I think that maybe the translation wasn’t great. There was too much explaining about what were Japanese customs, something a person from Japan readingI think that maybe the translation wasn’t great. There was too much explaining about what were Japanese customs, something a person from Japan reading it in the original Japanese wouldn’t have needed to read.
The “rules” made the time travel less interesting to me. At times I connected with the characters but I never felt that close to them and their experiences. Much was predictable. There was too much repetition, especially for such a short book.
The message about the heart changing was lovely I suppose but I couldn’t get into this sparsely told story. I liked it mostly because the premise is intriguing.
This is a short quick read. I read it in two days, two chapters a day. There are four characters and each one’s story is told in a very long chapter. I appreciated the information given about each character before and after their unique experiences. I would have liked to know more about the one woman customer who has a role in all four chapters.
I was left mostly indifferent though to both the characters and the opportunity they’d had. I was touched by certain things but some things had me feeling angry and (in not a good way) sad, especially in the last story. I felt as though in the most important way that all of them squandered their chance, even though it wasn’t much of a chance.
I read this for my real world book club and I suspect that most members will have a lot of thoughts and feelings they’ll want to discuss. My guess is that for once I’ll have the least to contribute. I liked it well enough but I think that more could have been done with it and I think that it could have been better. Perhaps I’d have preferred to see it as a stage play....more
Okay, I give up. I kept thinking I might pick it up and force myself to finish this short book but it’s DNF for me. This is higJust some random notes:
Okay, I give up. I kept thinking I might pick it up and force myself to finish this short book but it’s DNF for me. This is highly unusual for me and I think every other time I DNF I simply take the book off of my shelves. This was a real world book club book though and I did make it 38% of the way through and frequently contemplated finishing it. I haven’t even read all of this: https://the-bibliofile.com/beautiful-... I wanted to know what happened but I found I didn’t care that much about the details.
The few pros:
I did enjoy the musings about climate change, and also about economic systems, but the thoughts were presented in such a superficial manner. I appreciate their inclusion though as I don’t encounter those topics that often in novels.
I listened as I read and I loved the Irish accent of the narrator and the characters.
I did like this quote: “Maybe certain kinds of pain, at certain formative stages in life, just impress themselves into a person’s sense of self permanently.”
The extra half star is for the above.
The cons:
What I first noticed was Where are the quotation marks?! They’re nowhere. It took me some time to warm up to the writing style in general.
The storyline is tedious.
If not for the climate change issue inclusions (not deep but at least mentioned) and the lovely Irish accent of the narrator narrating the main character (I simultaneously read an e-book and an audio book) and that I was reading this book for my real world book club I would have quickly abandoned this book. Some of this should have worked for me. A character who’s a published and successful novelist, for instance. It was painful to get through though.
I’m going to go back to being more discriminating about what I’ll read, aiming for 5 and 4 star books only. For years I read my real world book club books no matter what and then I stopped doing that and recently I’ve been feeling obligated again but now I’ll going back to abandoning books that don’t work for me or not even trying them at all.
I would not have enjoyed this book even if I was close to the characters in age: 29-30. Even the sex and the relationships are boring. It all felt banal even the climate anxiety contemplations.
My book club used to check average rating for books and not choose any unless it was 4 and above or very close to 4.0. I think we should go back to doing this sort of screening.
Life is too short for books that aren’t enjoyable!
1-1/2 stars
ETA: my status update: October 14, 2022 – page 42 11.73% "I might have to abandon this one at 38% read even though it's for my book club. I'm in torture. I can't wait for it to end. If I do DNF (highly unusual for me!!!) I might read a plot summary since I do want to know what happens or I might just wait and listen to the other book club members discuss it."...more
I read this for my real world book club. It’s our January 2022 book. It’s the club’s 16th anniversary. Our first meeting was in January 2006.
There areI read this for my real world book club. It’s our January 2022 book. It’s the club’s 16th anniversary. Our first meeting was in January 2006.
There are 6 parts which are 6 very long chapters.
