Margaret
Starting to clear out my backlog of books I started, then put down and forgot to pick back up
Starting to clear out my backlog of books I started, then put down and forgot to pick back up
9/10 for prose, feels like a Kodak in book form, with that said:
I fear i need a man to explain to me the male perspective that's here, because what do you mean.
I have many a non sequitur thought, but boils down to feeling so aimless (to a frustrating degree) that i fear i don't understand the point:
- as mentioned, Kodak film if it was a book - there's the constant reiteration that you never truly know another person - I don't really care about the girls, and don't understand why they're worth obsessing over (or is it just being tragic figures that were/are unattainable). to that, why is this whole group of boys so obsessed with people so unknown to them - i don't care for the narration choice of these (now middle-aged) men thinking about them decades later (why does it seems like these men haven't developed/moved past it? it's not about them). it doesn't read as "hauntingly beautiful" or whatever. ambiguity/not knowing doesn't make it better/more deep?? the girls died and now it's about these random men's feelings & projections, great
Like sure there's nuances and other symbolism I've left untouched (namely, the tragedy of the sisters, and the "baggage", so to speak, of those remaining), but my reaction continues to be ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
tldr: i think I'm too much of a substance reader vs a vibe reader
9/10 for prose, feels like a Kodak in book form, with that said:
I fear i need a man to explain to me the male perspective that's here, because what do you mean.
I have many a non sequitur thought, but boils down to feeling so aimless (to a frustrating degree) that i fear i don't understand the point:
- as mentioned, Kodak film if it was a book - there's the constant reiteration that you never truly know another person - I don't really care about the girls, and don't understand why they're worth obsessing over (or is it just being tragic figures that were/are unattainable). to that, why is this whole group of boys so obsessed with people so unknown to them - i don't care for the narration choice of these (now middle-aged) men thinking about them decades later (why does it seems like these men haven't developed/moved past it? it's not about them). it doesn't read as "hauntingly beautiful" or whatever. ambiguity/not knowing doesn't make it better/more deep?? the girls died and now it's about these random men's feelings & projections, great
Like sure there's nuances and other symbolism I've left untouched (namely, the tragedy of the sisters, and the "baggage", so to speak, of those remaining), but my reaction continues to be ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
tldr: i think I'm too much of a substance reader vs a vibe reader
Added to listAudiobookwith 9 books.
Added to listFour Starwith 50 books.
Added to listMurder Mysterywith 10 books.
Something for this didn't fully click with me. I understand the broader attempt at being uplifting and motivational, and the general feel-good aspect to it.
I balk at the premise that depression is a direct result from the choices you make in life, and that it's simply an attitude adjustment to fix, or that in the process of making better choices, it would be resolved. Or that the final notion of “life is wonderful, appreciate what you have, isn’t life beautiful and messy and amazing” will single-handedly solve it in any way. (Sidebar: Should we romanticize life more? Yes.)
It is also not the culmination of regretful choices.
It is a nice nod to the fact that grass is typically never greener on the other side, but i recognize that i am more than likely not the target demographic for this book, who would gain an appreciation from it, and would find this helpful/properly uplifting.
Something for this didn't fully click with me. I understand the broader attempt at being uplifting and motivational, and the general feel-good aspect to it.
I balk at the premise that depression is a direct result from the choices you make in life, and that it's simply an attitude adjustment to fix, or that in the process of making better choices, it would be resolved. Or that the final notion of “life is wonderful, appreciate what you have, isn’t life beautiful and messy and amazing” will single-handedly solve it in any way. (Sidebar: Should we romanticize life more? Yes.)
It is also not the culmination of regretful choices.
It is a nice nod to the fact that grass is typically never greener on the other side, but i recognize that i am more than likely not the target demographic for this book, who would gain an appreciation from it, and would find this helpful/properly uplifting.
