bookmaddie's reviews
1069 reviews

Gorgeous and heart-rending.
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“It’s not as if always is never true. It’s that it wears thin. It’s that it can’t cover every situation, every deed. It’s that always is seldom always.”

This is one of the books I got on my recent trip to Aotearoa New Zealand and I’m so glad I picked it up!

This slim novel follows a writer and her muse, Marie-Hortense Fiquet, the wife of Cézanne, who appears to her as a ghostly presence. The novel is told from Hortense’s perspective as she watches over the writer during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. I was a tad hesitant to read a pandemic novel, but this story blends history and memories into the narrative, helping it rise above the fear of the early days of the pandemic. However, COVID-19 does play a very large role in the present-day narrative, so beware if that could be triggering for you.

I really loved the historical parts that explored Hortense’s memories of her life and her husband. O’Keefe brought her to life beautifully, and gave her the agency and space for understanding that she lacked during her life. The writer’s own story—told through a short story she writes while ill—was equally beautiful and paralleled Hortense’s story in interesting ways. Plot aside, this novel sings with a quiet elegance, yet feels warm and comforting, even when the story takes a darker turn. You can feel Hortense’s love for the writer, who has given her a second chance in many ways.

This is a story of healing and connection, honesty and recollection. O’Keefe’s writing charmed me and I’m eager for more!

I am finally sick of Alice Hoffman’s writing—it’s too saccharine and dreamy for me. I have finally realized it !!! Also this plot was BONKERS like why is Mia’s self worth tied so strongly to her love for a man, why did she fall in LOVE with a dead author and WHY is Nathanial Hawthorne written as a raging feminist???? Even if he was liberal for the time, I cannot believe this.

the way i love a novel about friendship 🤧😭

Funny and cute audiobook with lots of intrigue. Great audiobook. 

The same phrase was repeated 3 times, and it really gave ‘written for white people (with no critical thinking skills).’

Also, the characters felt really flat on the page. Somewhat stereotypical.. 

Other reviews are quite positive and it seems to pick up the pace. I just couldn’t get past my initial annoyance.

Beautifully told with somewhat spare, yet poetic prose.
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What a book! And the beginning of my whale historical fiction reading (currently reading WILD AND DISTANT SEAS, maybe I’ll do WHALEBONE THEATRE next??).

This is a contemplative, poetic novel about a young woman in an isolated island community learning about how she wants to live. Does she leave the world she’s known her entire life for the promise of something new, or stay in a place that feels familiar and safe? With spare yet absolutely stunning language, O’Connor wonders at the strength it takes to make a new future, and about the traditions and stories you might leave behind.

Two scholars come to the island trying to capture the traditions of the community, adding a necessary tension to the story. Their introduction into the community brought the question of exploitation and glamorizing a story and people for their own benefit to the forefront of my mind.

This is just a stunning, masterfully written and composed story. O’Connor’s writing feels honest, yet magical, with every word falling where it should. This is the sort of character-driven novel I adore, and I only hope that O’Connor has more for us in the coming years.

fav poems:
loneliness

the wasp

on not mowing the lawn

the country of the trees