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recuerdo's review
2.0
A book that unfortunately didn't quite live up to its interesting premise, though at least I now have some new books to add to my to-read list. It started off well, drawing striking connections between the author's experience with breast cancer and the books (e.g. The Divine Comedy, Beckett's trilogy) from which she drew sustenance throughout her recovery. There were some quietly meditative moments in which she reflected on the power of literature to 'save a life': not literally but by providing a brief opportunity to escape from one's own life and slip into another's skin. However, these threads often strayed into literary analysis of various books and took a deadly toll on the pace of the narrative. Not altogether terrible, as some other reviewers might have you believe, but still not a book I would revisit or wholeheartedly recommend.
larrys's review
3.0
Last month's book club selection (selected by the local library, I hasten to add) was William McInnes' memoir, in which we contemplated the sad death of Sarah Watts due to cancer. This month we have another tale of breast cancer, which may say something about who STRL think comprises the members of their book clubs. And they would be right, of course. Whether any of the middle aged women in my book club enjoy reading about the journey of breast cancer is another matter, of course. I'll find out on Thursday.
I did enjoy the cancer part of the book, because with all the Pink Ribbon breast cancer campaigning, very little is actually said about the experience of the disease, because 'awareness' does not equal 'education'. If you want to really know how it might feel to be diagnosed with breast cancer, this steam of consciousness tale will give you a pretty good idea, not that any two experiences are the same.
Possibly about half of the book is an ode to reading and, counter-intuitively, reading about reading does not feel like genuine reading. I'm not the target audience for this book -- I haven't read a single one of the works Walker writes about. Some I do intend to get to, but others no, and so I found myself zoning out at intricate (and no doubt intelligent) responses to great works in the same way I always zone out when anyone recounts the plot of anything ever.
Funnily enough, I feel less terrified of cancer than I did before reading the book. If I'm ever in a doctor's office and told I've got cancer I may well return to this as some kind of solace. In the meantime, I really hope our next book club book has no cancer in it whatsoever.
I did enjoy the cancer part of the book, because with all the Pink Ribbon breast cancer campaigning, very little is actually said about the experience of the disease, because 'awareness' does not equal 'education'. If you want to really know how it might feel to be diagnosed with breast cancer, this steam of consciousness tale will give you a pretty good idea, not that any two experiences are the same.
Possibly about half of the book is an ode to reading and, counter-intuitively, reading about reading does not feel like genuine reading. I'm not the target audience for this book -- I haven't read a single one of the works Walker writes about. Some I do intend to get to, but others no, and so I found myself zoning out at intricate (and no doubt intelligent) responses to great works in the same way I always zone out when anyone recounts the plot of anything ever.
Funnily enough, I feel less terrified of cancer than I did before reading the book. If I'm ever in a doctor's office and told I've got cancer I may well return to this as some kind of solace. In the meantime, I really hope our next book club book has no cancer in it whatsoever.
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