Boxes? I have some ideas. Lifted? Ditto but I still feel a bit confused. It’s a testament to the storytelling, the story, and the characters that I enjoyed every bit while reading despite not always knowing precisely what was going on. I didn’t mind being confused as I was reading. It was even fun. When I finished reading though it felt a tad incomplete to me. I wanted more.
There were several characters I cared about, particularly Klara, but also Rick and Josie and at times a few others.
My heart broke a bit at times but I was thinking of this author’s book Never Let Me Go and I felt as though this one never got as deeply into the characters and that’s maybe why I cared so much more about the people in Never Let Me Go.
I do want half stars and a 1-100 scale would be ideal for me. I guess the other book was more like 4-1/2 stars and this one is more like 3-1/2 stars for me. I’ve decided to round down my rate of this one, as I did with the other. The other offered more depth and resolution. Both books are a kind of meditation on what makes someone human and on loss and on loneliness and growing up, but for me the other book did it better. I can’t help but compare them even though they are very different stories. Both chilling about possible futures. Both are thought provoking. I wanted a bit more from this one but I think most reading liked it more than I did. I’m looking forward to discussing this one with others.
This book came incredibly highly recommended by many so I suspect I might have missed things and I want to learn the thoughts other people have about this book. I also want to read some reviews but I’m too tired tonight to do that. Whichever reviews I’ve already read I read some time ago. Seeing the star ratings on the book’s page I do notice that I’m rating this book lower than most readers and most of my Goodreads friends. What’s good and surprising to me is that even though my aim is to read what for me are only 5 star and 4 star books I do not regret reading this book.
I was incredibly eager to read this book and requested that my public library purchase it. I was happy when they did. When the author offered to send I was incredibly eager to read this book and requested that my public library purchase it. I was happy when they did. When the author offered to send me a copy I was thrilled. I’d had a copy on reserve at the library but this is the sort of book I want to own, and I’ll treasure it. I will say that the author said there was no pressure on me to even read it. She included a wonderful “chocolate before noon” sticker and a lovely card with art from the Women’s Wisdom Collection and she wrote me a nice note. If I hadn’t received the book as a gift I’d definitely have read a library copy as soon as I could have gotten one. I’m eager to read all the author’s other books, those for children and those for adults. I’m particularly interested in reading her two children’s books.
Highly recommending this book to many.
Memorable characters!!! It therefore was fine when I could read only 6 days out of 8 days. The story stayed close to my mind & heart for the 8 days, and I am sure it will stay with me in the future too. I’ve been struggling with reading and my intention was to read one story a day. This book did help me get out of my reading slump.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think readers with a spiritual bent might enjoy it even more than I did. Definitely recommended for almost all vegans, people who love the idea of a combination bookstore/bakery, readers who appreciate community and enjoy reading about it. Just see how many of my shelves it’s on and it will be apparent that this book might appeal to a wide variety of readers.
I love books about books and it helped that I’d read a few of the books/writings mentioned in this book. I read it a long time ago but I remember really liking Women Who Run with the Wolves. Some of the books/poems/writings I haven’t read I now have some interest in reading most of them.
I suggest reading this without knowing too much. I did that and was delighted with what transpired.
I appreciate stories with vegan characters. I appreciate the diversity of the characters included in this story/these stories.
I love baked goods and vegan recipes. I love that the recipes in this book have “perfect pairings” included, not of wine but of books.
I love the motto “chocolate before noon.”
I wish this wasn’t a novel or at least wish that the bakery was real. I want to spend a lot of time there. I’d like to move right in. I’ve never had a place like this to hang out and the author envisioned what is for me a perfect place. It was a balm to my soul to just read about this place.
Some great quotes:
“How does one move on when a major part of your life stopped on a certain day, but you’re still alive?”
“ We never know how we will really act until something is upon us.”
“…some tough things in life we can’t overcome, and others we can.”
“…but there is a magic with books.”
“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” (This is a quote by Joseph Campbell.)
