Reviews

After Story by Larissa Behrendt

caitlinmhp's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

maryvdb2024's review against another edition

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4.0

Love this book. Beautiful parallels with lives lived in different countries and times and the truth telling of the First Nations family dealing with life’s, love, abuse and loss. Heartwarming.

lissaze's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective slow-paced

3.5

arkien's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

ashtrimmmer's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

4.5

gbeach's review against another edition

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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? Yes

2.0

Good story and interesting concept found the writing incredibly unsubtle 

kat7890erina's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5 stars

Della and Jasmine take a mother-daughter trip through literary England which prompts them both to reflect on their relationships with each other, and their sisters back home in Australia.

ally2024's review against another edition

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4.0

4.5 stars

woolfy_vita's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

serenityofbooks's review against another edition

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3.0

** 3 & half stars **
The March pick for the Birds of a Feather Bookclub is After Story by Larissa Behrendt. I’m so happy this one was selected as it’s a book that I may not have necessarily picked up otherwise & feel it has an important message at its heart that all Australians should hear.

My favourite part of this book was the beautiful telling of Aboriginal stories throughout. It really made me reflect on what a beautiful ancient culture our First Nations communities lived for thousands of years & why it is so important these stories are not forgotten & continue to be shared. The author has cleverly managed to weave this in amongst a backdrop which masterfully highlights our common humanity. It is too often as a society people look for the differences and not the similarities, but I loved how this felt hopeful & special.

Written in alternating POV chapters between Jasmine & Dela, I did find it a little repetitive in parts but understand we were looking at how both characters were reflecting on different aspects of their journey. Also, as a reader who has not read any of the classics or has any interest in doing so, I really struggled with all the literary refences, but I did enjoy the scenery.

I’m glad I read this gentle, thought provoking & moving book and I look forward to joining in our Bookclub discussion on Monday night.