I listened to the audiobook.
There is a lot of mischief and some science thrown in. Fun and cute though pretty twisted story.
The writing is brilliant. Impressive use of language. So much cleverness to it.
I could imagine everything it was so descriptive.
This book put a huge smile on my face and made my day.
One is never too old for children’s books.
10/10
I tried reading this book years ago but I just couldn’t get into. Now that I’m trying again I can’t fathom why. Wrong timing I guess but this time I was absolutely gripped from page 1.
This is a deeply emotional book. A family has a 20 year old son (Jesse) and a 16 year old daughter (Kate) with leukemia. They found out their daughter was sick when she was 2 so they had a test tube baby (Kate) to supply stem cells, blood and bone marrow. Kate is now 13 years old and gets a lawyer because she wants it to stop. She doesn’t want to donate her kidney.
This is such an interesting story because I can understand everyone’s perspective. There are no clear answers. No right or wrong. Everybody hurts. Nobody wins. This family is beyond screwed up. I would like to discover God’s view. Imagine if Francine River’s could write something like this. I wonder if we are ever allowed to preserve self. Many families have situations where one child gets more attention than another. “The squeaky wheel gets all the oil” situations. How best to deal with that?
I really liked being in Anna’s mind. I admired her courage and determination.
“My father, a closet astronomer, has tried to explain black holes to me, how they are so heavy they absorb everything, even light, right into their center. Moments like this are the same kind of vacuum; no matter what you cling to, you wind up being sucked in.”
The writing is incredibly beautiful. Anna’s relationship with her father is so precious. A part of him agrees with Anna but he doesn’t have the courage to say. Leaving her to fight the battle alone. The father’s love and pain got me crying.
Terribly heart-breaking book. But I think it’s healthy and cathartic to go through the grief with the characters.
Excellent book. 10/10.
Chapter 1 already had me checking reviews of how much more history the book will be about and they said I will be bombarded with it. Sigh. That was quite off-putting but I thought maybe it will be interesting to learn something. Shrug.
“It showed two roads snaking through Osiris’s realm of the dead: a land route, black, and a water route, blue, which are separated by a lake of fire. If you follow the map, it’s like choosing between taking the ferry or driving around—both ways wind up in the same place: the Field of Offerings, where the deceased can feast with Osiris for eternity. There is a catch, though—some of the paths lead nowhere. Others push you toward demons or circles of fire. Embedded in the text is the magic you need to get past the guardians of the gates.”
The trope that got me to pick up the book is exploring “what could have been”. The protagonist became a death doula instead of fulfilling her life’s dream of being an Egyptologist and takes the journey to find out how her life could have been had she made different choices.
The concept of a death doula very interesting and should be the norm.
Information overload. The history was too much. Like reading an encyclopedia. And the quantum physics on top of it. I didn’t want to spend time googling. It was really difficult to get through this book but I didn’t want to leave it unfinished. I even got confused about the timeline. It’s very jumbled and all over the place. Very long chapters.
Win got me through the book. She was the most interesting, profound and enjoyable character.
The daughter’s body image issues are so important in this day and age but there was too much happening in the book to fully explore it.
“I believe that there are five things we need to say to people we love before they die, and I give this advice to caregivers: I forgive you. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you. Goodbye. I tell them that they can interpret those prompts any way they like, and nothing will have been left unsaid.”
The twist surprised me. Oh what could have been. I got more into the book after the twist but it was pretty much right at the end.
I guess there were parts I loved and more I loathed. I wouldn’t recommend this book. Life’s too short to slog through a book without incentive.
To ease my pain over giving a negative review I will mention that there are reviews where people absolutely loved the book so it might not have been to my tastes but clearly there is an audience for it.
4/10
I saw this book recommendation from Youtuber/Flylady Diane in Denmark and the author is South African so I had to read it. It still blows my mind how small the world is.
Three ladies running a local newspaper is what a booklover’s dreams are made of.
I have baked each day I’ve read this book. The food is described in such mouthwatering detail that I have been taking pleasure in all my meals and my waistline already shows it- in just three days.
The story developed quickly and not how I predicted so I enjoyed every surprise. I thought a cosy mystery was an oxymoron but this really is a feel good whodunit.
There are some humourous scenes I’d love to see on a big screen. The ‘fight/interrogation scene’ had me laughing out loud.
Quite a few of the chapters end on cliffhangers making it hard to put the book down.
Even the romance isn’t very typical. Cringe-worthy. I wanted to look away so had to read with one eye closed.
Overall, a lovely enjoyable read.
A special thanks to Mamello for the gift of an online library.
8.5/10