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bookbound2019's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.5
kathrinpassig's review against another edition
4.0
CW: Im letzten Drittel geht es sehr ausführlich um Schmerzen, Krankheit, Endometriose, Kinderlosigkeit und starke Gewichtszunahme. Wenn man gerade nichts über frauenfeindliche und allgemeine Missstände in der Medizin, über die Reaktion der Welt auf Fett und über ungewollte Kinderlosigkeit lesen will, ist das nicht das richtige Buch.
anneofgreenplaces's review against another edition
4.0
As usual, excellent prose and lithe narrative from Hilary Mantel, albeit not entirely gripping. It’s a true memoir (rather than an autobiography), selecting threads from her life and weaving them thematically together around perception, identity, illness, childhood, infertility, feminism, and writing. Interesting to see the threads that also show up in her novel Beyond Black which I recently read—the lurking of phenomena and ghostly memories or absences, the mediocre house they build in Slough and the suburban neighbors with rowdy children underlining the absence of her own, the physical and psychological implications of being fat. Extended insight into the medical neglect of gynecological disease and the experience of chronic illness.
ewormuth's review against another edition
4.0
Joan Didion, Maggie O'Farrell, Hilary Mantel -- authors suffering physical and mental illness. Mantel's memoir is sad, sometimes hard to read, but beautifully written. One wonders how the writing persists in the face of such difficulty, and yet it does. Mantel's memoir is worth a read.
neglet's review against another edition
Lyrical, ethereal writing. A memoir that sidles up to memories rather than confronting them head on—which seems appropriate for a story of someone whose illnesses were dismissed and gaslit as “all in her head.” If you like her fiction, you’ll likely enjoy this.
no_rephrasing's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
hannahshort's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
sloatsj's review against another edition
3.0
I really admire Hilary Mantel -- she's a terrific writer. This was a very good memoir about illness and infertility and defining yourself.
I do wish she'd gone more into how she became a writer. The way it's handled here it seems almost an accident. And overall, I'd say as a memoir the book is a bit standoffish. And that's okay, I don't need raw agony or sexual escapades or favorite dinner menus. But mostly, since I am primarily interested in Mantel as a writer, I missed finding out more about that.
In terms of personal detail, it would have been interesting to at least know her husband's name, and given what she chose to share about her childhood, the reader might have found out how she felt about having her father drop out of her life. It's just 'poof!' and he's gone. End of story.
Still, the book was ten times superior to what I was reading when I picked it up.
"There is a colour of paint that doesn't seem to exist any more, that was a characteristic pigment of my childhood."
I do wish she'd gone more into how she became a writer. The way it's handled here it seems almost an accident. And overall, I'd say as a memoir the book is a bit standoffish. And that's okay, I don't need raw agony or sexual escapades or favorite dinner menus. But mostly, since I am primarily interested in Mantel as a writer, I missed finding out more about that.
In terms of personal detail, it would have been interesting to at least know her husband's name, and given what she chose to share about her childhood, the reader might have found out how she felt about having her father drop out of her life. It's just 'poof!' and he's gone. End of story.
Still, the book was ten times superior to what I was reading when I picked it up.
"There is a colour of paint that doesn't seem to exist any more, that was a characteristic pigment of my childhood."