Welcome to Litsy!

This book is beautifully written but delves too deep for me at this time. The description of her mother‘s death leaves me to believe Greengrass must have had real life experience here as her writing was so on point. Still, after reading 50% and going back and forth on bailing I skimmed to the end not able to follow the author on her path of introspection and details.

I'm not sure about this one. The writing is just beautiful, but on the whole it bored me a little. There are some interesting historical passages regarding the discovery of x-rays, psychology and anatomy, that weave through a pretty uneventful biography of an unknown woman. If I wasn't a science nerd I'd probably have quit halfway.

Library trip, which first? Don't say all of them, I've already got two others half read.

#MusicalNewYear #FallingSlowly I loved this book & I love the cover too .... 💖💖💖 She looks to be falling slowly & gracefully

A very intelligent book about bringing someone new into the world and letting someone else go. The story skips from present day to childhood and often hundreds of years into the past as the author intersperses pieces of history about various advances in the medical field.
I listened to this one and, at one point, basically started over so that I could really understand what was going on.
All in all, a beautifully told story.

"Time lessens hurt but multiplies loss."

While being pregnant of her second child, a mother remembers her first pregnancy and her relationship with her mother and grandmother. The author also supplies many historical facts about Freud, Röntgen and the physician Hunter.
Despite many beautiful sentences I feel as detached from the main character as she seems from her husband, daughter, mother and grandmother.

Painful but true, this quote about motherhood:

“When my daughter throws her arms with thoughtless grace around my neck, I respond with an agonising gratitude that I must hide from her in case, feeling the heft of it, she might become encumbered and not do what she was born for, which is to go away from me.”

Book 20: The intertwining of history and non-fiction was what nailed it for me - a fascinating look back through the history of ways of seeing as the narrator tries to consider the notions of motherhood throughout her life. Sometimes a little incongruous to the main story but nonetheless adding a lyricism to history and science.

Sight by Jessie Greengrass, shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction, is a braided novel about motherhood and scientific discovery (x-rays, psychoanalysis, and surgery.) The writing style reminds me of Motherhood by Sheila Heti, where the narrator feels like the author and I had to keep reminding myself that it is fiction. I had to push through it at times but ultimately was glad I did as it had some resonance with my own recent experiences.

Sight is an introspective novel, the story of an internal life, as much as it is of a life lived. The meditation that is offered here; on personhood, on motherhood; the giving of ourselves to others, and the warping of our connections to the people in our lives is a singular insight. A reminder of how difficult it is to be yourself, alone, but also how difficult it is to fracture that singular identity, to connect or fasten ourselves to others.

This book is meditatively magical

Oh preach

17 | #ABBAInAugust

I just spent the last 10 minutes googling this as the book on the #moneymoneymoney to win the Booker prize. It‘s not even shortlisted 🤦🏻‍♀️

It still sounds a good read though. Thank gawd it‘s Friday!!

💔

Spam because this is life

That got too real, too quickly...sometimes being a woman really sucks.

Taking a break from the long list with this- which I really thought would make the long list.

I am excited for this week‘s line-up of #weeklyreads books! A female spy, book on the Women‘s Prize for Fiction list, plus the two from last week: lesbian coming of age tale set in the Victorian Era and gothic tale of missus and servant. #currentlyreading #readinggoals

#julywrapup part 2/3! This is 10 of the 31 books I read in July. So many amazing ones but the fave of these is Stories of Your Life and Others - the best short stories I‘ve been lucky enough to read so far. Honorable mention goes to the book about the ancient near east which was so fascinating I‘m determined to read more about it - these types of books are always expensive tho so that‘s a long term goal.

This book is on the list of Man Booker eligible titles so I'm trying to squeeze another one in. #24in48 @24in48
It just started raining here and my plans for the day were outdoor... I may end up with more time to read than I thought!

This was an amazing book. In a lot of ways it was everything I was hoping Flights by Olga Tocarczuk would be - genre defying but with a really clear heart. The continuity of having a single protagonist you came back to after the medical history vignettes was really good. Recommend!

So many feelings about this book. Some moments of sheer brilliance, many moments that have brought tears to my eyes, and yet lots of moments of that have required me to push through feelings of boredom.

The sections on mother-daughter relations and moving from being a child to a parent are so spot on that they leave me emotional.

Beautifully written novel on reflection, both personal or historical. I see why it was shortlisted for the Women‘s Prize. I felt she went a little too much on Freud, otherwise perfection.