There are six linked short stories that make up the novel. Fast readers might want to read the short novel in one sitting but I think the best way to read this book is reading one story a day. The stories do make up a novel and each story also stands on its own. The only exception is the sixth/last story that I know I found richer reading it after having read the previous five stories.
First story: The Closet Romantic. It definitely went in an unexpected direction and was sadder than I’d expected, but was entertaining, and really lovely. For me it felt sad in a thoughtful vs. depressing way. I love the books and bookstores, and the vegan baked goods. Recipes from the first story: Poet’s Beer Bread; Enchanted Lemon Pecan Cupcakes.
Second story: Women and Wolves. I looked up the Mabel Dodge Luhan House in Taos. I have loved wolves since 1976 when I read Never Cry Wolf. Cancer story. The game Clue. The book club. Recipes from the second story: Coconut Jazz Muffins; Wild Women Blueberry Muffins.
Third story: Dr. Freud, an Avocado Tree, and the Goddess Spaceship. Another moving, sometimes sad, story with an unexpected twist. I have always loved cancer stories I have a Goodreads shelf for books that have them, but I’ve noticed that since one of my oldest and closest friends died from cancer a bit over a year ago I don’t gravitate to them nearly as much anymore. I find that interesting since my mother dying of cancer when I was eleven and my own gene mutations putting me at extremely high risk for cancers were most of what made me interested in reading them. I’ve wanted a vegetable & herb garden my whole life but oh I would give anything to have an avocado tree! Recipes from the third story: Taos Bread; Judy’s bread.
Fourth story: The Pilgrim. A house and yard and library to covet. Recipes from the fourth story: Scandalous Strawberry Cupcakes; Rose Pistachio Desire Cupcakes.
Fifth story: Visions. I loved this story. I wanted to see all of Tom’s art pieces. I love the name Henry, and the name Jane too. Recipes from the fifth story: Magical Day Muffins; Walt’s Banana Spice Muffins.
Sixth story: Love Walks into the Bakery. Oh, the man. The dogs. The mother. The house. The food garden. Perfect garden. My interest in gardening has always been with practical plants/foods. Even the few flowers happen to be my favorites. The art. The anniversary celebration. Recipes from the sixth story: On the Road Chocolate Cupcakes; Lover’s Cake.
I could say so much about each chapter but different readers are going to find different meanings in each story in this book. I made notes to remind me of some of what I found significant and unforgettable for me. I also didn’t want to write too much/spoilers.
Great cover. One lovely small drawing. I wish there were more. I’ve seen some of the author’s art online and I love it. It’s spectacular and I’m enough of a fan that I’d enjoy it on my walls.
My only quibble is that the print in the paperback is too tiny for my eyes, and I do already wear progressives. I don’t have this problem with most books I read. I prefer paper books but this is one instance when an e-book might help so that font size could be increased. I have a magnifying sheet but it’s too large to use comfortably with this size paperback book. I did eventually get used to the small print but I don’t know if some readers might find it difficult to read throughout.
I also wish that there were photos of the baked goods but this isn’t primarily a cookbook and I understand that the cost to include color photos of food would have likely been prohibitive. Except for the ones with coconut and coconut and rum they all look scrumptious to me and they don’t look too hard to make. I don’t like coconut or rum but I know that many do, and almost everyone seems to like coconut.
Happy and sad, like real life. Overall, it left me with an uplifting and satisfied feeling, although slightly sad about my life but with good food for thought. There are some twists and turns and the endings are not predictable, which surprised me more than once and all of which I appreciated.
All the time I was reading the book I was thinking 4-1/2 stars but I wasn’t sure if I’d downgrade it to 4 or upgrade it to 5 stars. I was learning toward the former until the end when I read “A Note from the Author: Writing a Community Novel.” That brought the entire book up to 5 stars for me. I fervently hope that the author’s dream will come to fruition and I would be tempted to relocate to be near such a place and at the least would do my best to make a visit to it. My only request, since I am not a coffee drinker, would be for the place to have plenty of water on hand and maybe some teas or other beverages for sale in addition to coffee.
