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ellenclibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
I really went back and forth on this rating. Most of the time I was reading, I thought I would rate it at 3. Sometimes I found I really didn't like the author very much, but I related so much to the story. She is almost the same age, I recognized a lot of her references, and experienced many of the same events and mistakes. But something just kept nagging at me: if I am completely honest, I may have found her too cool and maybe experienced a little envy and a thought of 'why can't you be happy and use your memory bank to enhance your sex life.' But as with so many books, the ending illuminated her honesty, her search for understanding, and her acknowledgement of why she is the way she is and pushed my rating to a 4. Memoirs are a tough gig and I cannot imagine being honest enough to complete one
kineticandroid's review
Just lost the momentum. Still like her a lot. Another time
elisanolasco's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
Love her voice, reminded me a bit of Stephanie Danler. Honest grit and wisdom.
theodoralang's review
4.5
i enjoyed this. it could have been tightened up a bit, but this is exactly the kind of thing I like to read. woman writes through her problems through reference and reading. i also loved the therapists take on the persephone myth: persephone is an opposite to demeter. maternal fertility, tethered to seasonal time, harvest vs. escape, risk, (a certain kind of) freedom, and wildness
also felt dragged by the many ways I am similar to this author. went to oberlin, she has a whole chapter about spiral jetty, where I used to work, she's obsessed w Mormons. dragged!
also felt dragged by the many ways I am similar to this author. went to oberlin, she has a whole chapter about spiral jetty, where I used to work, she's obsessed w Mormons. dragged!
jess_is_currentlyreading's review against another edition
3.75
I was so interested in most of these chapters but I found some to be frivolous. I think Dederer encapsulates exactly why I'm not enamored with the 70s & 80s. Her lighthearted portions were more my style, but her exposure of the rawness of herself and her emotions sits heavy on my chest in acknowledgement
kaycee_king's review
dark
sad
slow-paced
2.0
Yikes. I enjoyed her other book "Monsters" but this was...tough. Not my cup of tea subject matter wise, which is what it is. Oddly put together. The middle part was repetitive and got tedious.
nina_rod's review
3.0
“Seattle is a place where you are not supposed to emote. You are supposed to endure.” One of my favorite lines in the book and there were many. Bonus, this author lived in my neck of the woods, however her being in a more upscale neighborhood. (Stuck up snob.)
I could probably write the opposite of this book. The author took great pains in turning 40. Her body was not what it used to be and she wasn’t getting as much attention from men as she used to. And oh boy does she go into the attention she used to get from men. It was raw, honest and brave. I’m hoping her children and husband never read her book.
I, on the other hand, took great joy in turning 40. I slipped into invisibility as a non-threatening female behind the sexless minivan. I found it liberating, not soul-crushing. I liked the way this book was organized... bringing order to random musings. If I knew the writer in real life, I would have called her a bitch. But I was glad to know she had other women she called bitches too (those Saint Anne’s Brooklyn girls).
I loved reading her book like I loved Facebook stalking an open profile of a person I know I’d never be Facebook friends with. Although we both loved ‘A Room With A View’ and had a fascination with Mormons, so there’s that.
I could probably write the opposite of this book. The author took great pains in turning 40. Her body was not what it used to be and she wasn’t getting as much attention from men as she used to. And oh boy does she go into the attention she used to get from men. It was raw, honest and brave. I’m hoping her children and husband never read her book.
I, on the other hand, took great joy in turning 40. I slipped into invisibility as a non-threatening female behind the sexless minivan. I found it liberating, not soul-crushing. I liked the way this book was organized... bringing order to random musings. If I knew the writer in real life, I would have called her a bitch. But I was glad to know she had other women she called bitches too (those Saint Anne’s Brooklyn girls).
I loved reading her book like I loved Facebook stalking an open profile of a person I know I’d never be Facebook friends with. Although we both loved ‘A Room With A View’ and had a fascination with Mormons, so there’s that.