What do you think?
Rate this book
Black Boxes
Julie Myerson meets Ian McEwan in this gripping novel of family breakdown.
Ana Lewis is trapped by her own expectations. Her intense relationship with fellow student Alex begins to crack beyond repair when she falls pregnant, and his subsequent withdrawal, emotionally and sexually are hard for Ana to bear. Eventually, following the birth of Pip and then Davie, Alex leaves Ana to a life of question and blame. Locked in her room for much of the time she woefully neglects her children, preferring instead to replay scenes from her life over and over, fighting the urge to blink for fear it should dissipate the memories.
Told within the context of two black boxes, one Ana’s and one Pip’s, the story reveals the key factors that have contributed to this catastrophic breakdown of life. In Black Box 01 we meet Ana as she begins to deconstruct her life. She rails against Alex and his inability to love her, or to put her ahead of his domineering mother.
Black Box 02 is Pip’s diary which details in a schoolgirl terms the neglect that both Pip and Davie have suffered. Pip talks of her mother’s deterioration, lack of cleanliness and of her mother’s obsessions. Pip and Davie communicate through finger sign language, as their mother demands silence. Davie retreats into his own world, permanently soiled and communicating only by sign, while Pip, fat and desperate, sneaks out of the house at night to have sex with a boy who hates her. Pip and Davie exist in parallel, with only Ana's bedroom door separating her from them. She does not want to see them. They are the present and Ana chooses to live in a past, continually raking over the ashes of a relationship that was never really hers.
Accomplished and affecting, Caroline Smailes weaves together a catastrophic tale of mismatched lives.
Ana Lewis is trapped by her own expectations. Her intense relationship with fellow student Alex begins to crack beyond repair when she falls pregnant, and his subsequent withdrawal, emotionally and sexually are hard for Ana to bear. Eventually, following the birth of Pip and then Davie, Alex leaves Ana to a life of question and blame. Locked in her room for much of the time she woefully neglects her children, preferring instead to replay scenes from her life over and over, fighting the urge to blink for fear it should dissipate the memories.
Told within the context of two black boxes, one Ana’s and one Pip’s, the story reveals the key factors that have contributed to this catastrophic breakdown of life. In Black Box 01 we meet Ana as she begins to deconstruct her life. She rails against Alex and his inability to love her, or to put her ahead of his domineering mother.
Black Box 02 is Pip’s diary which details in a schoolgirl terms the neglect that both Pip and Davie have suffered. Pip talks of her mother’s deterioration, lack of cleanliness and of her mother’s obsessions. Pip and Davie communicate through finger sign language, as their mother demands silence. Davie retreats into his own world, permanently soiled and communicating only by sign, while Pip, fat and desperate, sneaks out of the house at night to have sex with a boy who hates her. Pip and Davie exist in parallel, with only Ana's bedroom door separating her from them. She does not want to see them. They are the present and Ana chooses to live in a past, continually raking over the ashes of a relationship that was never really hers.
Accomplished and affecting, Caroline Smailes weaves together a catastrophic tale of mismatched lives.
- GenresFiction
504 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2008
5 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 19, 2009
I'd give it more stars if I could...
The book tells the story, the recording of sorts, of the last hours of 37 year old Ana's life, which is about to end by her own hand. It's told in her own words and those words are told just beautifully. It's poetry, beautifully tragic and honest and brutal - as are the words we find in her teenaged daughter's diary.
The subject matter's not pretty - it's heart-breaking (no bad thing). But it's the story and the way it's told that makes it so brilliant. It's hypnotic, it's sad, it's beautiful, it's fresh, it feels original and, most importantly, it feels real. It's not easy to do haunting and affecting, and it's not easy to write about depressing situations convincingly and make them entertaining without relying on people's morbid curiosity (or just plain wallowing) - take it from me, Caroline Smailes has managed it here. And how.
See full review here: http://nikperring.blogspot.com/2009/0...
The book tells the story, the recording of sorts, of the last hours of 37 year old Ana's life, which is about to end by her own hand. It's told in her own words and those words are told just beautifully. It's poetry, beautifully tragic and honest and brutal - as are the words we find in her teenaged daughter's diary.