There is one page at the end with 10 book club discussion questions. They’re excellent. I’d love to read this book with my real world book club. I started it in 2005 and our first meeting was In January 2006. We’ve faded a lot over the last several years but we’re not dead yet, and I formed it as a vegan book club so I could always eat at meetings. Most of us are vegan though there are a couple of vegetarians and maybe some of the new people are omnivores but when we meet in person together we eat 100% vegan. I think that this book would be a good one for us to discuss.
There is also a “About the Author” page at the very end of the book.
Because Goodreads no longer allows external links I am posting the following not as links:
https:// www. wildlibrarianbakery. com/ about
https: //stacy-russo .com/
https: //litwinbooks. .com/. books/wild-librarian-bakery-and-bookstore/ and https: //litwinbooks .com /?s=russo...more
I read this book for my real world book club. The book was on my to read shelf but I wasn’t feeling enthusiastic about reading it and might not have rI read this book for my real world book club. The book was on my to read shelf but I wasn’t feeling enthusiastic about reading it and might not have read it if not for my book club choosing it. I doubt I would have read it/kept at it if not for my book club, but I did like it. As I was reading I enjoyed it but between times I didn’t feel inclined to pick it up and continue reading. I did want to finish it but it was slow going for me.
I did crack up at the first chapter and “The Hotel Adequate View” and at many other parts of the book. I got a lot of chuckles from the humor in this book, but the story was more sad than funny.
Something about it felt sort of pretentious, for the lack of a better word.
I struggle with novels that use real people as characters when their part is fictional/made up. Here it is Richard Burton. I would have liked it better if the character had been a fictional actor.
Many of the “parts” were great: amusing, poignant, but the whole didn’t do it for me. It was wrapped up and every part was connected, and I mean every part, and I have no complaints about that aspect, but in the end I found it unsatisfying. The parts were better than the sum of the whole, for me.
Some of the quotes that I liked:
“I realized, as all survivors must, that being alive isn’t the same thing as living.”
“But I think some people wait forever, and only at the end of their lives do they realize that their life has happened while they were waiting for it to start.”
“This is what happens when you live in dreams, he thought: you dream this and you dream that and you sleep right through your life.”
“the smaller the space between your desire and what is right, the happier you will be…how much easier life would be if our intentions and our desires could always be aligned.”
At different times as I read it for me it ran the gamut for 4 to 2 stars, ending up at 3-1/2 stars....more
Buddy read with Hilary. I always love reading with Hilary and this was a good book for us to discuss. This time Hilary guessed the conclusion better tBuddy read with Hilary. I always love reading with Hilary and this was a good book for us to discuss. This time Hilary guessed the conclusion better than I did. I enjoyed it from the start. It read fast and easily for me. We had planned out which chapters to read over 9 days of reading. I didn’t want to put the book down after each of our sections and I was eager to resume reading. It was hard to wait to read more until the next day.
It had the perfect mix of humor, pathos, lightness, darkness, except that it was mostly lighthearted and amusing for a long time, but all along there were sad and scary things and a lot of foreshadowing of something darker to come. I’d have rather it stayed as it was but am grateful for the warning. It was less perfect toward the end though. I realize I’m really angry about a couple of the things that happened, maybe even three of them. For my taste it would have been a better book if it hadn’t veered quite so tragic. (Those who know me know I don’t shy from darkness in the books that I read but I don’t appreciate the juxtaposition of amusing and sweet vs. the extent of the dark and tragic and scary and (view spoiler)[ violent (hide spoiler)]. The reader gets plenty of foreshadowing warning at least so nothing was totally shocking. It just didn’t work for me.
It was a brilliant friendship story and a lovely story about two women each growing and changing.
I don’t remember ever having had a harder time rating a book. For a long time it was between 4 and 5, a 4-1/2 probably, and then given 2 or 3 things that happened in the middle and toward the end it’s almost hard to rate it more than a 2 or a 3, but I enjoyed it more than that star rating would indicate. I can’t rate it with 5 stars even though for a long time I thought that I might. I can’t rate it with 2 stars because I did enjoy it. Much of the book I was trying to decide between 4 and 5 stars = 4-1/2. Now it’s a 3-1/2 I guess and I am upgrading because I thoroughly enjoyed almost all of the book. The few parts I hated I did but I got a lot of pleasure from reading this so 4 it is. I’m mad though. Two tweaks or maybe even one and it might have been a 5 star book for me.
