Grace

3.5 stars

Finally!! A novel centred around someone my age that's humour actually hits and, like, is vulnerable and honest and painful? I don't know why I keep reading books about affairs, or how I keep picking them up without noticing, but this one did stand out in its clarity. It hurts but in a good way.

Shockingly messed up and not at all the cute and weird little read I judged it to be by the cover, but it was so well written and interesting that I couldn't put it down. That being said: what the fuck

4.5

Cryptic, murky, dark, and riddled with guilt and uncertainty.

We follow the unreliable narration of Etsuko which drifts between her memories of life in Nagasaki with her first husband and an enigmatic neighbouring mother and daughter, as well as the present day in England during a visit from her youngest daughter while she reflects upon the recent suicide of her eldest daughter.

Ishiguro writes equivocally, and you learn quickly not to take everything at its face value. This is hinted at many times by Etsuko spectating on the fogginess of her own memory. His use of allegory to obscure the readers' understanding of his characters words and actions is done masterfully.

It must be read with skepticism, curiosity, patience, and an open mind. And then probably reread, to look for everything you missed the first time. So captivating and intelligent.

Excellent birth control!!

2.5 stars

I reeeeeally wanted to enjoy this but in the end I had to stop lying to myself and admit that I just didn't. While the book does offer some valuable, intelligent insights, which have stuck with me and reframed some of the ways I think about love, I feel like everything it had to offer was condensed into the first two chapters and the rest just irritated me.

There were many sweeping, absolute statements which lacked concrete examples and follow through explanation. It felt like big, fancy, academic words were just thrown in there to contribute to the scientific illusion, without citing a single study. With the heavy religious undertones too, it kind of just felt like I was being preached at throughout much of the second half. Not my vibe.

In short, Hooks does have some real practical, powerful, and interesting things to say here, but they just could have been articulated in a way that was based on research more so than religion and opinion.