I find it very hard to write down the right words for this review.
It was a book I had to chew on quite a bit, and I’m still pondering concepts, questions and statements that these little stories brought up.
At first, I felt like the characters were being very whiny and (over the top) confrontational. But slowly I realised that I looked at it solely from my point of view. I don’t share their experiences - or rather, most of them I don’t - so I had to shift my gaze and put myself into their shoes.
All of those 12 people had their own story, their own experiences, and their own voices. And what I ended up liking most about this book and how it was written was that it was a portrayal of their lives without any embellishments. It was like a diary entry describing what transpired and how they felt at that exact time. Sure, there were some reflections - at crucial points - but most of the time it read more like a very open and honest recount of their lives which, to be honest, took time to find into and enjoy.
I loved reading about these strong characters and their lives that made them who they are, and even though they are all so wonderfully different I could take away something from all of their stories.
The amount of thoughts whirling through my head now is a testimony to the author’s ability to make her readers reflect on their own lives.
If I were to write down the reasons why it’s not a 5-star-book to me this would be the list:
- 12 characters alone are quite a few to follow along and try to get a connection with (especially in the style that it’s written), and since most of them are linked with each other it got quite confusing and hard to keep on track with who knew who and who was related to whom.
- At some parts it felt more like the author cared more about having important statements in the book than writing them in a way that flowed with the characters and story (I read in another review “The characters are used as mouthpieces for statements …” which should explain what I mean). It’s not bad per se, but I prefer a more subtle way of passing critisism on society, etc. Not so much on the nose.
- Which brings me to my last point: I realised with this book that I’m more the type for more subtle and contextual writing styles where you get to decipher the meaning of what was written without having it told to you bluntly. That being said, I enjoyed to challenge myself and I think this blunt style worked well with the stories that were being told.
