Comments (18)

What did you think about this title?
1 to 18 of 18 items
Aug 09, 2023DANA R. SAIR rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Heartbreakingly beautiful. Perfect.
May 25, 2023Barrule rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I loved this book. This is the first book I have read by this author. It was a bit slow going at the beginning but then I was hooked. It was very well written. I can't wait to read her other books.
Jul 12, 2022ALHR rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Not my favorite story from the author, subject matter was somewhat depressing although the book was well written.
Feb 12, 2022wyenotgo rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Not since reading Hardy's "The Return of the Native" many years ago have I encountered anything as relentlessly fatalistic as this novel. Once young Byron is thrust into the grip of those two extra seconds, his fate and that of everyone…
Oct 05, 2021sisson_pam rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
This one did not work for me overall. I enjoy Joyce's writing and read to the end, but the story was emotionally disturbing for me with the topics of OCD, family dysfunction, control issues, etc...just didn't work for me.
Jun 15, 2018
Not sure if it is fair to make a comment, when the book was just too painful to read all the way through. One said life after another, and another, and another. Very depressing read. Not hopeful. Just a glimmer at the end -- but a…
Mar 24, 2018SPPL_Anna rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
The premise makes this sound much more interesting and weird, but ultimately I was disappointed by how ordinary everything is.
Mar 21, 2018DanglingConversations rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
A very disturbing read for me. U was so depressed by the end of the book don't think i can face another read by this author. However the treatment of people suffering complex grief, especially adolescents, was probably true for that period…
pandawynne
May 01, 2015
100 pages in. LovIng this. Not a happy little read, but illyminating and sympathetic portrayal of mental illness, feminism etc
Apr 21, 2015Pisinga rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
The book is written with a wonderful language, talented. Chapters of the book in which the events take place in the present, I found quite tedious. It may sound blasphemous, but it is absolutely not my intention, but in general, the…
JMFreads
Dec 01, 2014JMFreads rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I loved this story. I thought it was an excellently written novel. I am eager to read Joyce's Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.
Aug 29, 2014lizhelboe rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
This book is difficult to rate because I think it is a good book club selection but not one I would recommend to a friend to read. It lends itself well for discussion with themes of mental illness, fate, and the ambiguity of some of the…
May 23, 2014GMMacKelvie rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
I borrowed this, having enjoyed Joyce's Unlikely Pilgrimage (which I found lovely). However, anyone even a bit susceptible to anxiety may find this read unbearable. What seemed a relentlessly growing thread of hallucinations and…
Feb 02, 2014Mothercat rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I found this a sad little book overall, and think I enjoyed her Harold Fry story more - still worth reading, though.
Dec 20, 2013SPL_Laura rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Enjoyed her first novel more but this was still entertaining though much darker. Looking forward to whatever Joyce writes next but hoping it will be a bit more hopeful.
Dec 17, 2013
A powerful, compassionate story that includes a portrait of a man struggling with OCD. The marriage depicted in the first half of the book is one of the most chilling ever written. I read this beautifully written novel in two sittings,…
ohtethys
Dec 10, 2013ohtethys rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
After the funny, optimistic book that was the Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, I was so looking forward to this new novel. Unfortunately, I just found it to be so sad with none of the humour and inspiration to balance it out.
Nov 25, 2013AllisonCasa rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I found it to be a bit predictable. Interesting read but not as good as I thought it would be.