Adele | 
Slimani definitely has a way with words
Adéle has such a different tone when compared to Lullaby (written by the same author) but once again she manages to make it impossible to put the book down or to predict what the extremely unlikeable protoganist will do next
After not being able to put Lullaby down by the same author, I decided to try Adele. So far, absolutely intrigued. Slimani seems to capture so well the complexities of the motherhood.
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Professional_Book_Dragon
Ladies, your thoughtfulness is so appreciated. It's been a bear of a work week and this little happy surprise made me tear up a bit. I do not have it. Thank you!❤
I will be planning some mailers while traveling next week to get things sent out there following week. #litsylove
pickAdele, the titular character of this erotically-tinged little novel, is a wealthy, married Parisian mother trying for years to hide the empty compulsions that have her seeking violent and passionless sex with strange men. Not inquiring as to the “why” behind her character‘s affairs, Slimani simply keeps empathetic tabs on Adele‘s highs and heartbreaks, saying, “[literature] is maybe one of the only experiences where you can stop judging people.”
so-soAdèle is all effect, with little interrogation of the cause. It‘s interesting, it‘s a good conversation-starter, but it‘s not going to sweep you away or pull on any heart-strings. I‘d recommend this one for your book club if the chat has been a bit stale lately, but skip it if you‘re looking for something to curl up with on the couch. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/adele-leila-slimani/
Interesting first page! Has anyone read this?! 📚❤️
I decided to try to make a sesame dressing today! We had a salad at work Thursday that was delicious! My dressing tastes good, just a little different! Do you have a similar recipe? Email it to me at loverofbooks75@gmail. Com 🙌🏻❤️🥗🍽
#Lunchandabook 🍴📚
pickVery French, very sexy, very bleak. Relationships are weird; being an adult is a lot. I enjoyed this, even more on reflection than in the moment.
Just as I crack open this thriller by Leïla Slimani, I read the opening quote, which coincidentally is from the next book on my list (tagged). Funny how things fall together like that.
I read Chanson Douce last summer and liked Slimani‘s style, although I do like this book more. It‘s more interesting and more relatable, although I do wonder why Slimani seems fixated on using “imperfect” mothers as a horror fixture. Not all women want motherhood!
panI wanted to like this but... a troubled woman, a husband that can‘t let go... I see why so many liked it. For me, it just made me incredibly sad. I will say the translation was excellent though.
pickPrimarily interested in making men want her, Adèle deprives her body of food and exposes it to encounters that risk her life as a wife and mother. I wanted to understand what was at the root of Adèle‘s apparent addiction to sex more than I did. I also wanted to like her more than I did (she‘s cold, spoiled, conceited and selfish). However, it was a fascinating look at compulsive behavior.
pickFascinating, challenging read about the tension between a woman‘s desires and her societal role as a wife and mother. It reminded me q lot of Kate Chopin‘s The Awakening, and in the author‘s notes, she mentions being inspired by Madame Bovary and Anna Karenina. It‘s also very, very French.
pickI‘ve read some really well translated books recently - and this is another of them. Adele appears to have a wonderful life: good job, surgeon husband and a beautiful son. Except she‘s not happy, and seems to have a sex addiction - and uses it to punish herself, I thought. A really desolate book, not one to read if you‘re feeling low - this will do you no favours. But I loved it! And another unresolved ending that I seem to love 🤷🏼♀️
so-soThis one was mixed for me. I did enjoy the book but I wasn‘t a fan of the ending.
#rumourhasit #anglophileapril
I‘m going with the singer 😁 the book doesn‘t get very good reviews!
A good start to my Spring holidays: I finished my library‘s reading challenge (only 6 books, but I keep requesting NetGalley books, and that list has gone into double figures now 😂), and these holds all came in at once!
I‘m on a mission to think of something positive every day after I lost a friend to suicide last week, and I think she‘d like today (she was a librarian at my library). She always borrowed the books I liked after I‘d finished ❤️.
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pickMy second book by Slimani whose Adele reminds me of a modern Madame Bovary. Perhaps a secure married life and motherhood I s not for everyone. I thought the characters were well developed even if not likable. Recommended.
“People who are never satisfied destroy everything around them.”
pickA psychological study of a flawed character. From outward appearances, Adele has a flourishing career as a journalist, a successful marriage, and a happy son. However she feels empty inside and fills that void with extramarital affairs. An interesting look into sexual addiction and a damaged person's psyche.
pickMy tbr pile for February. Short month so likely too ambitious!
pickI think I need to go back and reread the Unbearable Lightness of Being after reading this book.
so-so#ARC #NetGalley #KeepingItReal #MoreMehThanYeah #BorrowNotBuy
I‘m not sure this book will resonate well with most readers. Aside from the MC being really unlikeable, there isn‘t much of a story here. I think Lullaby/ The Perfect Nanny was a much more compelling story. I do like the edginess and rawness of Slimani‘s writing and I‘ll definitely continue to read more from her, but this book was just ok.
