Jill Alexander Essbaum

Received as a test read from NetGalley.
To be honest, most of the free ebooks I receive from various places are too totally horrible to write a review about. I don't want to be mean, but, hey, proofreading, people!!!! So I read the first few pages and then give up in despair.

This book is an exception. From the moment I started it I was pulled in, dragged into the scene, experiencing life in a foreign country, isolated and ignored. Maybe it's because I've been there, with a similarly busy husband, but I could truly identify with the character, Anna, as she struggles to find a reason for her existence.

True, she could maybe have played with her kids more, or otherwise lived a bit more, but as a character in search of treatment for depression, she makes bad choices again and again, spiralling downwards into a bigger and bigger mess. Her self-centred focus is shockingly strong, and yet, I felt sympathy for her, trapped within herself as she is.

The writing is well done - mine, the kindle edition, occasionally confused me for a moment with jumps in settings and times. This might be less of a problem in a hard-copy version. However, the author's writing was so clear that I was confused for only a moment.

Well worth a read. I found myself setting aside time to read it, and also pounding on my Kindle when the pages wouldn't turn fast enough.

… (plus d'informations)

This book is about the unraveling of the protagonist and it is painful to witness. I almost gave the book 4 stars, so guess my final rating is 3.5 stars. Essbaum tells the story in very short segments that are not linear in time, perhaps recreating her character Anna's thoughts and feelings. Did I enjoy reading this book? No. I do think the author showed a lot of insight and empathy with all the characters (something Anna lacked), but reading about a self immolation (not literally-psychically) is unpleasant. There were lots of tidbits regarding Jungian analysis that were quite interesting.… (plus d'informations)