linkalipski's reviews
294 reviews

The book is short and easy to read (style wise) so there is no excuse not to read her memoir.

Similarly to my personal life, I felt most upset at others reactions to her, such as depicting her as a liar. Post-trauma betrayal is really difficult and it is important that she shared that reality.

There was a passage where I was holding my breath too. Her father’s violence was felt deeply in those lines.

She shared her story yet at the same she hasn’t because she cannot write all of the daily beatings for all the piano mistakes. It’s impossible and so in a way, even after telling her story, she is truly alone in her memories of it.. and that idea makes me profoundly upset. Sad for her and appreciative of her writing and also angry and disgusted at her father for robbing her of so much.

Her father’s denial is intriguing me a great deal. Not in its psychological mechanics but rather because I wonder if he actually retain awareness of his denial.

I want to know how her sister is doing, if she’s well now. I’m glad Celine has find love and a career she cherishes. I wish I could hug her 🤍

Survivors accounts are a must read no matter what.

This particular story is presented as flashbacks while the survivors is off to visit the camps in Poland with school children. I understand why they chose to do that way. I believe showing the contrast between what was and how things are after is important and powerful.
At the same time, it doesn’t allow to be fully immersed like other memoirs. To really emphasise the horror of the story, perhaps more time with her flashbacks would have been best. 
That said, the advantage is that it’s a more « palatable » retelling which can be a good entryway into learning about Holocaust for younger readers.

I thought representing camp prisoners as black silhouetted mass was a clever illustrative choice: it really captured the ghostly aspect of their souls while representing their loss of personhood. 

The scene when she returns to her mother made me weep burning tears.. the contrast was heart wrenching.

I didn’t know she was one of Telephone’s member mother and I’m glad to see that her legacy, in surviving, is both one of advocacy and of a musician son who livened up my teenage hood.

May she feel at peace and leave her guilt to rest in that cruel land and may all of those shadowy soul be at peace also. 🤍

Now that I’ve finished it, I’m a little unclear regarding the title choice. Sometimes scenes jumps around and I was finding it a bit jarring but regardless.. It’s a story worth reading! 
 

Her experience is rough. I had tears when she was bonding with her sister over sexual abuse.

I was shocked that she needed to go there to experience such sexism & harassment but then the rest of Canada is rather safe on that front. I have experienced that here in Europe since I’m pubescent, but thankfully not as a line up of dudes during -40 degrees so I count myself lucky! I relate with her experience as a woman and the toughness of the oilsands reminded of my work in a mental health hospital. 

She did a good job at showing all facets of people and to paint a picture reflective of the paradoxes and complexities that is human life in a harsh environment. I wished I knew how she filled her days afterwards and how she copes now that she’s gone.

Her style is a bit unclear to me because I’m used to science so I can be frustrated and confused of wether that’s what others think, how she interprets what they think or what she argues they think. Therefore, I was unclear as to what is presentation, interpretation or argument. 

I find the myth part difficult because she doesn’t exposes well what those authors wrote and why she selected them to be analysed so it reads like speculative interpretation at times. 

It is philosophy so it was boring at times because the style and subjects demands to study it rather than read it. Her style is  philosophical and academic, made of lengthy descriptions and reflections. She uses extremely long sentences, separated by colons and semi-colons with nuances brought upon nuances. 

That said.. I loved her sass and she makes excellent points and arguments. 

P167 « On voit s’affirmer le paradoxe qui se perpétue encore aujourd’hui: la femme la plus pleinement intégrée à la société et celle qui possède le moins de privilèges. »

The author’s style is unique: poetic and metaphoric while describing crude or unsophisticated scenes. Themes of repugnance, bodily fluids and dirtiness are intertwined with the sacred, innocent and delicate. Hence, the story is unique and weird yet still gripping. 

Reading, the first two chapters I thought it was going to be one of those ultra poetic but incomprehensible stories but I was wrong. I quickly understood what was going on and then I was hooked.

A lot is suggested rather than said, which is great, but I also wish for my unanswered questions to be solved. 

The ending is as tragic as the rest of the story but isn’t revenge in my opinion so much as hopeless defeat. Which makes for a reflective ending and forces us to think of injustices and pay back differently.

I felt emotionally involved and teary at times. The story is well written and I would definitely recommend it to young people.

The villagers and the monsters all are metaphors for how denying one’s grief can do more harm than good which I think is a lovely message.

(spoiler alert) I like piglet as character but was a bit unsure regarding Mirabelle being human.. I’m a bit confused on her backstory and who is responsible for her monster side. Also.. Mirabel triumph over the malice monster by eating his soul. I was taken aback by this and especially how the humans aren’t now scared of her.

When I started the book, I find it quite hard to understand who is who and what is going on during about a third of the book. Mostly that’s down to not enough physical descriptions and the use of several names for one character (eg, first name, last name and nickname). Therefore, it was a little difficult to get into it.

I was also not enthralled by the story because of the money as sole motivation at first. But once the heist got going, I found the story captivating and I liked their personal stories too. That took quite a long time so I’d say the book is a slow burner. 

Every character is distinctively unique but that is not reflected in dialogue as they all speak similarly. Worse, despite being teenagers from the street, they somehow all know and use upper class vocabulary from the past centuries, which doesn’t match their characteristics. As teenagers from non-academic backgrounds, there is no reason for them to know so many posh words. Even I don’t know so many and I’m a thirty-something-year-old avid reader. That aspect is something that bothered me greatly and pulled me out of the story repeatedly. The posh adult talk would have made sense if the characters were in their late twenties or not from the streets.

Ending was a disappointment for me: it’s a cliff hanger but feels like it was stopped right in the middle rather than concluding this story and creating an open end to a sequel. Perhaps a better ending would have been to stop at penultimate chapter or add a small chapter with Kaz, who is reflecting on what is over (closure-satisfying ending) and what he is brewing (announcing sequel).

All in all, it was not necessarily a book for me but I did get attached to the character and I do want to know what happens to them next. So I had a good time once I was in it. It’d be a great show or movie too.

This is an amazing story! Simple and easy to read yet reaches deep inside of you. I weeped a great deal, so much so that my sleeve was proper wet at the end of the book and my eyes tired from the experience. 
And while this is a heart breaking story (I was warned as to it’s sadness) don’t be put off as it’s well worth a read! Especially for those people whose life is more challenging than that of others.

The teachings of the monster are brilliant and truly wise, exposing the nuance of fairness in life and the paradox of conflicting emotions and desires. The story doesn’t shy away from BIG emotions with problematic behaviours and tell them from the most human perspective.

Greatly recommend! 

This story is fine, simply not one for me. I did enjoy the simplicity of the farm’s life and the bond that develops between young Sally and old Liss. 
However, the characters are not the kind of people I enjoy in real life either so I don’t find them relatable. They are both overly quiet, yet impulsive and angry. 
I don’t know who would enjoy this story so can’t tell who it is for but it’s still a decent read!

It’s insane (pun intended) to see how easily woman could be considered « insane » and the abuse that went on there. 
This woman is my new inspiration as she infiltrated an asylum so she could report on it.