The subject matter's not pretty - it's heart-breaking (no bad thing). But it's the story and the way it's told that makes it so brilliant. It's hypnotic, it's sad, it's beautiful, it's fresh, it feels original and, most importantly, it feels real. It's not easy to do haunting and affecting, and it's not easy to write about depressing situations convincingly and make them entertaining without relying on people's morbid curiosity (or just plain wallowing) - take it from me, Caroline Smailes has managed it here. And how.
See full review here: http://nikperring.blogspot.com/2009/0...
February 4, 2009
Ana Lewis is a woman on the verge of collapse.
When her lover Alex leaves her, Ana begins to fall into a spiral of depression that consumes her from the inside out. Avoiding the world around her, she instead cocoons herself inside of her room, ignoring the world outside of her bedrooms four walls. Inside her black box.
However, this means she is ignoring her two children Pip and Davey. They are both held within their own black box, their own seclusion. Without their mother to look after them, Pip must look after herself and her younger brother and find a way for them to survive in a hostile environment.
Ana, inside her black box, knows none of this. Medicated with sleeping pills and painkillers, she begins to meticulously piece her life with Alex back together in order to find out where she went wrong. She tries to piece together the puzzle that is her life in order to find solace. She must confront the demons of her past if she is to understand what she has become.
Pip must also confront her own demons. She suffers increasingly cruel torment from bullies at school. Ridiculed and shunned, she is made the brunt of jokes, of insults of assault. Not like the rest of the children at school, she is on the outside looking in on the life she wished she had.
When the two black boxes collide, the resulting crash will change their lives forever…
My meager plot description does nothing to capture the true story of Caroline Smailes novel Black Boxes. There is no way that I could come close to even capturing a tenth of the emotion, the power of the words or the beauty of the writing. The book is just too good to sum up in a few short paragraphs.
When I opened Black Boxes, I had no idea what to expect. I knew that the novel would be remarkably different than In Search of Adam, Smailes’ first novel. While both novels are incredibly different, both deal with the darker issues of life: pain, suffering, neglect, abuse, sex, death, secrets, suffering and redemption.
Black Boxes is not an easy read; but its impact reaches further because of this. Caroline does not shy away from the difficult and dark issues of life and I wouldn’t want her to. There is such a vibrancy and truth to her words, to Ana and Pip’s story, that the words themselves seem to live off of the page.
The novel itself is split into three parts. Parts one and three are Ana’s black box. Part two is Pip’s black box, her diary. For me, it was Pip’s voice that had the most impact. The torment she suffers at school and at home made me cringe. But it also made me want to keep her safe, to protect her. It made me want to wrap my arms around her and tell her that everything would be alright. The things that Pip goes through are so awful, so incredibly painful that you can’t help but feel your heart go out to her.
I had the same feelings for Ana. I found it difficult to like Ana at the beginning. She seemed like a horrible mother: she neglected her children and let them suffer, choosing instead to isolate herself from the world. But as I read more of her black box, as she told me more of her story, my heart went out to her too.
Though Alex was cruel to her, Ana loves him. Though he mistreated her, hit her, abused her, degraded her, she still loves him. Ana’s love for Alex is all encompassing and, though he never loved her, she loves him completely. It is her love for him that is tearing her apart, Ana’s love for him that is her sole purpose for living. As she recounts her life, reliving her torment at his hands, she still professes her love for him.
As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t hate Ana. Having never known love, having never known kindness, she was broken inside. How can you hate someone who loves someone else so completely but does not have enough love for themselves?
As the story unfolded, as more and more secrets were revealed, I was held spellbound by Caroline Smailes’ words. I was held pinned to the page and couldn’t stop reading. Though I knew that the book would end horrible (indeed, there is no other way for this book to end) I had to keep reading. I kept hoping that Ana would find peace, that Pip would be all right.
Though the story is dark, it is beautifully written. Indeed, what struck me most was Smailes’ use of language. Through out the novel, language plays a pivotal role in the development in the story. From the very first page, when we are given a definition of Context and Black Boxes, you know that this will be no ordinary novel.
Through out Ana’s story, she refers again and again to etymology. Not knowing what etymology was, I had to look it up. The dictionary defines etymology as: The derivation of a word, an account of the history of a particular word or element of a word or the study of historical linguistic change especially as manifested in individual words. You know that words have meaning for Ana, that language holds power for her.
