Marisa’s Reviews > The Guineveres > Status Update

As disjointed as my reading experience was thanks to a pandemic and a skipping audiobook disc, I think the magical thinking of young (Catholic) girls really comes through in this book. I recognized a lot of the thinking my friends and I had as kids and the way the stories of saints and myths blend together to become the archetypal fabric of your life.

Ouch, I hadn’t consciously made the connection between this book and my own family history, but ow, my heart. There is no universe in which I could read this chapter and not think of my grandfather experiencing the exact same car ride.

Ok, I apparently misunderstood a critical detail about whose revival story was whose. Suffice it to say, I don’t think listening to this for 6 months on a series of CDs did wonders for my reading compression 😅

1. WOW. That should teach me to make assumptions. (Although really, I was halfway to knowing this.)
2. This line <3 “We cling to the most painful reminders of our youth, our memories or our injuries, perhaps so we can look back to our former selves, console them, and say: Keep going. I know how the story ends.”
3. I’m getting dissatisfied with this framing device as we get closer to the end.

Wished I’d been reading a paperback version the whole time bc I’m catching so much more nuance. Gwen’s character feels more developed by now.

Feels like we’re running out of pages for the story.

Interesting so far. Disc 5 was when I really got invested, when I think I got a sense of the stakes for Vere. I definitely enjoyed getting some of the backstory.