Laura Bloom
Auteur de The women and the girls
Œuvres de Laura Bloom
Étiqueté
Partage des connaissances
- Sexe
- female
Membres
Critiques
I was in my local library this morning when I noticed this amongst the travel writing. It says its aimed at those 30+ who like the idea of a gap year but didn't do it when they were younger. I kind of fall into this group as I have played with the idea a few times but I still don't know if it's my thing. I enjoy traveling but I think I prefer to do it in small chunks and that's what I tend to do at the moment. Anyway, I hoped this book would be an insight into long term travel for those about university age so I borrowed it.
The first thing I should say about this book is that the title is a little misleading. The author doesn't go on a gap year but travels for 90 days, 20 of which are spent in basically one place in New Zealand. The book is a combination of a travellogue, a travel guide and a collection of anecdotes from other travellers. Most of the people are in their 50's. I have no particular issue with this except that the book doesn't make this clear from the start.
It is easy to get through and in fact I read it in pretty much one sitting this evening and it is divided into chapters dealing with different aspects of the whole process including planning and the boring things that are necessary before setting off. The stories from the travellers are ok but to be honest they are a bit too short and odd, I didn't expect to read about a couple on a cruise for example. The travel advice was all stuff I would consider to be common sense, like don't keep all your cash in one place and lock away valuables in the hotel/hostel safe.
This book has great reviews on both Amazon and Goodreads but it just didn't impress me that much as a book. There are far better guides out there, including for the more mature traveller. I feel mean giving it only 2 though and because the author is writing from the viewpoint of a female travelling solo maybe I'm just not the person the book was written for.… (plus d'informations)
The first thing I should say about this book is that the title is a little misleading. The author doesn't go on a gap year but travels for 90 days, 20 of which are spent in basically one place in New Zealand. The book is a combination of a travellogue, a travel guide and a collection of anecdotes from other travellers. Most of the people are in their 50's. I have no particular issue with this except that the book doesn't make this clear from the start.
It is easy to get through and in fact I read it in pretty much one sitting this evening and it is divided into chapters dealing with different aspects of the whole process including planning and the boring things that are necessary before setting off. The stories from the travellers are ok but to be honest they are a bit too short and odd, I didn't expect to read about a couple on a cruise for example. The travel advice was all stuff I would consider to be common sense, like don't keep all your cash in one place and lock away valuables in the hotel/hostel safe.
This book has great reviews on both Amazon and Goodreads but it just didn't impress me that much as a book. There are far better guides out there, including for the more mature traveller. I feel mean giving it only 2 though and because the author is writing from the viewpoint of a female travelling solo maybe I'm just not the person the book was written for.… (plus d'informations)
Set in Australia in the late 1970’s, The Women and the Girls is a thoughtful and engaging novel about self discovery and friendship from Laura Bloom.
No longer able to withstand her domineering husband, recent British immigrant Carol finds an unexpected ally in Anna when she makes the decision to leave him. Anna, who has just made the decision to leave her own husband, offers Carol refuge with her at an investment property she owns and then Libby, desperate for a change in the status quo of her marriage, impulsively decides to join them.
Told with heart and humour, Bloom shares the journey of these three women as they attempt to forge a new life for themselves, and their children. I thought the characterisation of each woman was well-rounded, exploring their strengths and flaws in a nuanced manner. While they each have different reasons for leaving their husbands, Carol, Anna and Libby are all essentially on a similar quest of self discovery, and are fortunate to have found an ally in each other.
Bloom’s portrayal of female friendships in this novel is quite wonderful, the women are really little more than acquaintances when they first begin living together but they are effortlessly supportive of one another. Even if they don’t always agree, the consideration and respect of their relationships contrasts sharply with Carol and Libby’s experience in their respective marriages in a time when women were just beginning to realise that being a wife and mother didn’t negate their autonomy.
Though I was only a young child in the 1970’s (I was born in 1973) I feel like Bloom captured the era well with her descriptions of hair and fashion, the affection for ABBA, the velvet couches, and fondue. Bloom also explores the dichotomy that characterised the period, for though the decade saw rapid social progress for womens’ rights in Australia, casual, and pointed, misogyny remained rife. The introduction of ‘no fault’ laws in 1976 saw the divorce rate triple (reaching a record high that still stands), yet in 1977 married women could not open a bank account without their husband’s permission.
