Glaciers
Ratings5
Average rating4.2
15
Ratings5
Average rating4.2
Isabel is a single, twentysomething thrift-store shopper and collector of remnants, things cast off or left behind by others. Glaciers follows Isabel through a day in her life in which work with damaged books in the basement of a library, unrequited love for the former soldier who fixes her computer, and dreams of the perfect vintage dress move over a backdrop of deteriorating urban architecture and the imminent loss of the glaciers she knew as a young girl in Alaska. Glaciers unfolds internally, the action shaped by Isabel’s sense of history, memory, and place, recalling the work of writers such as Jean Rhys, Marguerite Duras, and Virginia Woolf. For Isabel, the fleeting moments of one day can reveal an entire life. While she contemplates loss and the intricate fissures it creates in our lives, she accumulates the stories—the remnants—of those around her and she begins to tell her own story.
Reviews with the most likes.
The summary is a jumping off point for this novelette, but the story itself is a series of Isabel's remembrances. The turns of phrase describing Portland and observations of other people are spare and vivid. The vintage dresses and old postcards pulled me in but Isabel's wistful wanderlust and endearing awkwardness sat me down until the last page.
This book was so sweet. I loved that it took place over the course of a day and was a little novella. I loved that Isabel romanticized so much about her life and was so comfortable with her self/coming to her own. I loved the aesthetics, the characters, everything. Realistically a 4.5/5, only because my 5-star ratings are for books that I really think have changed my life in some way. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking for a warm, emotional, cute read (especially after something draining).
You know a girl living in Portland has a story to tell. You know a child of divorce has a story to tell. You know a librarian has a story to tell. Of course Isabel as a sorry to tell.
