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chezie's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Read it in one sitting, and it felt a bit like a fever dream. It was intriguing and I wanted to learn more about the main character and her experiences which kept me turning the pages. The prose was also very interesting.
I honestly think I need to re-read this to better grasp my thoughts about it.
I honestly think I need to re-read this to better grasp my thoughts about it.
jelundberg's review against another edition
5.0
The full version of my official blurb on the back of the book:
"Tania De Rozario is a marvel. Her writing evokes the same feeling as when I first discovered the music of Trent Reznor, with words raw and biting, but above all honest. In this truly remarkable memoir, she lays bare the emotional turmoil and heartbreak that comes from multiple betrayals: by the stroke that steals her grandmother's voice, by the righteous religiosity that forces her mother to choose intolerant belief over parental love, by her homeland's unreasonable standard of living that manifests as constant, literal dislocation, by the callous disregard of a significant lover that upends her whole world. Written in agonisingly beautiful prose, De Rozario presents her pain, unvarnished, for all to bear witness. Her voice is vital, and desperately necessary."
"Tania De Rozario is a marvel. Her writing evokes the same feeling as when I first discovered the music of Trent Reznor, with words raw and biting, but above all honest. In this truly remarkable memoir, she lays bare the emotional turmoil and heartbreak that comes from multiple betrayals: by the stroke that steals her grandmother's voice, by the righteous religiosity that forces her mother to choose intolerant belief over parental love, by her homeland's unreasonable standard of living that manifests as constant, literal dislocation, by the callous disregard of a significant lover that upends her whole world. Written in agonisingly beautiful prose, De Rozario presents her pain, unvarnished, for all to bear witness. Her voice is vital, and desperately necessary."
missmansanas's review against another edition
4.0
"Coming home to someone is many things. It is a literal action, an abstract idea, a physical feeling. It is more than the sound of the key turning in the door and the voice that calls from the porch. It is a choice, a promise, a declaration. It is a return, not as a person to a place, but as oneself to another. It is one person saying to another: You are the one I choose."
To appreciate this, you have to embrace that it is more poetry than prose. Fragmented, poignant and haunted. It winds a bit too much near the end, but it draws the right connections between homes and people.
To appreciate this, you have to embrace that it is more poetry than prose. Fragmented, poignant and haunted. It winds a bit too much near the end, but it draws the right connections between homes and people.
nehangry's review against another edition
4.0
Tania De Rozario's poetic prose is beautiful, raw and thought-provoking. Her intimate and unique writing style is a delight to read and has really piqued my interest in creative non-fiction, and I finished this book craving to read and know more.
mariaellabetos's review against another edition
3.0
I, uh, honestly don't know what to say.
If rumination is this long, then please stop, because that was one rollercoaster ride.
There are thoughts that make you feel incomplete. There are thoughts that are measured and too short, you look for more. I don't make sense (in this review), do I?
Anyways, I appreciate the work. At the first few chapters, I felt the somber mood of heartbreaks, and being trapped and jaded and lost. However, there are times when I felt off at the latter pages -- there are inserted characters that are irrelevant, deliberately put there as a device to evoke an emotion out of a chapter. That felt weird.
First #ASEAN read of 2019! Looking forward for more. :D
If rumination is this long, then please stop, because that was one rollercoaster ride.
There are thoughts that make you feel incomplete. There are thoughts that are measured and too short, you look for more. I don't make sense (in this review), do I?
Anyways, I appreciate the work. At the first few chapters, I felt the somber mood of heartbreaks, and being trapped and jaded and lost. However, there are times when I felt off at the latter pages -- there are inserted characters that are irrelevant, deliberately put there as a device to evoke an emotion out of a chapter. That felt weird.
First #ASEAN read of 2019! Looking forward for more. :D
stacyannemarie's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
phobosm's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I'm so glad I decided to take a chance and pick up this book.
De Rozario's writing may be one of the most beautiful I've encountered and is exactly the kind of poetic prose I've been looking for.
Absolutely beautiful read with so many powerful messages. This is definitely a book that can be re-digested again and again.
De Rozario's writing may be one of the most beautiful I've encountered and is exactly the kind of poetic prose I've been looking for.
Absolutely beautiful read with so many powerful messages. This is definitely a book that can be re-digested again and again.
judithhuang's review against another edition
5.0
Shades of Jeanette Winterson in Rozario's poetic prose - sometimes discursive, always thoughtful and imaginative. Beautiful writing, and I actually preferred it to tender delirium ( though that was also good). The lost relationship threaded through the book haunts you even when you've put the book away, like a trace of something bitter in the mouth.
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