Wilkinson88

I liked the Stone Diaries a lot, although I'm wondering is it because it's one of the only books I've read that creates a juxtaposition between reality and fiction. As the omniscient narrator, Daisy clarifies that her accounts of events are sometimes exaggerated and often unreliable throughout the novel. Usually, an autobiography is accurate in telling the truth about one's own life. However, throughout the book, presumably Daisy's autobiography, we see letters and monologues from other characters, varying and contradicting points of view, and each character's inner thoughts, which someone writing a typical autobiography could not know. I did admire how Shields portrayed this.

On the other hand, I felt a slight removal from the story, possibly because there was a bit of warmth missing in Daisy's life; every critical incident seemed to be one tragedy after another, or it ended in tears. The prose was beautifully written, but when the story is grim to the point of parody, then I became disinterested.

Lovely ending, though.

A great ending elevates a stodgy and repetitive middle section. Also couldn't help but shake the feeling that Leo and Kira weren't the most intriguing of characters. Andrei's moral dilemma and his awareness of the corruption and the tyranny that engulfs his party is a more compelling subplot. Nonetheless, it sometimes works as a powerful commentary on a system that has no interest in people like them.