I enjoyed the map of the island. I always like maps in books.
HUGE spoilers. Do not read if you haven’t read the book but might read the book. It’s probably best to go into this book knowing as little as possible.
Hilarious about the pillows. Assisted suicide immediately made sense.
I can’t forgive Enid’s death. It simply wasn’t necessary. What happened to the man sort of made sense but was still tragic. (hide spoiler)]
There is so much more I could say, if only to help with my memory of the book, but I think it’s a memorable story and for those who haven’t read it I don’t want to say too much.
Some quotes that I liked:
“You might travel to the other side of the world, but in the end it made no difference: whatever devastating unhappiness was inside you would come, too.”
“History is not made up by events alone, but also by what lies between the lines.”
“The words seemed terribly ordinary and yet the thing she was saying didn’t, so that every sentence had a kind of solitary quality, like a group of castaways.”
“It struck her again: a life was such a short thing. All those things people carried, and struggled to carry, yet one day they would disappear, and so would the suffering inside them, and all that would be left was this. The trees, the moon, the dark.”
“Throughout her life, she had treated grief like a powerful engine that she could avoid if she got out of its way.”
“(her) adventure was not about making her mark on the world: it was about letting the world make its mark on her.”
And after the book proper in the section A photograph that inspired a novel :
“The truest friendships are those that allow us to step out of the confines of what we once were, and to realize instead what we might be.”
It is the case yet again: a British book translated for U.S. readers from British English to American English. I noticed because I was reading a borrowed from the library Kindle e-edition and simultaneously reading an Overdrive audio edition also borrowed from the library. The audio edition seemed to have the original British English and so I noticed when I read the (needlessly) translated to American English words. There were quite a few of them. Totally unnecessary. Worse than unnecessary. If I was wealthy I’d purchase all books published in other English speaking countries from bookstores in those countries. I’m sick of publishers doing this. I never realized how prevalent it was until I started seeing original and translated editions side by side.
At the end of the book there are extras including a really interesting Acknowledgments section. I heartily agree with one of the author’s sisters. There is a section that didn’t really work for me In fiction, anything is possible which is an interview conducted by the author with the two main female characters. There is a section that didn’t wow for me at all but it’s certainly interesting and I think many readers will love it: The photograph that inspired a novel. It is interesting knowing how the author came to write this book, and it does include the photo which is a nice touch. The is a section of Questions and Topics for Discussion which has only 10 questions. They’re good and could be used for book club or buddy read/group discussions but probably none are ones that readers can’t think of themselves.
I didn’t like the audio narration. It was so dramatic it was like listening to a radio play rather than reading a book. I’m glad I listened as I read the words on the page though because that was how I got the English English words and not just the American English in the e-book.
3-1/2 stars rounded up (could be 5 to 2 stars)
ETA next day, even though I don’t normally edit reviews, even to correct errors I notice: Never have I needed half stars more. 3-1/2. I keep thinking it should be 3 and I might change it at some point. I’m really unhappy with what the author did with her characters and not just because I didn’t like what happened. In my opinion she ruined what could have been a brilliant story by putting in events that did not belong. I don’t enjoy being manipulated and I felt that my emotions were, needlessly. Hilary had warned me that this is part of the author’s formula so even though I really enjoyed this book I think I am done with this author. I don’t like it or at least I didn’t like it in this book. I could say a lot more but I’ll stop here, and it is best going into this book not knowing much. For now I’m leaving it at 4 stars but I wouldn’t surprise myself if I downgraded my star rating to 3. ...more
I read this for my read world book club. It is our September 2022 book selection. It’s a perfect discussion book and I would have loved to do this as I read this for my read world book club. It is our September 2022 book selection. It’s a perfect discussion book and I would have loved to do this as a buddy read too.
