anjarama's reviews
387 reviews

A little nose dive into the personal impact of lockdowns and covid on Smith. Plenty of philosophical thought and psychological understanding. I found it a fascinating perspective overall.

Jamran paints pictures, literally and in his diaries, figuratively. The delicacy of his chosen words is astounding, I have been transfixed in his perceptions of his world. 
Then there is the rich seam of botanical adulation and adoration underscoring his life. 

On our way back to Lancashire from France, we stopped at Dungeness, Derek long gone, Prospect Cotrage looking crumpled, the garden a fraction of its former self. We absorbed the poem in the wall, imagined how it would’ve looked with all the letters present, what may happen to the place. As we walked clumsily in the flint beach we were drawn to the chaotic hut covered in found flotsam and jetsom. Dolls heads, witches glass, rope in meaningful knots all wrestled in the space. The fisherman whose hit it was talked to us of Jarman, with warmth. Told us of the day Jarman was carried to the sea on a sedan chair with people dressed as nuns worshipping him. The fisherman grew up with his neighbour and clearly missed him. 

The paper was too shiny to write on without enough space to write in. Then the questions were not as well thought out as they could’ve been, didn’t actually flow and in some case didn’t make sense. Frustrating

Odell weaves sociological research and knowledge with her personal perspectives throughout the book. This seems a style becoming more prevalent, it doesn’t always work for me. However, her depth and breadth of study of the demands made on us across so many elements of our lives is fascinating. The focus is North America, I would’ve appreciated reference to global initiatives too.

I particularly enjoyed the meta experience of finishing a book referred to within this book while still reading it (the wonderful Braiding Sweetgrass).

I enjoyed the nostalgic feel, harking back to the way the church and attendants featured (at arms length but present) in my childhood. 
There is an unusual structure in this crime fiction, serving to strengthen the relationship of the characters.  
An astonishingly quick read for me, largely because of Coles’s skill in creating the whole environment without resorting to formulaic tropes.