Her daughter Pip also uses language. Pip and Davey communicate through sign language, a silent form of communication. Through out the book there are many words that are spelt out in hand symbols that spell out words in sign language. Don’t know sign language? That’s okay. Smailes has provided the complete sign language alphabet on the endpapers. The use of sign language is a pivotal plot point and gives such depth to the story. Though the words spelt in sign language are silent, they have more meaning because of this.
In the end, Black Boxes is without a doubt one of the most heart wrenching, harrowing, shocking novels I have ever read. It is also one of the most beautiful. The writing pulls you in and never lets you go, even after the last page has been read and the black box is closed. The words continue to haunt you well after the story is finished. More than anything, Black Boxes proves that happiness is indeed a state of mind.
Black Boxes is the best novel I have read all year. I laughed, I cried and I cried some more. And came away a changed person. Though Smailes asks a lot of the reader to read Black Boxes, every page, every word is worth it. I know that I will carry Ana, Pip and Davey with me wherever I go now, that they will haunt me. Black Boxes is one of those novels that, once you read it, you will never be the same.
Like Pandora’s box, once you open Black Boxes, it will be hard to close it once more.
When her lover Alex leaves her, Ana begins to fall into a spiral of depression that consumes her from the inside out. Avoiding the world around her, she instead cocoons herself inside of her room, ignoring the world outside of her bedrooms four walls. Inside her black box.
However, this means she is ignoring her two children Pip and Davey. They are both held within their own black box, their own seclusion. Without their mother to look after them, Pip must look after herself and her younger brother and find a way for them to survive in a hostile environment.
Ana, inside her black box, knows none of this. Medicated with sleeping pills and painkillers, she begins to meticulously piece her life with Alex back together in order to find out where she went wrong. She tries to piece together the puzzle that is her life in order to find solace. She must confront the demons of her past if she is to understand what she has become.
Pip must also confront her own demons. She suffers increasingly cruel torment from bullies at school. Ridiculed and shunned, she is made the brunt of jokes, of insults of assault. Not like the rest of the children at school, she is on the outside looking in on the life she wished she had.
When the two black boxes collide, the resulting crash will change their lives forever…
My meager plot description does nothing to capture the true story of Caroline Smailes novel Black Boxes. There is no way that I could come close to even capturing a tenth of the emotion, the power of the words or the beauty of the writing. The book is just too good to sum up in a few short paragraphs.
When I opened Black Boxes, I had no idea what to expect. I knew that the novel would be remarkably different than In Search of Adam, Smailes’ first novel. While both novels are incredibly different, both deal with the darker issues of life: pain, suffering, neglect, abuse, sex, death, secrets, suffering and redemption.
Black Boxes is not an easy read; but its impact reaches further because of this. Caroline does not shy away from the difficult and dark issues of life and I wouldn’t want her to. There is such a vibrancy and truth to her words, to Ana and Pip’s story, that the words themselves seem to live off of the page.
The novel itself is split into three parts. Parts one and three are Ana’s black box. Part two is Pip’s black box, her diary. For me, it was Pip’s voice that had the most impact. The torment she suffers at school and at home made me cringe. But it also made me want to keep her safe, to protect her. It made me want to wrap my arms around her and tell her that everything would be alright. The things that Pip goes through are so awful, so incredibly painful that you can’t help but feel your heart go out to her.
I had the same feelings for Ana. I found it difficult to like Ana at the beginning. She seemed like a horrible mother: she neglected her children and let them suffer, choosing instead to isolate herself from the world. But as I read more of her black box, as she told me more of her story, my heart went out to her too.
Though Alex was cruel to her, Ana loves him. Though he mistreated her, hit her, abused her, degraded her, she still loves him. Ana’s love for Alex is all encompassing and, though he never loved her, she loves him completely. It is her love for him that is tearing her apart, Ana’s love for him that is her sole purpose for living. As she recounts her life, reliving her torment at his hands, she still professes her love for him.
As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t hate Ana. Having never known love, having never known kindness, she was broken inside. How can you hate someone who loves someone else so completely but does not have enough love for themselves?
As the story unfolded, as more and more secrets were revealed, I was held spellbound by Caroline Smailes’ words. I was held pinned to the page and couldn’t stop reading. Though I knew that the book would end horrible (indeed, there is no other way for this book to end) I had to keep reading. I kept hoping that Ana would find peace, that Pip would be all right.