I found it to be completely engrossing, It is long but it didn’t feel long. There are short chapters with alternating perspectives and for me the book was a page-turner.
Brilliantly written and constructed.
There were multiple time periods and multiple characters but even though I wasn’t sure how they were all connected I enjoyed every part. As I read I had some correct guesses and some times when I didn’t even know what connection to guess.
This is both historical fiction and speculative fiction.
As I read I looked up information about the Fall of Constantinople.
Wow! I loved this all the way through and then I got to a part toward the end of chapter 18 and Wow! Wow! Wow! The book felt nearly perfect to me until the second to last chapter. In the second to last chapter (view spoiler)[ Why didn’t Zeno get the pack to a place away from everyone/everything and then run away from it?! I didn’t like what he did instead and I see why the author is thinking what he did made sense but it didn’t make sense to me. (hide spoiler)] In the last chapter (view spoiler)[ I liked Kondstance’s actions and enjoyed where she ended up but I wanted to much more. She is in this small sparsely populated place but what has become of the world in general?! She/they are able to forage for food and grow crops so that says something, but what else? I wanted to know a LOT more. (hide spoiler)]
Konstance, Zeno, Seymour, Anna, and Omeir, and many supporting characters including both humans and animals. I liked all their stories, though most of the time some more than others. I’m glad that Konstance’s sections both started and ended the book. The story within the story was not my favorite part on its own but I enjoyed it in its various contexts. I loved how each story weaved together and got connected. Many different places too: The Argos, Idaho (Lakeport, the Lakeport Public Library, a correctional facility, Boise), Constantinople, Korea, roads to Edrine, Constantinople, etc., the Rhodope Mountains of Bulgaria, and Qaanaaq. The story is brilliantly constructed. The characters and their relationships are interesting and memorable.
I appreciated how the topical issue of climate change has a central role in this book.
There is an Author’s Note and a Reading Group Guide in the back of the book.
I thought that this would be the perfect book for me. The description sounds like my cup of tea. It was on my to read list and I was happy when it wasI thought that this would be the perfect book for me. The description sounds like my cup of tea. It was on my to read list and I was happy when it was brought up for my real world book club.
For a long time was really hard for me to enjoy this book. The writing style was okay. I had a hard time with the characters, much to my surprise.
It was not a page turner for me though it picked up as I read along.
Eventually it grew on me and I really enjoyed it.
Even though it had been on my to read list and I wanted to read it, I likely would not have persisted and not have finished it if it wasn’t a book for my real world book club. I’m glad that I did read it.
It ended up going in a direction I did not expect.
I loved the humor although it was a mostly serious book.
I loved the love stories. This is my kind of romance, not a romance book but romances as part of a broader story. It’s also a fine friendship story.
There is a great Acknowledgements section at the end. I enjoyed reading how much meaning the subject had for the author.
I ended up really liking it so 4 stars it is. For a while though it was a 2 star book for me so maybe it should be only 3 stars but I came to appreciate the story, though I thought it was far from perfect. 3-1/2 stars
I simultaneously read a Kindle e-book edition and an Overdrive audiobook edition, both borrowed from the library. ...more
I read this for my real world book club. It’s our September 2021 book. I’m not sure I’d have suggested it for the group or read it at this point had II read this for my real world book club. It’s our September 2021 book. I’m not sure I’d have suggested it for the group or read it at this point had I known it was a first book in what is to be a trilogy and that as of now the second book is already published. I thought that it was a standalone book. It is a great discussion book though. (If you are interested in this book/trilogy, I suggest not reading the book description field for book two before finishing reading this first book.)
This is one book that is good to read as a paper book. In the front is a long list of characters. In the back is a very long list of terms and other info. It’s good to be able to easily get to those sections. There is a PDF available with all the information for those who choose to read the audiobook. I had to put my reading on hold and wait for the hardcover edition. The e-book was too hard to read. I wanted to look as I read and the paper book (hardcover for me) was the only way I could enjoy this book at the beginning. For most of the foreign words the translation was obvious and a few I knew, but I wanted to know exactly what each word meant as I read. I ended up referring to the extras less and less frequently but I did read all of the material.
