matt haig literally takes on the most extensive topics like life decisions, regrets, and parallelthis book is a therapy session between pages.
[image]
matt haig literally takes on the most extensive topics like life decisions, regrets, and parallel universes, and does it with incredible tact.
it follows a woman named nora who is especially unhappy with her current life situation and finds no fulfillment in anything. events pass that make her find herself in a library suspended between time with endless books, each containing another life she can slip into.
each new life nora gets to experience in these parallel universes leaves her with a new, deeper understanding of life, choice, and her personal regrets.
i personally thought this book wrecked my life because wow did i feel DUMB when the parallel universe/science-y stuff came into play. matt haig's brain is so powerful to encompass all this philosophical information and then put it into coherent thoughts!!! i could never!!
"What do I do now?" "You open the book and turn to the first page."
on a personal level, i really enjoyed this book. like the conversations it brought up felt like it was JUST PERFECT for my current life state. it made me think so deeply about so many topics especially on making choices and feeling regret
there were many moments of this book that felt repetitive to me and yes, i guess that's the whole point of parallel universe realities but there were times i felt it was hard to keep reading and easy to put it down
the ending of the book was amazing!!! the perfect ending to nora's story!! any other ending would have left me with endless disappointment so im glad matt haig pulled through.
i'm definitely going to pick up the author's other books bc he is clearly incredibly smart and talented and knows how to give me a proper existential crisis
"Because a pawn is never just a pawn. A pawn is a queen-in-waiting. All you need to do is find a way to keep moving forward."
Book #2 for the Reading Rush for the prompt: the first book you touch
first of all, julia phillips, how dare you?
look this book is slowburn x a milBook #2 for the Reading Rush for the prompt: the first book you touch
first of all, julia phillips, how dare you?
look this book is slowburn x a million and i understand it's hard to get into at first because you're constantly being introduced to so many characters and keeping them straight is very hard and you have no idea why they matter but they DO I PROMISE THEY DO
you would think this is a story of two young girls who got abducted but that's just the tip of the iceberg. this book follows a plethora of incredibly developed characters who are all connected to this tragedy
you don't know it at first, but the more you read, the stronger of a connection you build with this story and the characters and this chilling, isolating setting and then when that last chapter hits, it HITS YOU HARD AND YOU ARE FOUND CURLED INTO A FETAL POSITION CRYING AND YOU KNOW WHAT JULIA PHILLIPS DID AND IT HURTS
the only valid reaction to finishing this book: [image]
i know this book isn't for everyone and i accept your opinion but just know that it's a wrong opinion xoxo
if you're a fan of slow building, character driven stories that are a mix of thriller and realistic fiction like Miracle Creek or Station Eleven, i think you would love love love this book
“Loving someone close-up - that was difficult.”...more
Book #1 for the Reading Rush for the prompt: a book that starts with 'the'
I don't know how to review this book aside from saying the character depBook #1 for the Reading Rush for the prompt: a book that starts with 'the'
I don't know how to review this book aside from saying the character depth and realism and the way the stories and lives crossed paths was absolutely incredible. It's so clever and well written and explores while giving commentary on some really pressing issues of race, internalized racism, and identity.
also i'm not well spoken and prefer to keyboard smash rather than analyze the book with big words so i will leave you with that fdlkjfklsdjfl
im in between a 3.5 and 4 right now and i can't really explain why.
- this book did a lot of things and it did them well. to start, there's this very im in between a 3.5 and 4 right now and i can't really explain why.
- this book did a lot of things and it did them well. to start, there's this very strong theme of family and heritage and immigration - but that's just the beginning cause this book is loaded with secrets, betrayals, and tragedies that revolve around one family - *give us the family dramaaaaaa* - i LOVE reading stories that take place in unique settings & this takes place (mainly) in holland. the setting is described vividly and is a relevant part of the story - the relationship between sylvie and amy ...more
this book can be described as 'rich white people problems' but with a funny, satirical tone and was actually more entertaining than i expected
it follothis book can be described as 'rich white people problems' but with a funny, satirical tone and was actually more entertaining than i expected
it follows 4 families that are all connected through this life-long (okay more like 10 years) friendship and their gifted children. a new school for gifted children opens and is extremely selective in their picking. obviously, these ego-hungry parents are like !!!!my kid deserves to go there!!!
but as always, there's more to these people than test scores. some serious drama builds between the families and it turns into one of those compulsive, entertaining dramas/scandals that everyone wants to watch but no one wants to be a part of.
the parents in this book are ridiculous and so petty, oh my god, but their character profile and depth are REALLY well done. every character is extremely fleshed out and plays an integral role in the story. i really liked seeing all the little actions and details have deeper reasoning behind them and come back into play at the end of the book
these parents are so into themselves and the abilities of their children i would SCREAM if i ever came into contact with any of them like boi there's more to life than test results and bragging about your kid
my only real issue with the book was that it was looonngggg (listen, 450 pages doesn't sound so big but my copy had tiny font and BIG pages and it was very overwhelming for my three brain cells to process.)
there was a slowness of the plot that lost my attention from time to time and made me want to put it down (im glad i stuck with it bc the ending is probably the best part of the book)
there's also the issue of the amount of characters introduced right at the start. its easy to confuse them, but just stay with it because they'll all separate into their own person soon enough (i hope, otherwise you'll need to mind map it out, and that's your homework, not mine)
i want to be able to express my thoughts on this book in a really eloquent manner (because this book feels so well written) but i am entirely unable ti want to be able to express my thoughts on this book in a really eloquent manner (because this book feels so well written) but i am entirely unable to do that
so i will say, this book had some incredible character profiles and exploration of personalities and growth but wow it felt like this book included every kind of terrible thing that could happen to a person
i know life can suck but can we get some light at the end of the tunnel, it just felt so depressing to read back-to-back terrible things happen to the characters. and even when the book was supposed to wind down towards the end, more and more awful things happened and i was just,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,sad, to say the least
slice of life stories that occur over the lifetime of the characters??? hell yes!
i am absolutely enchanted by the ability mary beth keane has in craftslice of life stories that occur over the lifetime of the characters??? hell yes!
i am absolutely enchanted by the ability mary beth keane has in crafting this story. it is so real, so complex, so human, i feel like i've lived with these characters, grew up next to them, saw them graduate and become adults, and witness them face trial and test and life
and my goodness, was it an experience.
it's a story of love and forgiveness and acceptance and living, im just filled with emotions and i dONT KNOW HOW TO TRANSLATE IT INTO WORDS
but if you love slow books that are deeply centered around family drama and are heavily character driven and hold SO MUCH nuance, then pick this up RIGHT NOW!!!!!! that's an order!!! (pls c: )
also, i was totally right about this having 'little fire everywhere' vibes ...more