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tildahlia's review against another edition
1.0
I had to abort mission on this book quick smart. Full of overblown metaphors and implausible dialogue that had me eye-rolling at every page turn. But the true insult came when I came across what was meant to be Hungarian dialogue (I'm a native speaker) but was in fact made up gibberish. Like, Linda Grant meet google translate. It's not that hard. Don't waste your time, people.
lisamf's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
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
4.0
therealkathryn's review against another edition
3.0
I'd give this 3 1/2 stars, it's pretty average with some strong parts. I also really expected more of a Booker nominee.
blodeuedd's review
3.0
This was one of those, oh what to call it, calm ones, not slow, just silently being there. A story that just happens, but one I could not put down.
Vivien grows up in postwar London. Her parents are Hungarian immigrants who fled before the war broke out. She knows nothing about their past. She loves books, she loves clothes, and she does not want to be like them always inside, always careful. It's the story of her growing up.
But that is not the whole story. She is curious and she reaches out to the uncle her parents does not speak about. And the second story begins, the story about his life, and the life she did not know her dad had. And all those little things that makes sense now.
The story of life in Hungary could have been a story in itself. War, persecution, starvation. You name it. But then I liked Vivien and the flashbacks to that life. I liked the calm way it was told, fine, slow way it was told, but it's not slow! I did finish it in a day.
A well told story.
Vivien grows up in postwar London. Her parents are Hungarian immigrants who fled before the war broke out. She knows nothing about their past. She loves books, she loves clothes, and she does not want to be like them always inside, always careful. It's the story of her growing up.
But that is not the whole story. She is curious and she reaches out to the uncle her parents does not speak about. And the second story begins, the story about his life, and the life she did not know her dad had. And all those little things that makes sense now.
The story of life in Hungary could have been a story in itself. War, persecution, starvation. You name it. But then I liked Vivien and the flashbacks to that life. I liked the calm way it was told, fine, slow way it was told, but it's not slow! I did finish it in a day.
A well told story.
demetra_'s review against another edition
3.0
Το "Μόνο με τα ρούχα τους" πρόκειται για ένα καλογραμμένο βιβλίο με έντονα κοινωνικά και ιστορικά στοιχεία της δεκαετίας του '70. Η Vivien προσπαθεί να ανακαλύψει τις ρίζες της μέσα από διάσπαρτα στοιχεία που έλαβε στην παιδική της ηλικία, αλλά και από την επικοινωνία της με το θείο της. Τα ρούχα αποτελούν ένα σημαντικό στοιχείο της ιστορίας που ξετυλίγεται στις σελίδες του βιβλίου, καθώς αναδεικνύεται ο συμβολικός ρόλος τους.
"Η ευθραυστότητα της ζωής είναι παντού γύρω μας, θαρρείς και περπατάμε μονίμως σε πατώματα από ραγισμένο γυαλί".
"Η ευθραυστότητα της ζωής είναι παντού γύρω μας, θαρρείς και περπατάμε μονίμως σε πατώματα από ραγισμένο γυαλί".
julieh46's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
cheyenneisreading's review against another edition
2.0
Initially I enjoyed this book and was slightly puzzled by the negative reviews. I finally gave up 105 pages in because the writing was confusing and the words read like a jumbled mess. For example Vivien is suppose to be smart but she can't even work a recording device! The character from there on has just sounded dumber by the sentence.
joanapdsa's review against another edition
1.0
There's not much to this book. Linda gave us too much detail but the actual content of the book was really (???). It was a //sacrifice// to read this book, but I'm willing to give it another try (in the future because ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ who knows?)
jessrad505's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this book was great. I don't understand some of the 2 star ratings and people who said it was boring. It is a coming of age story, a story of discovering your roots, and a story of coming to terms with who you are and where you come from. Clothing does play an important role, as the title suggests, but in a way that paints important pictures of the main characters - Vivian Kovaks and her uncle Sandor. Clothing is very important to each character but for entirely different reasons. For Sandor it is about showing off, looking important, for Vivian it is for hiding in a sense. But for each of them, the clothes they wear is also a way of reinventing themselves. And in a way it is also what connects them to each other. I found parts of this book to be humorous, and parts to be sad, but very compelling throughout. A very good exploration of the immigrant experience and even more so the experience of those first generation off-spring who are often forced to live between two worlds - the culture their family comes from and the culture of this new environment.