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catbrigand's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, and Pandemic/Epidemic
rballenger's review
2.0
Type of read: Commuter Read.
What made me pick it up: The content description and cover art got me..
Overall rating: "Do I need to remind you, I'm the villain of this story?"
No. You've made that abundantly clear. Part of 'Foreverland' just seemed angry. And not a good angry, like you're rehashing your troubles over a stiff drink with your girlfriends but can't wait to get back home to your man who has something special in store for you that night, like 'I'm going to take a blowtorch to his car and hope that all of his belongings fall into the bottom of a lake' angry. I really wanted to enjoy 'Foreverland,' and there were definitely pieces that stuck with me more than others. I think what I struggled with was that this was less celebrating that "tedious, glorious drag [of] forever" with your partner and more 'let me tell you about all the things I think are horrible about my relationship but I put up with because at the end of the day, yeah I guess I love this guy and we've built a life together that I don't want to redo.'
I did enjoy that this was written by an individual that shared a similar perspective as I do and was at a somewhat similar point in their life (roughly 15 years into marriage, married their best friend, and love their relationship but acknowledge they are completely flawed and f*cked up). But for me, 'Foreverland' was a bit more self-absorbed and berating than I was expecting and I think that threw off the vibe for me. Maybe that's Havrilesky's tone and general writing style, but I didn't find it to be one that I fully enjoyed.
Not sure I could recommend this one. Or if I did, I'd recommend it sparingly.
What made me pick it up: The content description and cover art got me..
Overall rating: "Do I need to remind you, I'm the villain of this story?"
No. You've made that abundantly clear. Part of 'Foreverland' just seemed angry. And not a good angry, like you're rehashing your troubles over a stiff drink with your girlfriends but can't wait to get back home to your man who has something special in store for you that night, like 'I'm going to take a blowtorch to his car and hope that all of his belongings fall into the bottom of a lake' angry. I really wanted to enjoy 'Foreverland,' and there were definitely pieces that stuck with me more than others. I think what I struggled with was that this was less celebrating that "tedious, glorious drag [of] forever" with your partner and more 'let me tell you about all the things I think are horrible about my relationship but I put up with because at the end of the day, yeah I guess I love this guy and we've built a life together that I don't want to redo.'
I did enjoy that this was written by an individual that shared a similar perspective as I do and was at a somewhat similar point in their life (roughly 15 years into marriage, married their best friend, and love their relationship but acknowledge they are completely flawed and f*cked up). But for me, 'Foreverland' was a bit more self-absorbed and berating than I was expecting and I think that threw off the vibe for me. Maybe that's Havrilesky's tone and general writing style, but I didn't find it to be one that I fully enjoyed.
Not sure I could recommend this one. Or if I did, I'd recommend it sparingly.
zainab224's review
1.0
I respect her honesty I guess, but she's completely insufferable. I felt bad for her husband most of the time.
margaretmechinus's review
4.0
I really loved this book. I’m giving it only four stars bc of chapter 16- Crushed, in which she fantasizes about having an affair with a fellow author. She also uses a lot of the F-word. That chapter could have been left out. It made me like her a little less, although her honesty has to be admired.
I don’t think I could be her friend, and I don’t think she would want me as her friend. She is too neurotic for me and I am too much like her husband, Bill, who she loves but who she also refers to as not having a frontal lobe. But her writing is honest and funny and most of the time she is making fun of and owning up to her own faults.
When she met her future husband nieces and they called her “Aunt.” She says she was not ready for that heavy responsibility. She writes, “my heart was two sizes too small.” But this is a book about how a selfish, narcotic, neurotic heart can grow, through marriage, motherhood, and suburbia.
I don’t think I could be her friend, and I don’t think she would want me as her friend. She is too neurotic for me and I am too much like her husband, Bill, who she loves but who she also refers to as not having a frontal lobe. But her writing is honest and funny and most of the time she is making fun of and owning up to her own faults.
When she met her future husband nieces and they called her “Aunt.” She says she was not ready for that heavy responsibility. She writes, “my heart was two sizes too small.” But this is a book about how a selfish, narcotic, neurotic heart can grow, through marriage, motherhood, and suburbia.
wrentheblurry's review
4.0
52% read on Kindle, finished (MUCH more quickly) by listening to the very well done audiobook.
shaylabee's review
4.0
Heather Havrilesky has been married long enough to know that Foreverland sometimes feels less like a sweet ride through the Tunnel of Love and more like a few go-rounds on a ghastly roller coaster designed to make you hurl.
I wrote a longer review but the TL;DR is this: This is a deeply honest book about a subject about which many are not willing to be honest — with themselves, or with others. You’re either going to love it or hate it, but it will make you feel something.
I found it to be a refreshing and hilarious read, though it did seem to be tied up a little too neatly in the end.
I wrote a longer review but the TL;DR is this: This is a deeply honest book about a subject about which many are not willing to be honest — with themselves, or with others. You’re either going to love it or hate it, but it will make you feel something.
I found it to be a refreshing and hilarious read, though it did seem to be tied up a little too neatly in the end.
cemills's review
2.0
I mean I guess this was okay to read but it was full of a lot of...unnecessary memoirs? For lack of a better word. And it didn't really teach me anything interesting about marriage? Just talked about the authors own marriage. And even then, only from her point of view. I dont think I will be reading anything else from Heather Havrilesky; I didn't really like her voice.
smalltownbookmom's review
4.0
A funny, honest and utterly relatable memoir about falling in love, being a good partner, having children and how it takes a lot of work to not want to strangle your partner (or kids) some days. I didn't know anything about this author before picking up the book but it was pure delight! Easy to listen to, I found myself laughing out loud multiple times. The last part of the book about life during the initial months of the pandemic and discovering she might have breast cancer were particularly poignant and moving. Definitely recommended, especially on audio read by the author.