Litsy

AnneCecilie

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny | Kiran Desai

This is definitely not the reaction you want when you‘re treating someone

34 likes

TheKidUpstairs

The Wilderness | Angela Flournoy

pick

I just realized I'm behind on reviews! Prepare to be review-bombed....

I love a story of female friendship, especially one that is not afraid to delve into the dark corners and grey areas. Because life is not always pretty, and we do not always support the choices of those we love, and friendships can wax and wain, but they can also sustain us through it all in sometimes unexpected ways.

Cont'd in comments

TheKidUpstairs Flournoy paints a portrait of five women, moving back and forth through decades of their lives, together and apart. They are beautifully crafted characters, each felt so completely, achingly human, in all their strength and vulnerability.

cont'd in next comment 2d

TheKidUpstairs A key event towards the end of the novel shifts the tone from realism into a more poetic style, in a way that reminded me of The Sentence by Louise Erdrich - a catalytic occurrence that knocks not only the characters but the narrative structure sideways. The form of the novel mirroring the life within its pages. It was beautiful and brilliant and purposefully jarring.

I never read Turner House when it came out, but I will have to rectify that! 2d

kspenmoll Wonderfully detailed review! This is in my TBR. 1d

48 likes1 stack add3 comments

AnneCecilie

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny | Kiran Desai

What every reader wants to do in public transportation

Bklover I‘ve gotten to where I just ask! Otherwise it drives me nuts. 5d

Dilara @Bklover @AnneCecilie Yes, at some point, it's less creepy to just stop and ask the person rather than walk past her 4 times in a row 😕 4d

35 likes2 comments

AnneCecilie

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny | Kiran Desai

One view on Dickens

It really says something about your life when Dickens is better

36 likes1 stack add

Chelsea.Poole

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny | Kiran Desai

so-so

I‘m on the fence about this one. The writing is beautiful and some sections were vividly rendered. However, I did get lost in some of the magical realism especially towards the end. Big ideas about identity, fate, family, and art are explored, spanning decades and the globe. I did love the glimpses we had of Sunny and Sonja together but would have appreciated more, especially since we‘ve got the page count.

charl08 The page count was a big factor for me! 5d

69 likes1 comment

Suet624

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny | Kiran Desai

so-so

I‘ve waited a few days before writing this review. This is definitely an apparently unpopular opinion. I‘m irrationally angry at myself for refusing to DNF this. I don‘t mind long books. I definitely like good writing. But when I think back on what I just finished reading I‘m curious why it needed to be so long and why I ended up not caring one way or the other what happened with the majority of the characters.

RaeLovesToRead I've just started this one and I'm not immediately feeling it :/ 6d

AmyG Thanks for the heads up, Sue. I‘ll pass. I got enough to read. 6d

Jas16 I have it on my shelves waiting for me. I will still give it a go but will definitely lower my expectations. 6d

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Suet624 @RaeLovesToRead follow your gut 6d

Suet624 @AmyG I felt such relief when I saw your comment. I‘ve saved you hours of wasted reading time. Again, people really liked it so I may just be out of the norm. 6d

Suet624 @Jas16 good call 6d

Suet624 @sarahbarnes I know you really liked this book and I‘m sorry for my review 6d

Hooked_on_books I was listening to a podcast that was 4 people discussing all the Booker finalists and one of them said exactly what you‘re saying. I plan to try this on audio but have really no expectations going in, so I‘ll bail early if needed keeping your review in mind. 6d

Suet624 @Hooked_on_books I can‘t tell you how many days I thought to myself. Why am I reading this still? (edited) 6d

Lesliereadsalot So glad I bailed on this one! Didn‘t care about the characters from the get go. 6d

Suet624 @Lesliereadsalot 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 6d

Chelsea.Poole I finished this one today. I am contemplating how I feel but mostly I agree with your point. It‘s one of those that so many have been raving about but the story did not blow me away. Lovely writing though. And I agree, too long. 5d

Suet624 @Chelsea.Poole I‘m so glad you understand and mostly agree with what I‘m saying. 5d

sarahbarnes No need to be sorry! It seems like you‘re in good company. I guess it was just the book I needed at the time I read it. 5d

sisilia I was tempted to buy this book, but I have no good experience with new releases… so I decided to borrow from the library instead. I think I made the correct decision 😅 7h

Suet624 @sisilia i‘m really curious what you‘re going to think of this book 6m

44 likes1 stack add16 comments

squirrelbrain

The Wilderness | Angela Flournoy

pick

I loved that this launched straight into the drama with no introductions or preamble. Following the lives of 4 friends over the years, I found the non-linear timeline a bit distracting but otherwise I was completely engrossed.

I need to read the author‘s previous book now, if it‘s as good as this.

TrishB Great pic 👍🏻 I really enjoyed this too. 6d

Cathythoughts Sounds good Helen ! Stacked. X (edited) 6d

BarbaraBB Ooh sounds good. I remember seeing this book at Gladstone‘s. 6d

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Ruthiella I really loved her first book. I think you‘ll like it. 6d

Hooked_on_books Her previous book is totally different but really good! I really liked this one, too. And what a great spot you found to read! 5d

squirrelbrain I just ordered her first book! @Ruthiella @Hooked_on_books - it‘s going to be very stormy weather from now on, but at least we‘re tucked up inside! 5d

70 likes7 stack adds6 comments

Chelsea.Poole

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny | Kiran Desai

Reading a chunkster at the indoor soccer facility. We spend way too much of our lives here in the winter months. Loads of reading can happen though! ⚽️ 📖

Lesliereadsalot Bailed on this one. Waiting for your take. 6d

sarahbarnes This one was long, but I loved it and by the end I was sad to leave the characters behind. 6d

81 likes2 comments