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jen286's review against another edition
2.0
This review was originally posted to Jen in Bookland
The Falling Sky was...blah. I am finding it hard to have any feelings towards this book. It was just there. I read words, but it wasn't anything. This is the story of Jeanette and she is so...missing. It is like she is not even in the story even though it is about her. She just seems to be floating along not doing much, not being able to connect with other people, just in this strange world. She was so odd.
I did like the "then" chapters at first. Jeanette's sister died when she was young and those chapters at first were really interesting. I loved the way she described her world, how her parents were kind of shut down, how she made up stories for where her sister was and all of that. It was really interesting to read, but the "now" chapters were...she is still detached from like everything. She has relationships with people, but I don't even know if she really has them or not. They are just...like non existent in her world so much so that it was just like she is in a fog and I am trying to figure out the story without being able to see everything. I did not enjoy it, but it also just left me feeling ambivalent towards Jeanette. It's hard to even put into word my thoughts since I am just like "meh" when I think of the story. She was kind of like mist - there, but not a substantial thing.
The one thing I will say that I didn't like is all the astronomy in the story. I don't know enough about it to know why her findings would be a big deal and why they would contradict a well known theory. The book does say well this is what it is, this is what it should be, so that means this theory might be wrong, but I don't know enough to make that jump myself. I don't even know what redshifts are so...The book tells you what things mean in the general context, but not what they actually are so if you are like me and know basically nothing about astronomy you won't get it. The first half of the book was especially astronomy heavy and I just skimmed through a lot since I don't know what they were talking about really. Maybe if I could have connected with Jeanette I wouldn't have minded not knowing all of the astronomy, but since I didn't I wanted something to fill that void.
So yeah. This book is just blah. It is odd as normally I have some feelings towards the story, but this one I just don't. It just is. It exists. It is nothing. Odd.
The Falling Sky was...blah. I am finding it hard to have any feelings towards this book. It was just there. I read words, but it wasn't anything. This is the story of Jeanette and she is so...missing. It is like she is not even in the story even though it is about her. She just seems to be floating along not doing much, not being able to connect with other people, just in this strange world. She was so odd.
I did like the "then" chapters at first. Jeanette's sister died when she was young and those chapters at first were really interesting. I loved the way she described her world, how her parents were kind of shut down, how she made up stories for where her sister was and all of that. It was really interesting to read, but the "now" chapters were...she is still detached from like everything. She has relationships with people, but I don't even know if she really has them or not. They are just...like non existent in her world so much so that it was just like she is in a fog and I am trying to figure out the story without being able to see everything. I did not enjoy it, but it also just left me feeling ambivalent towards Jeanette. It's hard to even put into word my thoughts since I am just like "meh" when I think of the story. She was kind of like mist - there, but not a substantial thing.
The one thing I will say that I didn't like is all the astronomy in the story. I don't know enough about it to know why her findings would be a big deal and why they would contradict a well known theory. The book does say well this is what it is, this is what it should be, so that means this theory might be wrong, but I don't know enough to make that jump myself. I don't even know what redshifts are so...The book tells you what things mean in the general context, but not what they actually are so if you are like me and know basically nothing about astronomy you won't get it. The first half of the book was especially astronomy heavy and I just skimmed through a lot since I don't know what they were talking about really. Maybe if I could have connected with Jeanette I wouldn't have minded not knowing all of the astronomy, but since I didn't I wanted something to fill that void.
So yeah. This book is just blah. It is odd as normally I have some feelings towards the story, but this one I just don't. It just is. It exists. It is nothing. Odd.
kadenmcguire's review against another edition
3.0
Quite touching, but not that memorable. I was really interested in the story taking place in the past, but not so much the present.
ashtigerr's review against another edition
3.0
it was kinda boring and i don’t really care about astronomy but i also love reading about people’s lives spiralling downhill
illybelliot's review against another edition
1.0
I've got to admit, I didn't really like this book, as is probably obvious from the amount of stars I gave it. I thought Goldshmidt wrote fluently but often her descriptions were very clichéd for instance, 'The wind was a slap in the face'. I always remember that particular phrase being used as an example in English lessons for metaphors. The paragraphs of thought also tended to ramble on and I got bored quickly as there wasn't a whole lot of story line to the book.
