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mika55's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
lizawall's review
Mixed feelings, y'all! Parts of this were just the best, and then parts so ugh.
loujoseph's review
2.0
such a great premise, but it really loses steam and almost becomes unreadable at the end.
keirahowie's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
actualspinster's review against another edition
5.0
i think the bit just before the end was very unenjoyable to me but ultimately this is so good, so rich & smart && layered & fascinating especially in terms of 50s/60s gender/womanhood & narrative or 'the novel' itself.
kathedron's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
casparb's review
4.0
Ok mixed feelings all round but it's, good. I like Doris I'm still trying to work out what this book wants itself to be though perhaps that's a poor impulse. In the Marxisms I'm reminded of Godard's La Chinoise , perhaps because they both depress me.
A lot to deal with in taking this novel as a kind of time capsule of women's lib movements in the 50s and 60s. Of course we can take issue with a lot. I'm kind of blown away by how everybody is so horny all the time I don't think there's a single character in this novel that hasn't had a few dozen affairs. All of the men are atrocious and detestable and are married and ruthlessly shag anybody other than their partners. The women are for the most part the same, though they aren't married. Funny how that works.
There's a difficulty in thinking of The Golden Notebook as a novel. Not because it's so experimental or radically new to me that I simply couldn't categorise it that way. The concertina form was pretty novel (ha) at the time but we're used to it now. Perhaps it's more to do with pacing.
It's chaotic and strange and I go between liking and disliking it. So I suppose I'll remember it.
A lot to deal with in taking this novel as a kind of time capsule of women's lib movements in the 50s and 60s. Of course we can take issue with a lot. I'm kind of blown away by how everybody is so horny all the time I don't think there's a single character in this novel that hasn't had a few dozen affairs. All of the men are atrocious and detestable and are married and ruthlessly shag anybody other than their partners. The women are for the most part the same, though they aren't married. Funny how that works.
There's a difficulty in thinking of The Golden Notebook as a novel. Not because it's so experimental or radically new to me that I simply couldn't categorise it that way. The concertina form was pretty novel (ha) at the time but we're used to it now. Perhaps it's more to do with pacing.
It's chaotic and strange and I go between liking and disliking it. So I suppose I'll remember it.
emherland's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I wish I loved this more