Though the story is dark, it is beautifully written. Indeed, what struck me most was Smailes’ use of language. Through out the novel, language plays a pivotal role in the development in the story. From the very first page, when we are given a definition of Context and Black Boxes, you know that this will be no ordinary novel.
Through out Ana’s story, she refers again and again to etymology. Not knowing what etymology was, I had to look it up. The dictionary defines etymology as: The derivation of a word, an account of the history of a particular word or element of a word or the study of historical linguistic change especially as manifested in individual words. You know that words have meaning for Ana, that language holds power for her.
Her daughter Pip also uses language. Pip and Davey communicate through sign language, a silent form of communication. Through out the book there are many words that are spelt out in hand symbols that spell out words in sign language. Don’t know sign language? That’s okay. Smailes has provided the complete sign language alphabet on the endpapers. The use of sign language is a pivotal plot point and gives such depth to the story. Though the words spelt in sign language are silent, they have more meaning because of this.
In the end, Black Boxes is without a doubt one of the most heart wrenching, harrowing, shocking novels I have ever read. It is also one of the most beautiful. The writing pulls you in and never lets you go, even after the last page has been read and the black box is closed. The words continue to haunt you well after the story is finished. More than anything, Black Boxes proves that happiness is indeed a state of mind.
Black Boxes is the best novel I have read all year. I laughed, I cried and I cried some more. And came away a changed person. Though Smailes asks a lot of the reader to read Black Boxes, every page, every word is worth it. I know that I will carry Ana, Pip and Davey with me wherever I go now, that they will haunt me. Black Boxes is one of those novels that, once you read it, you will never be the same.
Like Pandora’s box, once you open Black Boxes, it will be hard to close it once more.
February 14, 2024
I want(ed) to please you. I want(ed) to make you happy.
- did I ever make you happy?-.
- don't answer that!-
- do answer that.-
I think that I need to know.
Unique and compelling, said Megan Taylor and unique and compelling it was. I absolutley loved it. Gripping and sometimes shocking, I anticipated delightfuly, the turn of every page.
- did I ever make you happy?-.
- don't answer that!-
- do answer that.-
I think that I need to know.
Unique and compelling, said Megan Taylor and unique and compelling it was. I absolutley loved it. Gripping and sometimes shocking, I anticipated delightfuly, the turn of every page.
January 22, 2022
A difficult and unsettling read about two children living in neglect as their mother spirals into depression. A well written story but not an easy or comforting read.
March 3, 2025
Incredibly powerful and heartbreaking. A difficult read at times
October 7, 2012
Ana recounts the story of her relationship with enigmatic fellow student Alex, and her daughter Pip relates her own tale, one of neglect and dysfunction, stemming from her mother's obsession with the past.
This novel isn't an easy read for a couple of reasons. The first is the subject matter which deals with two generations of fallout from Ana's clinging to her relationship with Alex. The lives of their children, Pip and her brother Davie, are heartbreaking and make the reader feel pity and anger. I deliberately avoid "misery memoirs" as I don't feel the need to upset myself in that way while reading - this book would really fall into that category and so was never going to be something I'd like.
The second reason for the novel not being an easy read is more literal and lies in the format of the novel itself, which manipulates the physcial form of some of the text and in places uses graphics of hands doing sign-language rather than normal text. I have to say that I found this affected and pretentious - it irriated me so much that I lost patience with the book. It seemed to me that the author here was making the content of the novel (her characters and plot)subservient to its form - this feels the wrong way round to me.
I didn't find any of the book's adult characters in any way appealling and thought it unrealistic that matters were allowed to progress as far as they did with no-one stepping in to rescue the children earlier. Pip and Davie were the only ones I could feel any sympathy for and I felt they were well-drawn and immediate.
Overall, Black Boxes felt to me more of a writing exercise than a fully-felt novel and for that reason I felt quite distant from it. I hardly ever abandon a novel before finishing it, but in this case I was sorely tempted more than once. A book to admire, rather than to identify with emotionally, and not one to read if you're feeling down or vulnerable as it would nmake life seem a whole lot worse.
This novel isn't an easy read for a couple of reasons. The first is the subject matter which deals with two generations of fallout from Ana's clinging to her relationship with Alex. The lives of their children, Pip and her brother Davie, are heartbreaking and make the reader feel pity and anger. I deliberately avoid "misery memoirs" as I don't feel the need to upset myself in that way while reading - this book would really fall into that category and so was never going to be something I'd like.
