admin reviewed Nine Island by Jane Alison
Review of 'Nine Island' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I'm a 22 year old who has had thoughts about giving up on love. Of course, this book intrigued me. What would a middle aged woman's life be like alone and loveless? The protagnoist, J, tries to sort out exactly what she wants in life after getting divorced and rekindling an old flame that ultimately went nowhere. At first, her cat, mother, and neighbours seem to sustain her. But the past is always creeping up in the back of her mind. When is it okay to give up on love? One of the main characters profoundly remarks, "To retire from love is to retire from life."
This book has given me a lot of food for thought. I hoped to gain some insights but I don't feel any less confused or more confused after reading it. There seems to be a lot going towards trying to find love. I expressed …
I'm a 22 year old who has had thoughts about giving up on love. Of course, this book intrigued me. What would a middle aged woman's life be like alone and loveless? The protagnoist, J, tries to sort out exactly what she wants in life after getting divorced and rekindling an old flame that ultimately went nowhere. At first, her cat, mother, and neighbours seem to sustain her. But the past is always creeping up in the back of her mind. When is it okay to give up on love? One of the main characters profoundly remarks, "To retire from love is to retire from life."
This book has given me a lot of food for thought. I hoped to gain some insights but I don't feel any less confused or more confused after reading it. There seems to be a lot going towards trying to find love. I expressed my feelings of becoming a cat lady to a friend and she replied with, "But who's going to take care of you when you're old? If you die, your cats will just eat you." She has a point, which Alison touched on in the book. As a human being with certain needs and urges, I thought that I could just, you know, take care of myself in that department when I'm older and alone. Alison also addressed this. My mind swirled and I wasn't quite sure what to make of the arguments made in the boom.
While I did focus a little too much on the content, it's not hard to notice that Alison's writing is absolutely dreamy. Her words float around you and bite at you with clever quips and wise insights. Her characters are all a little quirky and almost not real but it's not hard to believe people like these exist.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I ate it up in two days after a reading dry spell. God, who knew Jane Austen could be so boring sometimes? So this little novel was a good change of pace.