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moeboutuncoated's review
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
angelicatheherb's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
lor8647's review against another edition
4.75
The category is mommy issues. I actually have very little to say because I'm in too much pain and I'm not even sure how I feel because the ending was kind of sudden and hard to go through, but the writing is wonderful and exquisite even though what's being said with that writing hurts like a motherfucker. Very very relatable and very very tough to read at times, but for sure worth it. However, I think I'll have to wait a bit before watching the movie in order to survive. 🤠
"The nearest I'd come to feeling anything like God was the plain blue cloudless sky and a certain silence, but how do you pray to that?"
"I wanted my mother, I wanted something to hold on to me, not let me slip away."
"I could no longer detect the presence of God in that cinder-block church or in what was left of my soul."
"In life, knowledge of poisons is essential. I've told you, nobody becomes an artist unless they have to."
And this one especially: "You'll attach yourself to anyone who shows you the least bit of attention, won't you?" (Yes, I will).
"And I prayed to Jesus the hopeless way people pray who know there is no God."
THIS ONE OHMYFUCKINGGOD: "I knew it wasn't up to Olivia to love me. She did the best she could, bought me a bit of childhood in a bottle." <///3
I have too many already, but I cannot stop.
"I'd spent the last three years trying to build up some kind of a skin, so I wouldn't drip with blood every time I brushed up against something."
"How vast was a human being's capacity for suffering."
"You can never go home."
"The nearest I'd come to feeling anything like God was the plain blue cloudless sky and a certain silence, but how do you pray to that?"
"I wanted my mother, I wanted something to hold on to me, not let me slip away."
"I could no longer detect the presence of God in that cinder-block church or in what was left of my soul."
"In life, knowledge of poisons is essential. I've told you, nobody becomes an artist unless they have to."
And this one especially: "You'll attach yourself to anyone who shows you the least bit of attention, won't you?" (Yes, I will).
"And I prayed to Jesus the hopeless way people pray who know there is no God."
THIS ONE OHMYFUCKINGGOD: "I knew it wasn't up to Olivia to love me. She did the best she could, bought me a bit of childhood in a bottle." <///3
I have too many already, but I cannot stop.
"I'd spent the last three years trying to build up some kind of a skin, so I wouldn't drip with blood every time I brushed up against something."
"How vast was a human being's capacity for suffering."
"You can never go home."
curiousintrovert's review
5.0
An incredibly poetic account of the complexity of the mother daughter relationship.
stargazerfish0's review against another edition
5.0
Heartbreaking story that I can somewhat relate to. I loved the movie so I thought I'd give the book a try, and I was not disappointed. The movie was pretty true to the text. Astrid's character really enlightened me to the mind of an artist, which as someone who has no artistic ability but great appreciation for its mastery, I appreciated. The diction is beautiful - very high language, but still able to communicate the social issue that is foster care. Aesthetically pleasing, yet sincere.
alyssaplacey's review
4.0
*read in 2024*
White Oleander tells the unforgettable story of Ingrid, a brilliant poet imprisoned for murder, and her daughter, Astrid, whose odyssey through a series of Los Angeles foster homes--each its own universe, with its own laws, its own dangers, its own hard lessons to be learned--becomes a redeeming and surprising journey of self-discovery.
White Oleander tells the unforgettable story of Ingrid, a brilliant poet imprisoned for murder, and her daughter, Astrid, whose odyssey through a series of Los Angeles foster homes--each its own universe, with its own laws, its own dangers, its own hard lessons to be learned--becomes a redeeming and surprising journey of self-discovery.
artnouvheaux's review
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
so glad i read this as an adult and not as a teenager