Reviews

Compared with Divorcing, Taubes's exploration of existential feminism takes a far more personal and intimate tone here, exploring the sense of being as a woman coming into herself and her own identity, as well as being as a woman in relation to others around her. It utilizes a fascinating literary technique - a character who exists outside of the protagonist almost as a detached spirit or ethereal entity, one that seems, at least to me, male, and thus alien to the feminine experience. Exploring the growing and developing identity of a woman in this way makes it feel almost as if you are exploring a strange and alien world through the eyes of an outsider. Outside of Obioma's An Orchestra of Minorities I can't say I've seen a similar use of this kind of detached perspective. It certainly helps with Taubes's highly analytical perspective and I think gives the story a very rich feel. Much like Divorcing, this novel, short in length, is shockingly dense, the writing heavy with academic, cultural, religious, biographical, and literary details. It is a very slow, but rewarding read.

In addition to the novella are a series of short stories. Many of these explore ideas that are frequent guest stars in Taubes's work - especially her relationship with her father, a highly educated and involved Freudian psychoanalyst. These short stories I find do a good job of delivering Taubes's major themes, especially themes surrounding family, femininity, sexuality, psychology, and existentialism, in a more compact and digestible way compared to her novel-length treatments of these same subjects.

myyearofreadingandrelaxation's review

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

4.25

qqchelsea's review

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3.0

the novella itself was boring and tedious - im not interested in stories about a narrator obsessing over a girl. but the short stories at the end of the book were, to my surprise, so good!!! each had a different narrative style but they were all unsettling and pretty deranged! i would give 2 stars for the novella, 4.5 stars for the short stories

laurap_'s review

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dark mysterious slow-paced

unit_circle's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

4.5

The short stories are darker and weirder than Lament.

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chamblyman's review

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dark emotional funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

4.0

An ingeniously unusual narrator adds a gothic metaphysical vibe to this mid-20th century European girl's coming of age story. Darkly funny, flooded with delicate thoughts and emotional snarls, this is truly a lost gem recovered.

kairhone's review

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challenging dark reflective slow-paced

3.0

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