The Women and the Girls is a well-written, entertaining and thought-provoking read, that should have cross generational appeal.… (plus d'informations)
No longer able to withstand her domineering husband, recent British immigrant Carol finds an unexpected ally in Anna when she makes the decision to leave him. Anna, who has just made the decision to leave her own husband, offers Carol refuge with her at an investment property she owns and then Libby, desperate for a change in the status quo of her marriage, impulsively decides to join them.
Told with heart and humour, Bloom shares the journey of these three women as they attempt to forge a new life for themselves, and their children. I thought the characterisation of each woman was well-rounded, exploring their strengths and flaws in a nuanced manner. While they each have different reasons for leaving their husbands, Carol, Anna and Libby are all essentially on a similar quest of self discovery, and are fortunate to have found an ally in each other.
Bloom’s portrayal of female friendships in this novel is quite wonderful, the women are really little more than acquaintances when they first begin living together but they are effortlessly supportive of one another. Even if they don’t always agree, the consideration and respect of their relationships contrasts sharply with Carol and Libby’s experience in their respective marriages in a time when women were just beginning to realise that being a wife and mother didn’t negate their autonomy.
Though I was only a young child in the 1970’s (I was born in 1973) I feel like Bloom captured the era well with her descriptions of hair and fashion, the affection for ABBA, the velvet couches, and fondue. Bloom also explores the dichotomy that characterised the period, for though the decade saw rapid social progress for womens’ rights in Australia, casual, and pointed, misogyny remained rife. The introduction of ‘no fault’ laws in 1976 saw the divorce rate triple (reaching a record high that still stands), yet in 1977 married women could not open a bank account without their husband’s permission.
The Women and the Girls is a well-written, entertaining and thought-provoking read, that should have cross generational appeal.… (plus d'informations)
Mika is having trouble being who she is. Everything fell to pieces when she failed to complete a piano solo at the school concert. Now she is forced to go on a holiday to a hippy-loving town with her parents, and share a house with her annoying little brother and sister, and two adults she has never met before plus their autistic son Max. All Mika can think about is the sleepover she is missing from her friends, plus what a failure she is ( her piano teacher has told her he doesn't want to teach her anymore) and how much pressure her family put her under.
Then Mika notices Max and watches how he looks at the world and reacts to what is happening around him. She sees his contentment and (sometimes) over stimulation and tries to look at life around her from his perspective. A chance opportunity to be alone with Max presents itself when he refuses to get off a bus on a joint family outing. Mika calls out that she will look after Max but can a 13 year old really cope with a strong autistic boy by herself.
Lovely story about being true to yourself. Has some harrowing moments when the two are by themselves - Mika accepts a lift from a stranger and also Max falls into a river and Mika has to swim after him and nearly drowns - but seems very true to life as the author has an autistic child herself.… (plus d'informations)
Then Mika notices Max and watches how he looks at the world and reacts to what is happening around him. She sees his contentment and (sometimes) over stimulation and tries to look at life around her from his perspective. A chance opportunity to be alone with Max presents itself when he refuses to get off a bus on a joint family outing. Mika calls out that she will look after Max but can a 13 year old really cope with a strong autistic boy by herself.
Lovely story about being true to yourself. Has some harrowing moments when the two are by themselves - Mika accepts a lift from a stranger and also Max falls into a river and Mika has to swim after him and nearly drowns - but seems very true to life as the author has an autistic child herself.… (plus d'informations)
Statistiques
- Œuvres
- 8
- Membres
- 33
- Popularité
- #421,955
- Évaluation
- 3.3
- Critiques
- 7
- ISBN
- 25
- Langues
- 1
Trigger warnings: Sexting, near-death experience at a river
6/10, looking back at this I still think this wasn't a good middle grade book at all and even then when I first read this I didn't like it since it had so many flaws, most notably is that it's less than 200 pages and the topic of autism isn't as well executed and explained; where do I even begin. It starts off with the main character Mika and her brother Max who has severe autism hence the title and already I had a problem with this since autism is essentially just an afterthought and not in the spotlight as much. Anyways her life appears normal at first however I think her parents forced her to go with them to some sort of festival and she doesn't want to go there when she's already isolated from her friends and peers. I thought this book would get better from this point considering that the writing and characters were pretty flat but from there it just worsens towards the last half of the book, not to mention someone sexted Mika once but at least the ending was good. Mika decides to run off from her parents only to get into a random town through a stranger's car, waded into the river and almost died if it weren't for her brother and the police, without them they both would've died and this really got on my nerves. Fortunately they were found eventually and reunited with their family ending the book. If you like books similar to this try A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll rather than this.… (plus d'informations)