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91st out of 275 books
—
274 voters
Hystera
by
Leora Skolkin-Smith (Goodreads Author)
Set in the turbulent 1970s when Patty Hearst became Tanya the Revolutionary, HYSTERA is a timeless story of madness, yearning, and identity. After a fatal accident takes her father away, Lillian Weill blames herself for the family tragedy. Tripping through failed love affairs with men and doomed friendships, all Lilly wants is to be sheltered from reality. She retreats fro...more
Paperback, 194 pages
Published
November 16th 2011
by Fiction Std, E Book
(first published November 15th 2011)
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From Jocosas's Bookshelf: http://jocosasbookshelf.com/hystera-b...
HYSTERA by Leora Skolkin-Smith
I met Leora Skolkin-Smith at the Backspace Conference in May 2012. I was intrigued by her process. She said a lot of the time she devotes to writing is spent away from her writing materials. Her stories ferment or articulate themselves while she’s lying on the coach or walking. Ms. Skolkin-Smith said, “I never go to the page unless I have something to say.” This writing mantra is evident on page one o...more
HYSTERA by Leora Skolkin-Smith
I met Leora Skolkin-Smith at the Backspace Conference in May 2012. I was intrigued by her process. She said a lot of the time she devotes to writing is spent away from her writing materials. Her stories ferment or articulate themselves while she’s lying on the coach or walking. Ms. Skolkin-Smith said, “I never go to the page unless I have something to say.” This writing mantra is evident on page one o...more
Oh my, Reader Friends. Coming up with a review for this one has been quite difficult. It took me two weeks to actually read the book (my apologies to the author and to Trish at TLC for my being late with the review). Our main character is Lilly, who is being admitted to a mental hospital as the book opens. She is suffering from delusions after a tragic accident involving her father and a souring relationship with a married man. The book is set in the 1970's and the abduction of Patty Hearst play...more
4 likes · like · see review
From Carolyn Howard-Johnson:
Carolyn Howard-Johnson Author Den
Some might say all writers of fiction are a bit crazy. The statement may hold some truth if we note how much we like to follow the creative paths of fellow writers. I admit to being one of those.
Leora Skolkin-Smith's "Hystera" does not disappoint on that count. But it offers so much more.
Like most literary novels, it reads as if details are strongly influenced by real memories. Real as they feel, the narrator has committed herself to...more
Carolyn Howard-Johnson Author Den
Some might say all writers of fiction are a bit crazy. The statement may hold some truth if we note how much we like to follow the creative paths of fellow writers. I admit to being one of those.
Leora Skolkin-Smith's "Hystera" does not disappoint on that count. But it offers so much more.
Like most literary novels, it reads as if details are strongly influenced by real memories. Real as they feel, the narrator has committed herself to...more
This is a hard book for me to review, since my feelings about it are full of "almosts" and comparisons to other books.
I think it's a better book than my feelings for it indicate, and I didn't think it was at all a bad book. It just never quite clicked for me.
I think one of the strengths of Hystera was strong, beautiful, literary language. I don't read for the language, I read for the story and the characters. The language put a barrier there for me. Some of this was probably deliberate, was a re...more
I think it's a better book than my feelings for it indicate, and I didn't think it was at all a bad book. It just never quite clicked for me.
I think one of the strengths of Hystera was strong, beautiful, literary language. I don't read for the language, I read for the story and the characters. The language put a barrier there for me. Some of this was probably deliberate, was a re...more
Rating: three and a half stars, it possibly deserves four, but...
This is a difficult book to review for so many reasons. I thought it courageous - the subject matter is startling and so much of the writing feels like memoir that one can't help wondering if it's based on truth, knowing at the same time that Lilly, the main character, is experiencing a psychotic episode and that nothing is as it seems. I needed an anchor - someone to trust - but not a hope, and this in itself puts the reader in he...more
This is a difficult book to review for so many reasons. I thought it courageous - the subject matter is startling and so much of the writing feels like memoir that one can't help wondering if it's based on truth, knowing at the same time that Lilly, the main character, is experiencing a psychotic episode and that nothing is as it seems. I needed an anchor - someone to trust - but not a hope, and this in itself puts the reader in he...more
There aren't enough stars in the ink blue sky to do justice to "Hystera" and her author Leora Skolkin-Smith.
