uzzus
10 pages into a book and I'm already crying??
I've had this sitting on my shelf for the past few months. My friend highly praised it and became a fan of his work, so I thought it might be as life-changing for me.
However, I did not expect my eyes to water just from the first page.
I don't know WHAT exactly it is. It's a combination of knowing that it's an extremely vulnerable, heartbreaking book about his complicated relationship with his mom, the Vietnamese immigrant parent x American child aspect (I can 100% relate to), and the fact that his mom will/has passed away. It's the first time a book has made me viscerally cry like this, snot and all, and I had to put it down.
It kept making me think about my own parents and their difficult lives, my future without them, and knowing that I don't have such strong childhood memories with them, or even such strong ones now. Also, I feel like I'm kinda mourning the fact that my parents don't really have hobbies of their own now. It's mostly just housework, Youtube and TV, and it makes me sad that they didn't have as much of a chance to do and be whatever they wanted to be, and there's not much interest now.
I am so upset and MAD this book got me like this just from 10 pages. In the end, I was unable to finish it, too afraid of experiencing the pain and emotions again. It's a tough poetic read, and I didn't end up finishing it. Maybe one day, but I'm not that into poetic writing.
10 pages into a book and I'm already crying??
I've had this sitting on my shelf for the past few months. My friend highly praised it and became a fan of his work, so I thought it might be as life-changing for me.
However, I did not expect my eyes to water just from the first page.
I don't know WHAT exactly it is. It's a combination of knowing that it's an extremely vulnerable, heartbreaking book about his complicated relationship with his mom, the Vietnamese immigrant parent x American child aspect (I can 100% relate to), and the fact that his mom will/has passed away. It's the first time a book has made me viscerally cry like this, snot and all, and I had to put it down.
It kept making me think about my own parents and their difficult lives, my future without them, and knowing that I don't have such strong childhood memories with them, or even such strong ones now. Also, I feel like I'm kinda mourning the fact that my parents don't really have hobbies of their own now. It's mostly just housework, Youtube and TV, and it makes me sad that they didn't have as much of a chance to do and be whatever they wanted to be, and there's not much interest now.
I am so upset and MAD this book got me like this just from 10 pages. In the end, I was unable to finish it, too afraid of experiencing the pain and emotions again. It's a tough poetic read, and I didn't end up finishing it. Maybe one day, but I'm not that into poetic writing.
The premise was intriguing at first. However, the characters became a repetitive annoyance. Sebastian spends the entire book worried about Helene (Juliet), always in his cautious, heartache melancholy. He was a far more compelling character than Helene though. Helene has no distinctive characteristics that make her likeable - bland, unoriginal, damsel in distress vibes before and after meeting Sebastian. 70% of the book both characters repeating the same thing - "Why is he acting like xyz?", "Am I really the love of his life, Juliet?", and "I have to protect her, I have to distance myself". I really did not like how there were several back-to-back chapters that switched between Helene and Sebastian's POVs about the same situation. The big bad in this book is defeated with Sebastian's copious, unquestionable wealth and connections - it felt so silly and reminded me too much of rich, old vampires with their pretty playthings.
Save your time, skip this book.
The premise was intriguing at first. However, the characters became a repetitive annoyance. Sebastian spends the entire book worried about Helene (Juliet), always in his cautious, heartache melancholy. He was a far more compelling character than Helene though. Helene has no distinctive characteristics that make her likeable - bland, unoriginal, damsel in distress vibes before and after meeting Sebastian. 70% of the book both characters repeating the same thing - "Why is he acting like xyz?", "Am I really the love of his life, Juliet?", and "I have to protect her, I have to distance myself". I really did not like how there were several back-to-back chapters that switched between Helene and Sebastian's POVs about the same situation. The big bad in this book is defeated with Sebastian's copious, unquestionable wealth and connections - it felt so silly and reminded me too much of rich, old vampires with their pretty playthings.
Save your time, skip this book.