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no30's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Well written, moving but utterly depressing and demoralizing. This author holds nothing back as he depicts Judith Hearne's painful slide into delusion and then invisibility. It's so uncomfortable to read because when you encounter someone like this in real life the inclination is to turn away with kind but useless thoughts/feelings of pity. But here you cannot turn away because the author does not turn away. Is Judith failed by God/church, her fellow man or her own delusions? You get the sense that it's all of the above.
garni's review against another edition
5.0
if i were miss judith hearne i would simply just get a cat instead of being so lonely that i was ultimately institutionalized
beefmaster's review against another edition
4.0
A weird complaint but I wish there had been *less* plot.
elleryanderson_'s review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
hoodster's review against another edition
4.0
The first chapter as one of the most brilliant pieces of fiction I have read, could stand alone and be taught in any writing class. The whole novel is excellent, but does suffer from decreasing energy after about the halfway point. It’s as if Brian Moore created this tremendous build up and then wasn’t sure where to go with it.
lonelybloomer's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
hannicogood's review
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A convincing and harrowing account of a lonely, impoverished gentlewoman that couldn’t be set anywhere other than 1950s Belfast. My anxiety for Judith grew through the novel and will now sit in my stomach til I am able to drag my thoughts away. However, didn’t care for the use of sexual assault that didn’t add anything to the plot. It seems like it was included to underline how icky a certain character is, but the reader is already well aware by the time it happens.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
clare_tan_wenhui's review against another edition
5.0
The discovery of this read was unexpected. I went in already knowing about the theme of female singlehood, but the real surprise was the unflinchingly brutal depiction of the Catholic faith, which is comparable to [a:Shūsaku Endō|14164|Shūsaku Endō|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1242087808p2/14164.jpg]'s epic [b:Silence|25200|Silence|Shūsaku Endō|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1503294393l/25200._SY75_.jpg|1796157].
I devoured the entire book within 3 sittings, in less than a day, unable to put it down. It was a warped experience, like having traveled through time, revisiting my former self many years ago, vulnerable in managing with my singlehood while keeping to the faith.
I'm now not exactly in a good state of mind with regard to my faith again, and am really thankful this book came along.
I devoured the entire book within 3 sittings, in less than a day, unable to put it down. It was a warped experience, like having traveled through time, revisiting my former self many years ago, vulnerable in managing with my singlehood while keeping to the faith.
I'm now not exactly in a good state of mind with regard to my faith again, and am really thankful this book came along.
margaret21's review against another edition
4.0
This is a raw, powerful account of a lonely life. In Judith we have a middle-aged woman in straitened circumstances, who lost her youth to caring for an aged and difficult aunt. Once her aunt died, she had rather missed the boat. A career, the prospect of marriage have all vanished, together with her confidence. She moves from boarding house to boarding house, and teaches a few - a very few - hours of piano. Her only social life is to visit the O'Neill family on Sunday, after Mass. And they dread those visits. This is the story of her disintegration. Inept at reading social clues, she imagines a fellow resident at her current boarding house is interested in marrying her. He isn't. And things go from bad to worse ...
It's excruciating. It's depressing. It's sad. But it's compelling too. Here's a man who remembers the torments that most of us go through as teenagers, re-enacted in the mind of a middle-aged woman. Somehow, Brian Moore has passed me by till now. No longer.
It's excruciating. It's depressing. It's sad. But it's compelling too. Here's a man who remembers the torments that most of us go through as teenagers, re-enacted in the mind of a middle-aged woman. Somehow, Brian Moore has passed me by till now. No longer.
sohara6's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best books I've read in a while. Depressing, bleak, unsparing, yes, but so well written, paced, and structured.