I understand that the book was supposed to represent Jeanette's feelings and the beauty of astronomy but I believe this focus was too strong and therefore left the plot weak. Additionally, despite having studied astronomy, I felt that the technical details of the subject didn't really add anything to aid the recognition of it's supposed beauty.
One thing I did enjoy about the book, however, was the way it switched between the past and present of the protagonist's life yet I still felt the conclusion didn't really finalise the two parts to any degree and you were just left with more thought about the character's life.
I understand that the book was supposed to represent Jeanette's feelings and the beauty of astronomy but I believe this focus was too strong and therefore left the plot weak. Additionally, despite having studied astronomy, I felt that the technical details of the subject didn't really add anything to aid the recognition of it's supposed beauty.
One thing I did enjoy about the book, however, was the way it switched between the past and present of the protagonist's life yet I still felt the conclusion didn't really finalise the two parts to any degree and you were just left with more thought about the character's life.
breadforsong's review against another edition
5.0
I love this... understated writing but packs a real emotional punch... things unseen and things unsaid. maybe the science went over my head but it didn't matter.
mckenzierichardson's review against another edition
4.0
I received an ARC of this book from Goodreads in exchange for an honest review.
It took me a while to really getting into this novel. The language and narration was beautiful throughout, but it wasn't until about halfway through that the story actually got me engaged. The ending isn't necessarily satisfying, but it coincides well with Goldschmidt's desire to portray "the beauty and the uncertainty" in astronomy as well as in life.
I also really enjoyed the three-dimensional look at Jeanette's life. It wasn't just a story about her career or her childhood or her family or her romantic relationships. It was about her whole life. I loved that Jeanette's sexuality isn't treated as a plot point, but is really seen as one aspect of her life and who she is as a person. Her sexuality is a part of her identity but it isn't the only part. Jeanette faces difficulties due to others' perception of her sexuality, but is not struggling to define her sexuality itself. I like this way of looking at one's sexuality and think it helped make Jeanette a very strong character in the novel.
Overall, I think this was a wonderful novel, but it did take some effort to get through.
It took me a while to really getting into this novel. The language and narration was beautiful throughout, but it wasn't until about halfway through that the story actually got me engaged. The ending isn't necessarily satisfying, but it coincides well with Goldschmidt's desire to portray "the beauty and the uncertainty" in astronomy as well as in life.
I also really enjoyed the three-dimensional look at Jeanette's life. It wasn't just a story about her career or her childhood or her family or her romantic relationships. It was about her whole life. I loved that Jeanette's sexuality isn't treated as a plot point, but is really seen as one aspect of her life and who she is as a person. Her sexuality is a part of her identity but it isn't the only part. Jeanette faces difficulties due to others' perception of her sexuality, but is not struggling to define her sexuality itself. I like this way of looking at one's sexuality and think it helped make Jeanette a very strong character in the novel.
Overall, I think this was a wonderful novel, but it did take some effort to get through.
qdony's review against another edition
4.0
(3,5/5)
Jo, me ha dejado un poco tocado.
Tiene cosas que me gustan mucho. A ver si encuentro cuando hablar más de él.
Sienta bien alejarse un poco de la zona de confort.
Jo, me ha dejado un poco tocado.
Tiene cosas que me gustan mucho. A ver si encuentro cuando hablar más de él.
Sienta bien alejarse un poco de la zona de confort.
seddso's review against another edition
1.0
Not bad at the beginning but the stiry dragged on and there was no proper structure to the plot / I can't even remember the ending and I only finished last night. Not great
tartancrusader's review against another edition
3.0
Really enjoyed the science and the descriptions of academia but all the 'in-head' narrative I found dull and uninteresting, probably because I struggled to feel any connection with the main character.
rmendes42's review
emotional
inspiring
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
3.0