Such beauty, to write this beautifully and share it with us is a gift💕

A stunning novel. So many powerful, gorgeously written sentences that made me stop and think. The narrator is considering whether to have a child and looks back on the death of her mother. It‘s about identity & relationships and how much can be known about ourselves and each other. I like how the author tied in historical people to the narrative. Highly recommend it if you like novels that are contemplative, thoughtful and very well written.

I‘m loving this book 💕

Absolutely loved this introspective literary reflection on the various permutations of motherhood - full review https://sixminutesforme.com/2018/05/25/sight-by-jessie-greengrass/ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Doing a buddy read of this with two other booktubers... intrigued to see where this goes but enjoying the writing style and prose so far! Very introspective which makes up for minimal movement in plot itself #NetGalley

I truly loved this book. There is a sacredness about it. So full of insight & thought. Our writer embodied this story. It was so alive. I loved the MC relationships with her mother & grandmother.. I loved the pieces on Freud & his relationship with his daughter Anna. I loved how she brought different sciences together in such a human way. I loved every page ❤️ thanks @andrew61 for your review which made me read this

⭐️ literally just finished Sight .. ❤️
⭐️we are getting a Lydll or Aldi store in our town ( badly needed)
⭐️Bookclub tonight , so will probably start chosen book tomorrow
⭐️did you hear about the poor little strawberry ? .... Her mammy & daddy were in a jam 😬😂

#FriYayIntro @jesshowbooks
Happy Friday literary friends 😘🖐🏻🖐🏻🖐🏻

#LateNightThoughtsWithMisty @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks thankyou for the tag @Eggs

The tagged book... beautiful ❤️
Cutting For Stone. / A Long Long Way. /Gilead.
Literary fiction/ Crime/ & now historical fiction too
Books 😬. Shoes ...❤️

I tag all who want to play 👍🏻

Next up for me ... I think it will be good ❤️ what an elegant cover

What a wonderful book- beautifully written the narrator links the loss of her mother, the relationship with her g/mthr and the birth of 2 dtrs and explores the fragile threads of a life whilst telling 3 stories from scientific history. It felt like the author laboured over every word + this was a literary joy but it also touched movingly on female relationships with their body at the time of birth and with the link with their past + future. 5*

Main character dealing with grief: book reminds me of Rachel Cusk.

I've been a bit out of the litsy loop in the last couple of weeks so a string of reviews will follow but i liked this extract about reading. This book feels like every word has been carefully crafted and so far im intrigued.

...and feel that the world was turning elsewhere...

I'm half way through the Women's Fiction longlist for 2018 and fairly sure I'm not going to make the deadline (23rd) to read them all.

This book didn't so much speak to me as reach deep inside me and grasp my naked soul. It was so exquisitely written, just a thing of breathtaking beauty. It was a joy to read. But so hard to read. I had to stop regularly to rest/compose myself as it had me panting with raw, visceral emotion. Never before have I so fully and deeply related to a character and/or a book's subject matter. Every thought, notion, emotion was as my own. Continued ⬇⬇⬇

There is some beautiful writing here, particularly the meditations on grief. The whole thing fails, though, because mostly what‘s here is pedantic, dense prose: more academic than fictional. It‘s not a novel, IMHO—it‘s an overly long, rather pretentious essay; while I cannot recommend it, some other great readers out there certainly do.

(I have much, much more to say in my BookTube review: https://youtu.be/dDAWi0JLMFc)

#QuoteOfTheDay

Adding to my stack of The Women‘s Prize longlist titles. These are drool-worthy covers. I hope they read as well as they look! #thewomensprizelonglist2018 #nosuchthingastoomanybooks 📚📚

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Artwork by Rone. (https://goo.gl/images/ok1Luf)

My full review of Sight:
https://booksonthego.net/2018/03/13/sight-by-jessie-greengrass-review/
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Beautiful, singular book. The narrator reflects on the death of her mother & struggles to decide whether to have children. She weaves in stories of Rontgen (x-Ray), Hunter (surgery) & Freud, who wanted to ‘see‘ or understand humans better. It‘s meditative, but lyrical sentences propel you forward. Told with unflinching honesty & intelligence, it feeds your mind. A thoughtful, original & exquisitely written novel.

Really loving this debut novel so far - as many of you know, it‘s on the recently released Women‘s Prize long list.

#QuoteOfTheDay

Friday wine down with this beautiful, singular book. 🥂📖

I‘ve just started Sight & am already tipping it for the Women‘s Prize longlist. Here are my other predictions. What do you think, how many will I get right? 😉
https://booksonthego.net/2018/03/07/womens-prize-longlist-predictions/