cory’s Reviews > Little Bird of Heaven > Status Update
cory
is on page 248 of 442
somehow i have forged clawed my way to part two. it's like she is holding me at a distance and blocking the real heart of this story by putting up walls of flowery prose and repetitive details that do not matter. this is the first time i have been thoroughly disappointed by an oates novel. this was published just one year after my sister, my love, which i adored. what happened.
— Jan 25, 2026 11:37AM
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cory’s Previous Updates
cory
is on page 373 of 442
never in my life did i ever think i would be fighting my way through an oates novel. but this is painful. not dnf-ing because this is oates and i do not do that, it'll bother me if i leave a book unfinished.
— Jan 25, 2026 01:21PM
cory
is on page 343 of 442
this just feels like it would have been executed best as a short story. there's lovely prose and detail but there's no real point to any of it other than to stall the plot, which barely even exists. i have a little less than a hundred pages left and am snowed in with nothing to do. let's end this.
— Jan 25, 2026 12:57PM
cory
is on page 158 of 442
OH MY GOD PLEASE CAN SOMETHING JUST HAPPEN ALREADY
— Jan 25, 2026 07:00AM
cory
is on page 110 of 442
it is like i am waiting for the actual book, the actual plot to begin after setting the scene and getting all the exposition out of the way but even after over 100 pages it is just not going anywhere. also: how many fucking times am i going to have to read the name Zoe Kruller in this thing. jesus christ.
— Jan 24, 2026 05:01PM
cory
is on page 70 of 442
jco's prose is lovely as always, but it honestly feels like she's trying too hard to meet the word count. she had this idea but then didn't know how to stretch it out into a whole novel so she's just repeating information and adding excessive descriptions and similes to everything.
also: the use of "daddy" here doesn't work like it did in my sister, my love.
— Jan 24, 2026 12:46PM
also: the use of "daddy" here doesn't work like it did in my sister, my love.