I've never known an author who was able to dig so deeply and lay bare the most intimate truths about being a woman and the truth about psychological torture - the torturing of one's own mind and soul by ones self, as well as the torture inflicted knowingly or unknowingly or both, by another. The author's words do this with no melodrama, no pointing of fingers at others, or any 'poor poor...more
I've never known an author who was able to dig so deeply and lay bare the most intimate truths about being a woman and the truth about psychological torture - the torturing of one's own mind and soul by ones self, as well as the torture inflicted knowingly or unknowingly or both, by another. The author's words do this with no melodrama, no pointing of fingers at others, or any 'poor poor...more
Tough subject, sometimes a tough read (because of the subject matter). I had more sympathy for the mom than the author might have planned for, but I think that is one strength of the book - that the characters ring true and even when actions are worthy of criticism, the person behind the action cannot be dismissed. I enjoyed the references to the Patty Hearst kidnapping; I remember that story as it unfolded and the author has caught the way its progress permeated life.
This is at heart a story seeped in an unreliable narrator. If you tend to enjoy that, this book is for you. The narrator has committed herself to a psychiatric ward and it is extremely difficult as the reader to separate her delusions from reality- sometimes even impossible. This provides for a through provoking read. If you are fascinated by either mental illness or the 1970s, this book may also be for you.
I was a psychology major in college so this held my attention. It was easy to become abso...more
I was a psychology major in college so this held my attention. It was easy to become abso...more
An astonishing work of fiction. Brave, bold and fiercely intelligent. And it's not just me who thinks so: Hystera won the 2012 Global E-Books Awards in Multicultural Fiction and the 2012 USA Book Award for Fiction (ebooks). Hystera was also a Finalist in the 2012 International Book Awards and the 2012 Indie Excellence Award. Really, just stunningly good.
Caroline Leavitt
www.carolineleavitt.com
Caroline Leavitt
www.carolineleavitt.com
Hysteria by Leora Skolkin-Smith is to be savored like an excellent wine. So moving and deep are her prose, that each phrase is thought-provoking. The author is clearly a master of words and although this book is slim, it is full of secrets about the human psyche. Hysteria would be a great gift for anyone who might be dealing with these same issues in their own network of family and friends.
i finished hystera and was really blown awayit was beautifully done
expressed the feeling of being in a hospital very well
and expressed the feelings of lilly wonderfully
it was a dramatic presentation
of such a difficult time
and i admired it and enjoyed it both
expressed the feeling of being in a hospital very well
and expressed the feelings of lilly wonderfully
it was a dramatic presentation
of such a difficult time
and i admired it and enjoyed it both
Disclaimer - Free Fridays ebook from B&N
Not my usual sort of story. It was a hard slog through the first part of the book when the main character was deepest in her madness. A much easier read as she got better. Probably won't read more by this author if the are the same type of story.
Not my usual sort of story. It was a hard slog through the first part of the book when the main character was deepest in her madness. A much easier read as she got better. Probably won't read more by this author if the are the same type of story.
1 like · like · see review
This is a book that follows a mentally disturbed patient from her trigger incident, into and through a mental hospital. Written in typical irrational, dyslexic thought patterns that ultimately lead to a functional state of mind, the author does an excellent job of illustrating the strange world of the mentally ill and their path to sanity.
This book was received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This book was received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I just could not get far enough into this to even judge it. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was not extensive descriptions of someone's hallucinations about her girly bits (this sounds very dismissive, but it's true).
A very strange book, as I suppose any book written from inside the head of a person having a psychotic break would be. I can't think of anything to say that might sway someone to read this book.
A powerful, brave novel. Right up there for my two cents. Exquisite, poetic writing, not at all flowery but, rather raw and genuine.
I have read 23% of this book and I dislike it so much I am not going to continue. It is too sexual for my liking.
This book is gorgeous. Tender, wise, beautiful, shocking at times, and honest. You will fall in love with the narrator and her story. Brilliant.
The book started weirdly and just kept getting weirder - I just couldn't get into it and it definitely wasn't for me. It jumps around a lot and doesn't make a whole lot of sense, which made it impossible to keep my attention and I wasn't able to finish it. I'm not sure who the right audience would be for this, but it wasn't my demographic.
1 like · like · see review
This was one of those books I didn't want to end. Beautifully crafted and tender, subtle and insightful. A truely great read.
tragically beautiful. Gets inside the head of a psychotic person very vividly.
Apr 22, 2013
Iroulito91
marked it as to-read
Apr 21, 2013
Elaine Untracht Pawelko
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Jess Dailo
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Mar 04, 2013
Kelly Spoer
marked it as to-read
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Leora Skolkin-Smith's new novel HYSTERA is the winner of this year's Global E-Books Award 2012.
Hystera is published by Fiction Studio Books, Lou Aronica, Publisher.
Ms. Skolkin-Smith was born in Manhattan in 1952, and spent her childhood between Pound Ridge, New York, and Israel, traveling with her family to her mother’s birthplace in Jerusalem every three years. She earned her BA and MFA and was...more
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Mar 06, 2013 09:16am