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fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I usually dislike fragment, vignette-filled novels and this was no exception. Often, I feel this form of writing is used to mask an author’s limited writing abilities and incomplete plot lines.
Overall, I found this book thoroughly mediocre. For a book built around characters, rather than plot, the characters were unsubstantial and bland. I can appreciate nameless characters as symbolic gestures, but here this only seemed to highlight how poor the world-building was. As the relationships were impacted by these surface-level characters, most interactions were either dull or entirely unbelievable.
I had other smaller issues, such as the use of italics when referring to the first wife as ‘she’. Though I understand this is personal preference, it felt tokenistic and disrupted the flow of reading with little reward.
It feels only fair that I point out some of the areas I enjoyed. It was nice to be able to read the book in one session, and thus I can’t complain too much as I didn’t invest large amounts of my time into it. As an actual compliment, I enjoyed the relationship between the narrator and her husband’s daughter, especially towards the beginning of the novel. I found that it was the most actualized and provided some emotional reward, unlike all other relationships. Though brief, I enjoyed some of the pop culture references, such as the discussion of Duchamp’s Fountain, but these weren’t able to save the book for me.
It seems cruel to be so harsh on a novel, but it just had so few redeeming aspects that there is little other way to put it.
All in all, the only reason I’d recommend this book is because it won’t take longer than an afternoon to read. Otherwise, save yourself the time and find something else.
The scope of a novella, the number of pages of a novella, but written as a series of vignettes--many just a sentence or two--it probably has the number of words of a short story and can/should be read in one sitting. It is told from the perspective of a second wife as she speculates about the first wife--"sisters"--viewing her relationship to her husband in comparison to what she imagine's the first's wife's relationship was. A combination of fact and fancy is recounted with vivid, specific detail in well written and compact prose, allowing the reader to understand more of her mind, the problems with the relationship she has with her husband, although still not making complete sense of the surprise conclusion that felt disconnected from the rest of the book.
Inside the mind of the of the second wife and stepmother. An intriguing look at where our minds go. Concise prose....one sitting.
This was an interesting read. The style was unusual and a bit weird, but that actually made the book more interesting. We follow a woman who is her husband’s second wife. She is a bit obsessed with his first wife and we are invited to follow her thoughts, her stream of consciousness and her actions as she tells her story. Not much happens, but I think it might be a true representation of a woman who has low self-esteem and a bad marriage.
It was short. I was between audiobooks and needed something. And it filled its purpose, simply.
An annoying thing about the narrator. She had a great voice, when talking about anyone but her husband. Her husband's "voice" was a little high and nasally. I can't imagine that this was on purpose, but whenever the main character starts a sentence regarding her husband, the first 2-3 words sound to be in his voice before dropping into her normal voice. The repetitvenes became grating. That is all.
An annoying thing about the narrator. She had a great voice, when talking about anyone but her husband. Her husband's "voice" was a little high and nasally. I can't imagine that this was on purpose, but whenever the main character starts a sentence regarding her husband, the first 2-3 words sound to be in his voice before dropping into her normal voice. The repetitvenes became grating. That is all.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was an interesting read. The style was unusual and a bit weird, but that actually made the book more interesting. We follow a woman who is her husband’s second wife. She is a bit obsessed with his first wife and we are invited to follow her thoughts, her stream of consciousness and her actions as she tells her story. Not much happens, but I think it might be a true representation of a woman who has low self-esteem and a bad marriage.
fast-paced
I’m a sucker for this form. Small, loosely connected vignettes with plenty of white space. This was a quick read that was fast read and pleasant surprise. It’s a quick glimpse into a second marriage with a nice pace. I liked this enough to request more of her books from the library.