It took me a while for this to become a page-turner but it did. The last/fourth section was utterly predictable but that didn’t diminish my reading enjoyment.
It was kind of a soap opera but I didn’t mind. I cared about so many of the characters and was concerned about what would happen with them.
Lovely Acknowledgments section. Fascinating history of henna section and a recipe for henna. Informative section on the caste system in India. Two food recipes that are vegetarian and could be veganized. They didn’t appeal to me much though even though I love most vegan Indian food.
This is a great book for those needing or wanting to start over or starting a new endeavor. Recommended also for readers who enjoy historical fiction and for readers interested in Indian culture/history.
This book is beautifully. written. It’s lyrical.. It’s meaningful to me as someone who loved to swim (though I had a rocky road learning) and who has This book is beautifully. written. It’s lyrical.. It’s meaningful to me as someone who loved to swim (though I had a rocky road learning) and who has always loved the water. Water and trees, in my case. Even if swimming was not something that appeals to me I would have enjoyed this book.
It's a book to savor.
The structure of the book works well: the chapters, sections, text within chapters, literary and other references, people’s stories.
As a vegan I could have done without the present day abalone diving, fishing, etc. but even though I didn’t fully enjoy those parts this was still a 5 star book for me.
Great quote: (about swimming, and about books) “It’s like reading books—when you’re in it, you’re not in the world outside”
This book must have been great fun to write. I would have enjoyed writing it as much I did reading it. The interviews, travel, (thorough) research, swimming, and musing were intriguing and powerful.
I loved the San Francisco Bay Area parts local for me and the armchair traveling too.
Charming. Amusing. Very amusing. Poignant. Irritating. Gimmicky. I did like that there was a vegan character, vegan for the environment. Yes, gimmicky, Charming. Amusing. Very amusing. Poignant. Irritating. Gimmicky. I did like that there was a vegan character, vegan for the environment. Yes, gimmicky, and manipulative too. I didn’t want to like it but I did. I kind of loved it but I sort of feel like a sucker. I cried. I laughed. It was brilliantly constructed. I was interested in all of the people. Realistic? Maybe not, yet it was mostly smart about people. Irritating, but comforting and fun and sweet, and touching, and I really liked it. I didn’t think that I would like it and I didn’t want to like it but I really liked it and I’m glad. Even though it was on my to read list I doubt I’d have read it if not for my book club. Very enjoyable reading experience except for when I felt irritated. That sums it up.
“They say that a person’s personality is the sum of their experiences. But that isn’t true, at least not entirely, because if our past was all that defined us, we’d never be able to put up with ourselves. We need to be allowed to convince ourselves that we’re more than the mistakes we made yesterday. That we are all of our next choices, too, all of our tomorrows.”
“loneliness is like starvation, you don’t realize how hungry you are until you begin to eat.”
“it’s the duty of children not to pay the slightest bit of attention to their parents”
I found this story harrowing from close to the start, even though some of the descriptions of the worst atrocities were left out, as this is 4.5 stars
I found this story harrowing from close to the start, even though some of the descriptions of the worst atrocities were left out, as this is primarily a book for young adults. I see no reasons why the vast majority of adults interested in this type of story wouldn’t thoroughly enjoy it as much as teens will. It’s for both adults and young adults.
Characters came vividly to life and I loved them, Hanna in particular. But others too. Alla was also particularly wonderful.
It surprised me by how little I was annoyed by the characters’ superstitions and how much religion held a place in their lives. Jewish and Christian. Superstitions usually drive me nuts, particularly when they are unthinkingly accepted as they are here, but in this particular story they fit the characters in this time and place and cultures and backgrounds and I could enjoy the narrative without it bothering me at all, and I even found the details interesting. Fascinating actually and I learned a lot.
I loved how so attuned to nature/the natural world Hanna and Alla and some others are. And the descriptions of the natural world are marvelous.
