so-soI didn‘t love this as much as I thought I would. While there is some very good writing and a sweet, if heartbreaking, story, I found this to be too sentimental. I tend to appreciate a good setting, but the descriptions in this (Oxford, France) often felt overwrought or superfluous, like name dropping. It‘s a good book, but maybe overhyped. This is the third book I‘ve read in a month that touches on the ‘80‘s AIDS epidemic, purely by coincidence.
Notafraidofwords I can‘t handle sentimentality really well. I mean I think some authors pull it off but it‘s hard to do. 6y
Cathythoughts I like your review. I gave it a pick .. but looking back I would rethink my decision. It was good , but not that good. 6y
DivineDiana The book that I am reading also touches on the 80‘s AIDS crisis. I was so moved that I watched the movie Philadelphia again.![[tagged book]](https://image.librarything.com/pics/litsy_webpics/icon_taggedBook@3x.png)
Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone 6y
Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being AloneSee All 13 Comments
saresmoore @DivineDiana That sounds really interesting! I‘m a long-time fan of Florence, too—didn‘t realize she had a book club. Thank you for sharing! 6y
saresmoore @Cathythoughts I‘m glad I read it, because I think it portrayed a unique relationship and I did enjoy her writing. It just felt almost contrived, somehow, in the midst of other really excellent books I‘ve been reading. 6y
saresmoore @Notafraidofwords Sometimes I wonder if I‘m too cynical for my age. Or maybe it‘s just the whole empathy thing—I don‘t need an author to spell it out for me, I can already sense the emotion and the depth that lies beneath. I know you feel that, too. 6y
Tamra @saresmoore I know I am. 😳 6y
batsy I have difficulty with sentimentality in books, as well. And I do also wonder if I'm overly cynical?! Anyway, I just wanted to say this in solidarity #rudeladyreadersunite (I was interested in reading this, but was also worried I might be let down...) 6y
TrishB I normally hate sentimental books, but I didn‘t find this sentimental. Just poignant really. I loved it, but actively dislike some of the books that I think are sentimental and others love 🤷♀️ and sometimes depends on my mood... 6y
saresmoore @TrishB Poignant is a great description. I think I may just be saturated in the subject matter (love story complicated by grief, sickness, society) at the moment. But, to me, the characters seemed too good, too omniscient to be believable. 6y
TrishB The hype never helps either! Think I read this before I heard anything about it which always helps. But agree sometimes you get stuck in the same storyline. 6y
BarbaraBB So sorry to hear you didn‘t like it that much! 6y
Suet624 Yup, I liked the first half of the book. Didn‘t like the second half as much. 6y
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