inherentlysleepy's reviews
211 reviews

Oh boy. This is a tough book to review. It was recommend by a friend and seeing it has many good reviews I thought I was in for a ride. I can't really say only one solid thing as this little novel is kind of all sorts. Bear with me.

I liked it in the beginning, thought it had potential. The prose was decent. But it lost me about halfway, right after Lily and Rosaleen settled in the Pink House with August, June, and May; exactly when Lily started her friendship with Zach.

I thought overall the story lacked conviction and intensity, even though the most controversial, interesting, and most relatable topics of this generation are included, (racism, child abuse, mental health, suicide) it feels as though the narrative grazes it only on the surface. It tackles a LOT of issues but whenever there's an interesting turn of events that could otherwise hold the entire story strong, Sue Monk Kidd simply pulls away on to yet another uneventful narration. This got me a little frustrated, but mostly bored. Like a buzzing bee, it just droned on and on for the most part. Take action, woman! Not to mention the plot timeline was a tad confusing too.

When it comes to characters, there's something far-fetched about all of them. It's either they're devilishly evil (whites) or saintly good (blacks). There's no grey area here, folks. No pun intended. If there's one good white character, this person was only in the background like less than a white noise, even. If there's one black antagonist that showed at least a slight indignation towards a white girl all so suddenly living in a black family's house aside from June who sooner rather than later had a change of heart, well, there's none. All of them literally accepted Lily with an open arms of a longing mother to love and care for her lost child. Lily's suspiciously sudden appearance never even changed the course in the Calendar sisters' habitual living, let alone an arousal of concern from the Daughters of Mary for the sisters' safety. Throughout the 200+ pages it never did once convince me that Lily is just a 14-year old girl. I can't really tell what or who she is. Also, all the POC don't speak nuthin' anyone like a black person do with their jargons n' slangs in the 60's? Really? I've seen many American films to let me know otherwise. And talk about that ending. Phew!

I'm thinking, it'd be a lot more fascinating if the narrative was told from say August's POV or June's, or literally anyone's but Lily.

I feel like this should be a heartwarming read. But after my heart is still as cold as May's lifeless hands (i smelled it coming from a kilometer away and was rather annoyed than sad 'cause she's the only character I liked besides Rosaleen. Annoyed too because it was very predictable). It's a nice beach read if you're not looking for something heavy, or that requires a lot of attention and mental hullabaloo.

The Secret Life of Bees, though holds a promise to be a modern classic, missed a lot of opportunities to be one, fell short, and simply became one among the overrated books out there.

"No one is just a victim or a victor. Everyone is somewhere in between. People who go around casting themselves as one or the other are not only kidding themselves, but they’re also painfully unoriginal.”

I've wrestled with myself in giving this 4 stars instead of 5. Because typically this is not the kind of book I would read. But that's being unfair, considering how good the story was and how well-written it was, weaving established characters in such a captivatingly strong plot.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a fast-paced compelling read, nonetheless. I wouldn't consider it light enough for a beach read (uh, hello, I bawled my eyes out in the last few chapters). It also portrayed a lot of *heavy* issues in the LGBTQ+ community, fame and beauty, friendships, family, and domestic abuse with respect, finesse, and maturity.

I cannot rave about it more.

What a story.

It left me in such a mess.

~~~~~~~~~

EDIT:

Now that I'm not defeated by strong emotions any longer and have a rather clearer mind to think, I'm giving Evelyn Hugo a solid 4 stars. I meant what I said that it was written well, but not in a Sylvia Plath sense (or any fancy literary meter stick it can be compared with). The way it's written was easy to read, almost magazine-like, and it suits the flow of the story quite well. 4 solid stars purely for it's contemporary, plausible roller coaster entertainment.

I'm a huge fan of Tom Hanks the actor, but not so much of Tom Hanks the writer. This collection is just okay. A short and light read.

2.5★

DNF somewhere halfway. It put me on a reading slump and can't get into it since. Would give it another read sometime next year, maybe.

I'm not going to pretend to be one of the cool millennials to read the classics and "important" literature to seem to be edgy or whatever but...

I just didn't like The Double maybe because: 1. I'm dumb and couldn't follow through, or; 2. I picked up a bad translation, or: 3. what the actual heck was all that, really?

Okay for real, I understood the gist of what it's all about, but the suffering throughout the entire reading process was unnecessarily painful.

Good stuff!

The writing was simple, and with such respect for the difficult and sensitive parts of the story, perfect for middle grade reading (and adults too!).

Aman's story was heartbreaking, but with a beautiful redeeming value between him, Shadow, and friends and family.