ladybug
“I am not afraid of the nuns anymore, I have been in Eden all summer long, I know divinity better than they ever will.”
I knew when I read this quote a few pages in that this will be a crazy book:
“I think, I would be the microbes in the beef that her body seeks and destroys if it meant she would be paying me even the slightest bit of attention. The warmth and the wet of her mouth.”
Lucy grew up in a small, religious town in Ireland. Her community and family are all she’s ever known. I was frustrated while reading the book, angry at Lucy for being unable to stand up for the woman she loved but also pitied her deeply for her circumstances. I think it’s easy to criticise her for her lack of agency but it’s also a realistic depiction of what happens to the majority of queer people in the past, often forced to blend in and mask forever.
The book sometimes gets a bit slow but the writing style was beautiful. Reading the book gave me a kind of sad, suffocating feeling. It also reminded me of what it was to be young and scared and having a big crush on your best friend. LGBTQ+ canon event I guess.
“I am not afraid of the nuns anymore, I have been in Eden all summer long, I know divinity better than they ever will.”
I knew when I read this quote a few pages in that this will be a crazy book:
“I think, I would be the microbes in the beef that her body seeks and destroys if it meant she would be paying me even the slightest bit of attention. The warmth and the wet of her mouth.”
Lucy grew up in a small, religious town in Ireland. Her community and family are all she’s ever known. I was frustrated while reading the book, angry at Lucy for being unable to stand up for the woman she loved but also pitied her deeply for her circumstances. I think it’s easy to criticise her for her lack of agency but it’s also a realistic depiction of what happens to the majority of queer people in the past, often forced to blend in and mask forever.
The book sometimes gets a bit slow but the writing style was beautiful. Reading the book gave me a kind of sad, suffocating feeling. It also reminded me of what it was to be young and scared and having a big crush on your best friend. LGBTQ+ canon event I guess.
“ ‘A little girl shouldn’t have to worry about her entire family,’ Grandpa says to me one afternoon….
‘What?’ I ask, not because I didn’t hear what he said, but because I’m confused. Of course a little girl should worry about her entire family. That’s what little girls do.”
McCurdy’s memoir was heartbreaking and vulnerable, detailing her experience as a child actress with a narcissistic mother and working with creepy producers. It really exposed me to true evils in the world, aka her mother, who basically gave her a lifelong struggle with eating disorders. Despite the depressing content, the memoir was also filled with humour and a fascinating insight to the workings of tv productions.
I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by McCurdy herself, and I cannot recommend it more. Her reading it added a layer of emotions and reflection to the writing.
The three star is attributed to how although I had a good time listening to it, ultimately, it was a forgettable book.
“ ‘A little girl shouldn’t have to worry about her entire family,’ Grandpa says to me one afternoon….
‘What?’ I ask, not because I didn’t hear what he said, but because I’m confused. Of course a little girl should worry about her entire family. That’s what little girls do.”
McCurdy’s memoir was heartbreaking and vulnerable, detailing her experience as a child actress with a narcissistic mother and working with creepy producers. It really exposed me to true evils in the world, aka her mother, who basically gave her a lifelong struggle with eating disorders. Despite the depressing content, the memoir was also filled with humour and a fascinating insight to the workings of tv productions.
I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by McCurdy herself, and I cannot recommend it more. Her reading it added a layer of emotions and reflection to the writing.
The three star is attributed to how although I had a good time listening to it, ultimately, it was a forgettable book.
"...Because wherever I sat– on the deck of a ship or at a street cafe in Paris or Bangkok– I would be sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own sour air.”
I find it difficult to review this book. While it's objectively a beautifully-written modern classic, it's not the kind of good you feel good reading. I find the subject matter it discusses meant I needed to take long breaks in between finishing the book. Read it if you’re doing well mentally but if you’re not, skip it.
Esther is a complex main characters with ideas well ahead of her time. Her fierce intellect and ideals only made her conditions more tragic. It made me especially sad to know that although Esther survives her attempts and the book ended on a brighter note, Sylvia Plath herself ultimately was not able to recover from her illness.
"...Because wherever I sat– on the deck of a ship or at a street cafe in Paris or Bangkok– I would be sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own sour air.”
I find it difficult to review this book. While it's objectively a beautifully-written modern classic, it's not the kind of good you feel good reading. I find the subject matter it discusses meant I needed to take long breaks in between finishing the book. Read it if you’re doing well mentally but if you’re not, skip it.
Esther is a complex main characters with ideas well ahead of her time. Her fierce intellect and ideals only made her conditions more tragic. It made me especially sad to know that although Esther survives her attempts and the book ended on a brighter note, Sylvia Plath herself ultimately was not able to recover from her illness.
“If you want to understand any woman you must first ask about her mother and then listen carefully.”
I don’t think I’ve ever read any book quite like this one. Based on the story of Dinah from the Old Testament of the Holy Book, Diamant took a paragraph from the story of Jacob and gave her life, love, and suffering.
To say I was surprised by the climax of the book is an understatement. I know, I know– the Old Testament was written more than 2000 years ago. I just never got around to reading it.
Diamant gave the setting such vivid descriptions I wondered if perhaps she was there. The writing was beautiful and I found myself connecting with the characters. I especially love the themes of community and motherhood. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to everyone.
The only shortcoming of the book for me was the third part, which dragged on for way too long. However, I do enjoy Dinah’s happy ending– it’s everything she deserves.
“If you want to understand any woman you must first ask about her mother and then listen carefully.”
I don’t think I’ve ever read any book quite like this one. Based on the story of Dinah from the Old Testament of the Holy Book, Diamant took a paragraph from the story of Jacob and gave her life, love, and suffering.
To say I was surprised by the climax of the book is an understatement. I know, I know– the Old Testament was written more than 2000 years ago. I just never got around to reading it.
Diamant gave the setting such vivid descriptions I wondered if perhaps she was there. The writing was beautiful and I found myself connecting with the characters. I especially love the themes of community and motherhood. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to everyone.
The only shortcoming of the book for me was the third part, which dragged on for way too long. However, I do enjoy Dinah’s happy ending– it’s everything she deserves.
