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5.0
‘Her reflections on human nature are eloquently drawn, intimate, compassionate and witty.’
Australian
‘Amy Witting is comparable to Jean Rhys, but she has more starch, or vinegar. The effect is bracing.’
New Yorker
‘[Witting] lays bare with surgical precision the dynamics of families, sibling, students in coffee shops, office coteries. One sometimes feels positively winded with unsettling insights. There is something relentless, almost unnerving in her anatomising of foibles, fears obsessions, private shame, the nature of loneliness, the nature of panic.’
Janette Turner Hospital
‘A beautifully but unobtrusively honed style, a marvellous ear for dialogue, a generous understanding of the complex waywardness of men and women.’
Andrew Riemer
‘Sparkling prose and extraordinary ability to enter the minds of a wide variety of characters.’
A Reader's Guide to Australian Fiction
‘Quietly brilliant…Witting’s characterizations are staggeringly sharp—it is hard to imagine a novel more keenly observed—simultaneously heartbreaking and (subtly) hilarious, not because they’re exaggerated, but because they are so unsettlingly, overwhelmingly true…A compassionate masterpiece.’
STARRED Review, Kirkus
Australian
‘Amy Witting is comparable to Jean Rhys, but she has more starch, or vinegar. The effect is bracing.’
New Yorker
‘[Witting] lays bare with surgical precision the dynamics of families, sibling, students in coffee shops, office coteries. One sometimes feels positively winded with unsettling insights. There is something relentless, almost unnerving in her anatomising of foibles, fears obsessions, private shame, the nature of loneliness, the nature of panic.’
Janette Turner Hospital
‘A beautifully but unobtrusively honed style, a marvellous ear for dialogue, a generous understanding of the complex waywardness of men and women.’
Andrew Riemer
‘Sparkling prose and extraordinary ability to enter the minds of a wide variety of characters.’
A Reader's Guide to Australian Fiction
‘Quietly brilliant…Witting’s characterizations are staggeringly sharp—it is hard to imagine a novel more keenly observed—simultaneously heartbreaking and (subtly) hilarious, not because they’re exaggerated, but because they are so unsettlingly, overwhelmingly true…A compassionate masterpiece.’
STARRED Review, Kirkus
thisgirl_writes's review
5.0
Usually I'm a bit sceptical about sequels, but I loved this one just as much as I for Isobel. Witting captures Isobel's inner conflicts beautifully, whilst maintaining the tone of the conclusion of the previous novel, when Isobel has begun to embark on her journey of learning self-acceptance.
tien's review
4.0
When I purchased this book, I bought it because:
1. I like the sound of the title, and
2. the cover fits a task for a reading challenge.
I didn't realise that this was a follow-up to a book, [book:I for Isobel|21535371] which I've actually read a few years ago though I only vaguely remembered. I read it but I did NOT understand it which is why it remains “un-rated” on my shelf despite being read. Hence, I started reading [book:Isobel on the Way to the Corner Shop|24896898] with trepidation. I don’t know whether I've grown up a little in the past few years or what but I actually enjoyed this book. Hence, the 4-stars’ rating.
The novel opens with Isobel's struggles as an aspiring writer. She’s just taken her first determined step to commit herself as a writer. She’s quit her steady but dead-ending job, having to leave home because of this and found herself in a boarding house without having much left for food. This first part of the book was rather confusing though that is because Isobel herself is confused… this was made obvious when the state of her health was revealed and she suddenly found herself in a sanatorium. It is here, through her interactions with others and certain friendships or even enmities, that she began to accept herself and in doing so, flourish.
“Is it possible to cause so much misery to another human being, simply by being oneself? she wondered, feeling a reflection of that misery. No help for it; she must continue to be herself.”
As always, reading is subjective and what I learnt from this book is probably different from others. I did find this book to be very reflective and rather thought-provoking. With a diverse set of characters to complement and/or as foils to Isobel, Isobel on the Way to the Corner Shop is an engaging read. And it doesn't matter if you've read the earlier book as this book can well stand on its own.
1. I like the sound of the title, and
2. the cover fits a task for a reading challenge.
I didn't realise that this was a follow-up to a book, [book:I for Isobel|21535371] which I've actually read a few years ago though I only vaguely remembered. I read it but I did NOT understand it which is why it remains “un-rated” on my shelf despite being read. Hence, I started reading [book:Isobel on the Way to the Corner Shop|24896898] with trepidation. I don’t know whether I've grown up a little in the past few years or what but I actually enjoyed this book. Hence, the 4-stars’ rating.
The novel opens with Isobel's struggles as an aspiring writer. She’s just taken her first determined step to commit herself as a writer. She’s quit her steady but dead-ending job, having to leave home because of this and found herself in a boarding house without having much left for food. This first part of the book was rather confusing though that is because Isobel herself is confused… this was made obvious when the state of her health was revealed and she suddenly found herself in a sanatorium. It is here, through her interactions with others and certain friendships or even enmities, that she began to accept herself and in doing so, flourish.
“Is it possible to cause so much misery to another human being, simply by being oneself? she wondered, feeling a reflection of that misery. No help for it; she must continue to be herself.”
As always, reading is subjective and what I learnt from this book is probably different from others. I did find this book to be very reflective and rather thought-provoking. With a diverse set of characters to complement and/or as foils to Isobel, Isobel on the Way to the Corner Shop is an engaging read. And it doesn't matter if you've read the earlier book as this book can well stand on its own.
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