Nicole Del Sesto

Not my cup of vegan spiced chai spirulina tea

Revisado: 03-31-25

There were some relatable moments in this book, but overall I just don't think I can relate to July. This book feels like it's probably super autobiographical - it's about being a women, being a mother, being a wife, having a successful career and how all those things don't always add up to a satisfying life and it's OK to want more. I support wanting more.

What probably bugged me most is how she was complaining about a lack of sex drive, and worried about a waning sex drive but spent pretty much the whole book masterbating. Enough already.

Her problems felt self-indulgent and bless her best friend, because she really goes through it with the main character's self-absorption. Other little details grated. Not glad I read this.

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Lacks focus

Revisado: 03-31-25

What was at the core of this book one might wonder after almost 17 hours of listening ... Is it the history of the dust bowl, is it the plight of native Americans, feminism, how unwed mothers were treated in the 1800's, corrupt politicians, a yearning mother, a black female photographer trying to make a name for herself, an orphan who may be a lesbian and who loves basketball or perhaps a magical witch who gets to help the town bury their unwanted memories? Yes, friends it's all those things and probably some I have forgotten.

This is not a spoiler, at the end of the book we get sort of an afterward read by a Native American man giving some context to their history during that time, so I'm guessing that was supposed to be the main thrust of the story, but honestly - it missed the mark if it was.

It was a frustrating book to consume - I never connected with any of the characters, honestly didn't care what happened, and there were parts of the story which never came together in the end - how could they? All that being said, there was a level of creativity in the book that I really appreciated and it did keep moving enough to keep me going. But in the end, the payoff wasn't worth the investment.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Dark entertainment

Revisado: 11-07-23

My rating system is warped because I can give a good thriller the same rating as a classic and that's all based on my enjoyment of the book. This book is no where near the level of say The House of Doors but they both got 4-stars from me, so take my rating for what it's worth.

I thought this was a really creative take on the kidnapped and put in the basement story and I thought it was interesting and well told. Total entertainment if you can stomach that kind of story.

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Banal

Revisado: 07-16-23

I didn't read Cutting for Stone when everybody was raving about it, I just had a feeling it wasn't for me. I should have stuck with my instinct and skipped this one. The only reason I kept going was that I had used an Audible credit for it. I kept thinking maybe it would get better.

Honestly - I personally hated it. That doesn't mean it's a bad book but for me ... in the words of Randy Jackson on American Idol ... for you, for me, it's a No.

Consider this a spoiler if you will and proceed with caution but it felt like a book in which characters were introduced just so the author could kill them off. There seemed to be no other point. End of not really a spoiler.

Also, there was some writing that just made me want to hurl ... When the story was focused on a woman who became a Labor and Delivery doctor he described a flower as "placental red" ... There was a character named Lenin, and you'll never guess ---- He became a communist.

God it was trying and absolutely miserable, about 700 pages too long (lol) and for me there was not a single redeeming quality.

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Metaphors - getcher Metaphors

Revisado: 08-09-22

It is impossible to ignore the author's age when thinking about this book. When I was in middle school (and obsessed with The Captain and Tennille) I started writing a novel about two talking muskrats who - you guessed it - fell in love. To think that Mottley is just 6-years older than me when I wrote that, is mind blowing. For a 19-year-old author this novel is impressive and it’s a major achievement.

This book is also depressing and, for me, not in any way enjoyable. It’s a fictional account based on a newsclip, which makes it even more depressing. And look, I am all about the dark books, but when I finished this book I was elated to not have to read anymore. .

It’s not a book I would have picked up if not for its Booker nomination. The thing is, though, I believe this book was nominated because of the author's age, and the subject matter. It is not a literary masterpiece. The writing is juvenile (not “Muskrat Love” juvenile, but still - Creative Writing 101.) Metaphor after metaphor. Dear God, free me from these metaphors. The editors should have done the author the favor of trimming those down.