The second reason for the novel not being an easy read is more literal and lies in the format of the novel itself, which manipulates the physcial form of some of the text and in places uses graphics of hands doing sign-language rather than normal text. I have to say that I found this affected and pretentious - it irriated me so much that I lost patience with the book. It seemed to me that the author here was making the content of the novel (her characters and plot)subservient to its form - this feels the wrong way round to me.
I didn't find any of the book's adult characters in any way appealling and thought it unrealistic that matters were allowed to progress as far as they did with no-one stepping in to rescue the children earlier. Pip and Davie were the only ones I could feel any sympathy for and I felt they were well-drawn and immediate.
Overall, Black Boxes felt to me more of a writing exercise than a fully-felt novel and for that reason I felt quite distant from it. I hardly ever abandon a novel before finishing it, but in this case I was sorely tempted more than once. A book to admire, rather than to identify with emotionally, and not one to read if you're feeling down or vulnerable as it would nmake life seem a whole lot worse.
January 30, 2009
Once again Caroline has taken one of life's most important and rarely discussed issues and with her very unique voice, made it into a very readable novel.
Black boxes is compelling reading.
I expect readers who are not familiar with Caroline's writing will think that the topic is used to allay one's fear of the situation but as usual she does no such thing. Instead, she bravely examines each nuance of this emotive topic, detailing the root cause and perpetuating factors, following the path of destruction that unrecognised postnatal depression can become.
Although this is not an academic work, it accomplishes what no textbook will ever do and I strongly recommend it as reading for Health and Social Care students. I admire Caroline hugely for writing this book and know that each person who reads it will develop a greater understanding of some very sensitive issues that are very much a part of many people's lives.
Postnatal depression is the main issue but emotional abuse, neglect, bullying, love and hate are also seamlessly blended in this book written from the mother Ana's and daughter Pip's perspective. Pip's voice also speaks for her brother Davie. Ana speaks with imperfect and egocentric hindsight, Pip cries out from the harsh, damaging reality of the present time.
The parallels are sharp, perfectly honed, gleaming. There is white hot pain contained within the pages of this book.
Pip and Davie need a hiding tree, a place to escape the tsunami like destruction of their parent's madness's. Their pain rings out like the tones that can be coaxed from the rim of wet crystal and I found myself reading with the certainty that one of their songs was going to stop.
I challenge you to read Pip's closing words without a tear in your eye...
Black boxes is compelling reading.
I expect readers who are not familiar with Caroline's writing will think that the topic is used to allay one's fear of the situation but as usual she does no such thing. Instead, she bravely examines each nuance of this emotive topic, detailing the root cause and perpetuating factors, following the path of destruction that unrecognised postnatal depression can become.
Although this is not an academic work, it accomplishes what no textbook will ever do and I strongly recommend it as reading for Health and Social Care students. I admire Caroline hugely for writing this book and know that each person who reads it will develop a greater understanding of some very sensitive issues that are very much a part of many people's lives.
Postnatal depression is the main issue but emotional abuse, neglect, bullying, love and hate are also seamlessly blended in this book written from the mother Ana's and daughter Pip's perspective. Pip's voice also speaks for her brother Davie. Ana speaks with imperfect and egocentric hindsight, Pip cries out from the harsh, damaging reality of the present time.
The parallels are sharp, perfectly honed, gleaming. There is white hot pain contained within the pages of this book.
Pip and Davie need a hiding tree, a place to escape the tsunami like destruction of their parent's madness's. Their pain rings out like the tones that can be coaxed from the rim of wet crystal and I found myself reading with the certainty that one of their songs was going to stop.
I challenge you to read Pip's closing words without a tear in your eye...
January 9, 2011
Caroline Smailes does it again, this is another hard-hitting novel dealing with gritty subjects covered in an intelligent way.
The subject of untreated post-natal depression hits hard as the main character, Ana, talks us through her experiences, but the voice that sticks with me the most is that of Pip, her daughter, who takes over the narrative for a section of the book. She is written incredibly well and I did not want her section to end.
Caroline Smailes has a unique style of writing and in each book there seems to be an added extra for the reader to discover. In this one, there are some words spelt out in sign language. By the end of the book I found I could read the signs without referring to the alphabet in the insides of the cover. What a great way to teach people something new!
