Reviews

Een vrouw rent over een berg by Yūko Tsushima

benebene's review against another edition

emotional reflective

4.5

jessepinkman's review against another edition

4.5

"Now and then, a ray of light slanted in like a sunbeam through trees, beinging memories of herself in the outside world, and with them pain. Whenever this happened she went over to the window and gazed wide-eyed at the sky, the greenness of the woods that frothed at the foot of the building, and the rows of roots that glared in the midsummer heat. She was drawn there by a haunting sense that these things were her body. She would gaze at its expance, its brilliance. The sound of voices crying pulsated out there like a rainbow. Heartbeats reverberated, and desire. She wondered at the rainbow's resonance. Then she would turn back to rhe roomful of sick children and let out the breath she'd been holding. Her fear of the voice that told her to give up seemed to have melted away."

melissa_charles's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

notflyspeck's review against another edition

challenging reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"I can't see myself ever being able to give up everything, but that's what the baby is telling me to do - give up, give up."

Takiko's resilience has the reader wondering why parents should have to sacrifice so much, indeed for such a simple thing. Takiko is certain she will be able to go on as she was before pregnancy, to live her life and set goals for herself as a parent. Despite the stugma, Takiko refuses to let her responsibilities as a mother overwhelm her identity as a human being."

strawberryjulius's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

stevienixit'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? N/A

5.0

A stunning character study that emerges from the mundane to reach an almost filmic conclusion. Despite its unsparing view of daily life, it finds a green thread of optimism in a river of melancholy. 

kate_bunton's review against another edition

Just a bummer of a story. Too bleak... Didn't go where I thought it would go.

sorfina's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

beautiful book! if you’re not into slow-paced, slice-of-life kind of books, it might not be for you. but i felt the intimate nature of this book was the perfect way of highlighting the struggles of motherhood, especially for single mothers in a particularly unwelcoming environment.

something i did not like but don’t know if i should fault the book for (afterall, it is a product of its time) was  what seems like the main character’s relationship with other women. it seems like her relationships with men were given much discussion while she seemed to disregard/look down on other women. it seems very odd, especially as a single mother to detach herself from the women around her. like girl

stop sleeping with married men and get urself some women friends….

like it is probably meant to be a character flaw and she was probably

finding a father in the men around her to make up for the lack of her own father figure but ….

but ultimately, i loved the way the author described her pregnancy and her relationship with her baby. it is beautiful yet painful and real. the author doesnt mask the ugly - the character’s flaws are there to be seen. 

jademb's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

_cathedral_'s review against another edition

4.0

Tsushima's realist narrative is made all the more special by her juxtaposition of nonjudgmental observations and vivid, sumptuous fits of fancy. Takiko feels extremely young; she does not understand why she feels the way she does, often, and toils with her own emotions, unraveling them, projecting them, diminishing them. The vicious abuse of her father is rebelliously dulled, her romantic feelings are coiled up and bodily, and her evolving warmth for her son is steady. Tsushima's prose is psychological in a way I have rarely seen — her free indirect discourse feels infected with Takiko's own perspective, limited and burgeoning but yearning for something unspeakably beautiful.