The chapters are incredibly long and there are only a few. There were some good stopping points within chapters though and I did often stop at them.
There is a personal note from the author at the end: “A Historical Note” that is wonderful, and informative. I’ve already reserved the DVD of the documentary No Place on Earth which was a main inspiration for this book and plan to read some books to read from the ones mentioned in this note. I see that at least four of the books from the notes & the acknowledgments section are already on my to read shelf. Anyway, this author’s historical note and also her acknowledgments section made me really like the author and appreciate even more how she brought this story to light....more
I was enthusiastic about reading this book, even though I expected it to be a painful read. I was right. I’m so glad that my book club chose this for I was enthusiastic about reading this book, even though I expected it to be a painful read. I was right. I’m so glad that my book club chose this for our October 2019 book because chances are good it would have languished on my shelf otherwise, and I’m so glad that I read it. It’s very tough but very good.
I always admire people who can take their pain and do something positive with it. So I greatly admire the author.
I had downloaded an audio edition thinking I’d listen to it as I read the hardcover edition but I didn’t like the voice or the speed. If the author had narrated it I’d have read the audio, and it sounds as though it might contain some commentary by her but it wasn’t worth listening to the whole book to hear it/see if it was there. Re the speed, 1.0 was too slow and 1.25 was too fast. The hardcover on its own worked best for me. I don’t recommend the audio. I couldn’t tolerate the audio of this book; the narrator didn’t work for me at all.
I love maps in books and there was a great one in this book, in this case a map of the journey through 7 African nations over a 6 year period, taken by the author and her older sister.
She perfectly describes trauma and dissociation and PTSD.
She writes wonderfully/beautifully and is a good storyteller. There is a cowriter and I always wonder how much they actually write. Perhaps all of it? But either way it’s the author’s story and at the least I assume she told it and it’s such a compelling life story and I love what I assume to be the author’s real voice no matter who put the words down on paper. I always want to know who wrote what. In the end it ended up not mattering to me. This woman’s life story is what’s important and I felt that was well and honestly told.
This account made me think and it has me looking at things in different ways or at least I found myself trying to do that.
At some point I didn’t want to put it down and just kept reading.
I found it interesting to read the place Elie Wiesel, Oprah, etc. people known to me held in the author’s life. After I read about it, I watched the Oprah segment when the family was first on the show. (Though I really detest that kind of on air “surprise” that people are forced to live out on some tv shows.)
I’m impressed with Claire and how she provides for herself and how she won’t place herself either below or above anyone else and Clementine taking care of herself and her sister’s two kids too and their mother for promoting sharing, for giving them that lesson of sharing vs. giving or receiving.
I was glad that there was some humor. I laughed out loud when talked about the American boy who without irony wore a tee shirt that said he’d survived baseball camp. I appreciated all the humor because I felt so depressed and scared and lonely so much of the time I was reading this book.
After Rwanda 7 countries (ages 6 & 15 to 12 + 21) until U.S. 8th country I sometimes got confused what country she was in and what time period it was. The narrative goes back and forth in time. There were dates on the page but I was so immersed in reading I think sometimes I didn’t notice and maybe my confusion reflects how it must have felt for them to be on the move and basically homeless for all those years. I always figured it out though and fault myself not the storytelling for my occasional confusion.
Genocides during my lifetime hit me hard, and reading about individuals’ experiences during them and other difficult times is something I feel I should do and I always take away something important from doing so. It horrifies me and comforts me and educates me. I have to say when I read accounts such as this I’m amazed people even want to try to keep living. It astonishes me what people are willing to suffer in order to go on. It truly impresses me when someone goes through such atrocities and horrors and when that period is “over” does what they can to thrive and heal and not simply survive, those that are able to do that.
When I learned its meaning I loved the title of the book.
Highly recommended for adult and high school aged readers who want to learn about the Rwandan or any genocide, like and appreciate difficult coming of age stories, want to read a book that might make them think deeply about how humans can treat other humans, terribly and well....more
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