambiguity, but then weren’t all the characters actually predictably who they were supposed to be? Still enjoyed it though; a quick pretty good read.

3.5 stars. Beautifully written and sometimes entertaining, this is mostly a collection of musings on travel and some other enigmatic stories/thoughts woven in. There’s a lot about bodies and their preservation (mummification, plastination) too. Definitely not plot driven; very literary...

Turns out I had already read this book but I forgot until I was near the end, which says something. The writing is a bit pretentious (or maybe that’s just the narrator?) but sometimes perfect, and there’s something compelling about how she tells the story of the feeling of going from the insane passion of first love to growing up into a real live adult human, as complicated as that is. I kind of tolerated the first 80% of the book but maybe the last 20% makes it worth it?