Because of the nomination this book has to live up to a higher standard, and for me it falls short. That doesn’t take away from the absolute achievement of a writer of this age, but if we didn’t know her age, we’d all be scratching our heads at this book’s inclusion. I’m such a huge proponent of diversity in all things, but I think in this case the judges were trying to be a little too “woke.”

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Trust me .... It's a slog.

Revisado: 07-30-22

The “novel” around which this whole book revolves, was, in my opinion - weak and boring. After that, it was really hard to care about everything that came after. It was a really interesting concept, and I did appreciate that. The book had 4 distinct storytellers - I enjoyed one of them. There was absolutely no emotion and because of the structure hard to develop any kind of attachment.

It was clever, though, and certainly aptly titled. There were a lot of branches on that Trust tree, not enough to save my rating, however.

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Entertaining

Revisado: 04-15-22

Being a new detective presents a unique set of challenges when the world has a built in expiration date.

A "planet killer" asteroid is heading towards earth, and the date has been confirmed. There's a 100% chance it will hit. Some people "go bucketlist" leaving their jobs and living out their dreams, some just keep living their lives as normal - what else can they do? And some ... well, some commit suicide. Or do they?

Da da da.......

Fun book. Entertaining, quick read.

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Do you hear what I hear?

Revisado: 03-14-22

The sound of a book falling flat?

During Booker season I found the most charming video book blogger, who touted this book as a possible Booker nominee. She was so convincing in her love for this book. I had to try it.

As much as I loved her, I HATED this book. OMG it was so so so dumb. It started out OK, and I thought it would get better but by the final 1/3 it just had devolved into pure silliness. Perhaps it was meant to be satire ripping on people who will believe absolutely anything. But even as satire it was ridiculous.

I truly hated it.

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Should be required listening

Revisado: 02-28-22

When we scratch our head and wonder how we got to this point we now have some degree of an answer.

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Literary Criticism and Biography

Revisado: 01-19-21

Sylvia Plath led a short well-documented life. What I find most interesting about Plath is the way people get obsessed with her. (I am one of them.) There are SO many Plath biographies, and let's face it - people are all working from the same source material.

It makes it really hard to have anything new to say, though this book promised to do that. Ultimately, it did deliver, but it was a long time coming. Mostly, if you've read other Plath biographies, The Bell Jar, Letters Home, and The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath you know 95% of what is in this book. What you may not know exactly, you know peripherally - because nothing changes what happened, only how some of the others documented Plath in their own letters and journals. I'm not sure what I was expecting.

If you only read one book on Plath, this would be a good one. It's comprehensive.

True confession time - I don't "get" poetry. At. All. I try so hard to read and absorb Plath's poems and they mostly go right over my head. (Though I really enjoy listening to her reading her own poems, a bunch of which are available on Spotify. Who new?) This book contained a lot of literary criticism and that is not something I enjoy. To me it's like the pretentious guy in the museum looking at a painting of a red ball and explaining to the crowd "What the artist was trying to say was life on a fixed income is hard." If I don't get it, it's my problem. Don't explain it to me. There was a lot of explaining the poetry.

This book was exceptionally well-researched, and well-written. What it was not, as per usual, was well-edited. There was a lot of repetition. Perhaps you notice that more when you listen vs. read. I feel like there were about 50 mentions to the effect of "and that's when she wrote Lady Lazurus." I know that's not the case, because I also thought she used the word "elegiac" every other word and I searched Kindle and turned out it was only 10.
But really, some critical editing was in order.

Overall, relatively easy to get through in spite of the length, new enough information available and you know, more Sylvia for those who need it. I think I'm well-sated for now.

Hardcover of this book has artwork I understand, which would be cool to have so I'll probably buy it at some point. If I'd been reading the print copy, I can tell you I would have skipped a LOT of it.

Narrator was fine. Early on I was really distracted by what I thought was a speech impediment - I heard her S's like Peter Brady saying "Porkchops and applesauce, swell" but it either got better or I stopped noticing.

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