Reviews

Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple

chantellereads's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

travelsalongmybookshelf's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

‘She had a high colour toned down by mauve powder, which gave her the look of a ripe nectarine; one that had been in the box rather a long time.’ 

 

I’m a newcomer to Whipple, this is the first of her books I have read and was blown away by it.  Why, oh why have I not read her before? I’m almost cross with myself! 

She writes women and men really well, she writes about washing up and laundry, the domestic and the common experience of women’s lives, the choices, or lack of them that women have, she is frankly brilliant. 

 

I think when you read a Persephone, Whipple in particular, something changes in you, they make you think and feel quite deeply. They are something quite special! 

 

Whipple should be celebrated, I would highly recommend reading her. I will be reading more, I have 2 more already on my shelf! 

paigece's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense

5.0

dejaentendu's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

The ending of this book made all that had gone before pointless. 
 "Young" characters portrayed as almost laughably childish and yet are somehow also given far too much agency in the aftermath of their father's affair. These disparate views made a lot of the second half of the book utterly unbelievable and slightly ridiculous.

karinlib's review

4.0

Wonderful book. I hope to read more of Whipple.

lauren_mc87's review

emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Truly enjoyed this book.
I felt the characters were well rounded & easy to imagine.
Will be looking at getting more by this author in the future.

hannah_hjs's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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

5.0

emmamolyneux's review against another edition

emotional reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

4.5

connorshirs's review

4.0

My first review of 2024! This book is very close to home for me, infidelity is one of my biggest fears, and sometimes, I believe that it can be inevitable. This is a book about infidelity as much as it is about love. Unlike in Anna Karenina, the love doesn't exist between the husband and his mistress, the love exists between the husband and the deceived wife.

I didn't quite see where this was going until the very end. Whipple uses the "only connect" idea that we find in Forster's Howards End, how everything can be affected by decisions made by one person. I don't blame Avery as much as I blame Louise, a dreadful, dreadful character, who is painted so vividly. We might all know a Louise in our life, which is the scariest bit of this book. I was moved by the ending, and I think that this is the only one that Ellen could have gotten; it is the best ending for the situation that was forced on her.

krobart's review against another edition

4.0

See my review here:

https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2015/04/16/day-687-someone-at-a-distance/