The subject of untreated post-natal depression hits hard as the main character, Ana, talks us through her experiences, but the voice that sticks with me the most is that of Pip, her daughter, who takes over the narrative for a section of the book. She is written incredibly well and I did not want her section to end.
Caroline Smailes has a unique style of writing and in each book there seems to be an added extra for the reader to discover. In this one, there are some words spelt out in sign language. By the end of the book I found I could read the signs without referring to the alphabet in the insides of the cover. What a great way to teach people something new!
April 26, 2013
I wanted to like this more than I did. I like the idea that Smailes set up. But something fell a bit short in the execution for me. It seemed to stay on one level throughout. Whilst the end was always predicted from the start the emotional intensity didn't alter much. Which felt a bit heavy to carry for the whole way. Perhaps the section with the daughter's diary was meant to inject some hope, as suggested by the cover blurb, but to me it seemed more like the sorry cycle was starting all over again. I think that Smailes is doing something different and interesting with her use of different types etc - but sometimes I just crave to see what she'd do with the straightforward word on the page.
January 29, 2012
Knew I wasn't going to like it as soon as I saw the first page or two as this author has a very distinctive style,I have read 'In Search of Adam' also but thought, wrongly, that this might be different.(both on Kindle) but once I've started a book I rarely give up. A dark, disturbing tale of long term post-natal depression and the effect on the children of the relationship. It made an impression on me insomuch as I mulled it over and over for a couple of days trying to decide how much blame should be apportioned to her ex-partner. (Choosing my words very carefully so as not to spoil it for anyone that happens to read this.)
January 2, 2014
My head hurts. The format was interesting but irritating - the "black box" gave the impression that she was speaking so as to be recorded, but the italicised script read like an inner monologue, which ended up being rather confusing. It was extremely heavy reading - I found it difficult to put down but felt sick to the stomach throughout. I'm just thoroughly saddened by such an unfair and harsh story, which is unfortunately probably spiked with truth from many a mother suffering post-natal depression. It was heartbreakingly honest but the format sort of ruined it for me in terms of Ana. I felt it was perhaps approached in the wrong way.
April 12, 2015
I read this book in one day. The story was tragic, largely depressing, heartbreaking and SO sad. The format was a surprise to me, as I basically plucked the book from the library shelf based on the cover and the very brief but intriguing blurb. It is sometimes repetitive, but clearly this is deliberate, the recollections of a dying woman as she is drifting out of this world. All in all, I enjoyed this novel and I'll be looking for the author's other books.
August 10, 2011
This book could have been good, but the way it was written made it very difficult to read. I also found myself NOT caring at all about any of the characters, no matter how heartbreaking their story was supposed to be. I just don't believe the author developed the characters enough to suit me. The author had a good idea for a good novel, but failed to deliver.
October 14, 2011
This was a book of two parts; one bad, one very good. The story about the chind was enchanting and heartbreaking but the story of the mother was very overblown. I wouldn't recommend a quarter-good book to anyone.
November 24, 2014
Great story and a very interesting writing style. It's a very sensitive topic so it was quite a compelling read in that way.
I just found it to be to long and I started to lose a bit of interest nearing the end.
I just found it to be to long and I started to lose a bit of interest nearing the end.
November 12, 2016
I bought this one for my kindle and whilst I did finish it it wasn't a pleasant or rewarding read.
The ideas behind the book are good, but they are not developed what you read in the first 10 pages are simply repeated and repeated throughout the book.
I couldn't reccommend this one.
The ideas behind the book are good, but they are not developed what you read in the first 10 pages are simply repeated and repeated throughout the book.
I couldn't reccommend this one.
August 7, 2009
Hmmm, this was a bit of a strange book. I read the whole book but wouldn't say that it was a book I would choose to read.
March 23, 2011
Bizarre book! Very repetitive and not very enjoyable at all.
July 5, 2011
Heartbreaking and so sad. The style of writing is different and sometimes I'd have to put the book down and pick it back up after a break.
July 3, 2012
I found this a strange boook in fact I'm not sure if in fact it might be a poem. It soured hopelessness very well but in the end I found the formatt irritating
September 5, 2013
Here we are witnessing the suicide, and back story of Ana. Often makes for uncomfortable reading, but then suicide is never gonna be cosy.
May 30, 2015
I loved the story but I didn't so much like the way it was written. But I can overlook that because I enjoyed it so much! I read it in one day because it was so good!
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews