Reviews

Genau so, wie es immer war by Claire Lombardo

lauvinz's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

marmelb's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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msmichaela's review against another edition

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4.25

Really enjoyable, despite some lagging in the first third amid the protagonist’s lengthy period of marital / maternal self-loathing and misery. (It’s real! But maybe didn’t need to go on so long.) I appreciated plot developments that felt less like twists than inevitabilities by the time they occurred, due to skillful character development. 

tesia_'s review against another edition

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3.0

Mixed feelings on this one. Thought it was kind of slow and didn’t like the main character. It was a lot of pages that didn’t really come together for me. Many central characters intertwined but nothing fully connected. I liked the way it closed out but that was about it.

mirabecker's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow, this was so good. It was beautifully and thoroughly written; the sentences and the story both had a delightful richness to them. I love how this book explored love and family and marriage and motherhood and the deep bruises these can imprint on you. The format of back-and-forth between past and present really aided the book's development: having the past unfold alongside the present helped build a more nuanced understanding of Julia and her actions (though, I would've liked some information to be shared a little earlier in the book). The book isn't fast-paced, but I found myself pulled into it over and over again just by how tangible the characters felt to me. Julia is an incredibly complicated character, you feel for her and resent her and pity her and celebrate her. I don't think I've ever had a character teach me so much about empathy and the difficulties of trying to love others without your own experience of love to lean on.

It's not an easy read - the themes can be heavy and emotionally complex. But it also felt like it just worked, maintaining the right balance of heavy and beautiful and plain old real. It made me think, but it also swept me off my feet and pulled me into the current of the story. I can't wait to read Lombardo's other works.
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moonlightreadermf's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5

mere_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

gussnana's review against another edition

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4.0

Up close and personal family drama, whose main character is a middle aged woman reliving her past throughout the book. If the story had unfolded at a little faster pace I would have given it five stars. I was a little bored with some repetitive parts of the story, but overall it’s a great character study of a woman navigating her way through life.

zmccull's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

chelsies39's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0