Kate Malinowski
I happen to know I read this book exactly 25 years ago, but I didn't remember any specifics about plot or characters. I'm guessing that I found it a dissatisfying romance and was distracted wondering about why the person who had given the book to me thought I should read it.
This time, I was able to appreciate the carefully crafted world and Wharton's humor. I don't think I'll ever be able to sympathize with a Newland Archer or find his situation tragic. He fails to really know either of his love interests seeing them only as projections of choices he can make. He would have been unhappy either way and he knows it. On the other hand, I loved that May and Ellen were able to see right through him and worked around him to go after what they wanted.
I loved this one! I loved the story telling and the structure and the voice. I learned a lot about 20th century Iran. It made me curious to know more and also more alarmed about current state of affairs in this country. The last part, called “Side B,” did in fact feel a little b-sideish - almost as if it's the bones of an entirely different book with a couple polished up stories in the mix. But, this did not detract from my overall enjoyment of the book.
This is a lovely story about a Nigerian girl grappling with her sexual identity over the whole of her teenage years and into her early twenties. But, I struggled a bit to get through it. For me, there was too much time spent in Ijeoma's thoughts as she went back and forth over the same ground again and again. There were also some moments that hinted at complexity in the supporting characters that I wished were further developed.
The audio book narration was excellent!
Both of my kids somehow are reading classics by choice right now, books that used to be assigned to kids their age in school, but probably won't be assigned to them. I made it through my schooling without ever reading Animal Farm and was curious to know what L was making of it.
The most interesting part for me was the difference in the tones of the forward, written in 2020, and the afterward, originally published in a 1996 edition. 1996 - totalitarianism is behind us. We learned the lessons that Animal Farm had to teach. Nothing but peace, prosperity and democracy ahead of us. 2020 - resignation to the fact that we will always be living with Napoleons, but maybe we can hope that we won't be sheep.
Some mixed feelings...
This book rolls up my deepest, darkest fears - inescapable fast rising tide of putrid subway water full of dead bodies and sharp hazards accompanied by tsunamis down city streets after the last ditch seawalls collapse oh and you have dependent children. People ending up stuck in the city as society breaks down, infrastructure collapses, resources disappear and they know the flood is inevitable but what are they supposed to do? There are many powerful, affecting/effective scenes about disaster and destruction and about community and survival.
But...
It was too similar to Station Eleven not to compare the two as I read. While some of the scenes in All the Water in the World were just as good, the overall story wasn't. The ending felt abrupt and implausible given what came before it in the story. The relationships felt thin.
Wow - amazing story!
I didn't realize until I was almost done that it is as much about the evolving relationship between AI and art/artists/writers/stories as it is about the relationship between humans and the rest of the natural world.
Also maybe one of the best uses of multiple story lines I've ever read. Much more motivated to read The Overstory now.
A woman sitting next to me on the subway saw me reading this and said she had just finished it and felt unsatisfied and I get it. Yeong-hye is described by three different characters, in three different sections, and we never figure out what makes her tick. These narrators are not particularly interested in or good at understanding Yeong-hye. In their attempts to describe her they mostly just reveal themselves (and it's ugly). Unsatisfying story, but also so human.
I was amazed by how well I remembered so many scenes from this book, which I don't think I've read since childhood. On the other hand, I had completely forgotten how the book ended. I kind of hated the last 80 pages or so this time (probably related to why I didn't remember it). Most of what makes the rest of the book great is missing from the last section and the cruelty of the final (manufactured) escapade overwhelmed everything else for me.
I avoided this book for a long time because I knew it would make me squirm. It did. I also read it in one sitting even though I was fully planning on going to bed on time. Allison knows she's making horror-movie level bad decisions right up to the end. (The decisions are only bad because the men are trash.) Still rooting for her. Hope she's out there healing.
I cannot believe how much plot they included on the cover flap. Do not read it before you read the book!
Read these in one sitting which is unusual for me when it comes to short stories. I have a weakness for single girl in the city stories that take place/were written before the Sex and the City era. The ones in this collection revolve around power imbalance in hetero dating and sex. The writing is very spare, but manages to set vivid scenes. I could feel the air as they walked along the river, feel the energy shift in the room at the dinner party.
This was very relatable and also kind of absurd, but lots of the absurdity was also relatable. Muraki is definitely the mom I would have been trying to talk to at school pick up. At some point I may have found this story romantic and tragic, but that moment is not now. Mostly, after reading this, I just really want to go to Tokyo. Itami is a travel writer and Tokyo steals the show.
