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6th out of 8 books
—
1 voter
My Hundred Lovers
A woman, on the eve of her fiftieth birthday, reflects on one hundred moments from a lifetime's sensual adventures. After the love, hatred and despair are done with, the great and trivial acts of her bodily life reveal an imperfect, yet whole self. By turns humorous, sharp, haunting and wise, this is an original and exhilarating novel from one of Australia's premier writer...more
Paperback, 280 pages
Published
June 2012
by Allen & Unwin
(first published January 1st 2012)
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It had been a great trip to Melbourne with my mate. I had a ball in his company with our ‘adventures’ providing amusing entertainment fodder for my friends and family on my return. The following vignette is what led me to this book.
We rode on the good old No.96 from the city down to St Kilda to find a dining venue (being, as it turned out, the excellent Claypots where said mate became engrossed in the graffiti in the women’s loo – but that is another story for another place). Prior to exploring...more
We rode on the good old No.96 from the city down to St Kilda to find a dining venue (being, as it turned out, the excellent Claypots where said mate became engrossed in the graffiti in the women’s loo – but that is another story for another place). Prior to exploring...more
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Who were the greatest loves of your life? The ones that awakened every sense? The ones that you still dream about from time to time, fantasise about? The ones that you could encounter after years of absence and still get a tingle in the pit of your stomach? Did you appreciate that distinct buzz of a special love at the time you had it in your life, or is the memory perhaps sweeter than the reality?
Deborah is nearing her 50th birthday. She is processing her past and her future from this vantage p...more
Deborah is nearing her 50th birthday. She is processing her past and her future from this vantage p...more
Susan Johnson's writing is restrained, poetic and at times, uncomfortably honest - she writes as a fifty year old woman looking back on the things and people she has loved.You have to be prepared to let the story unfold, as small observations and as a disjointed narrative.
There is some amazing writing in there - to quote "She was with Celestine one late spring day when she met the man she knew she would marry.The knowledge came to her body first, a sensation that felt like intuition, a knowingn...more
There is some amazing writing in there - to quote "She was with Celestine one late spring day when she met the man she knew she would marry.The knowledge came to her body first, a sensation that felt like intuition, a knowingn...more
Another Australian novel; it starts off really interesting then becomes to some extent cliched dreck with quite a bit of racism and uses marginalised people as rhetorical figures to add interest to the beige central character.
In the 2012 Best American Short Fiction's prologue or whatever, the editor said that good stories should transcend a person's singular life and pay attention to politics and wider events as well. This is wise, but the clumsy and non-integrated way that major Australian and...more
In the 2012 Best American Short Fiction's prologue or whatever, the editor said that good stories should transcend a person's singular life and pay attention to politics and wider events as well. This is wise, but the clumsy and non-integrated way that major Australian and...more
May 14, 2012
John Purcell
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Lovers
Recommended to John by:
The Author's Reputation
I enjoyed My Hundred Lovers. I recommend it to anyone who feels a little pale and dusty. There is life in these pages, enough, in fact, to take deep, invigorating draughts without exhausting the supply. I felt I was being invited into secret places, but not foreign places. Susan examines emotions, sensations and pleasures many of us will recognise. She teases out meaning from fleeting and now forgotten delights. The book moves gracefully and quickly, never stopping long in any one place, buildin...more
My Hundred Lovers is written by Aussie author Susan Johnson and I've been reading it as part of an Allen & Unwin read-along, and you can read more about my experience on my blog.
The premise of the book is a woman turning fifty who reflects on her life and sorts through her body's memories. In 100 chapters, the woman - who refers to herself throughout the novel as 'the girl', Deb and 'the Suspicious Wanderer' - gives us her one hundred lovers; in essence one hundred sensual memories.
From fir...more
The premise of the book is a woman turning fifty who reflects on her life and sorts through her body's memories. In 100 chapters, the woman - who refers to herself throughout the novel as 'the girl', Deb and 'the Suspicious Wanderer' - gives us her one hundred lovers; in essence one hundred sensual memories.
From fir...more
Sep 02, 2012
Dee
added it
This book deserves to be on the '50 books you can't put down list'! I took it to bed last night and couldn't turn out the light till I reached the end.
As other reviewers have said, it's not what you expect from the title. Her loves are so many people, places and things. That perfect dress worn till it was threadbare, the smell of coffee and fresh cut grass, the giggle of her little sister, wine.....everything! Every love, even 'fresh sheets', my personal very favorite thing in the world!!
Ok, t...more
As other reviewers have said, it's not what you expect from the title. Her loves are so many people, places and things. That perfect dress worn till it was threadbare, the smell of coffee and fresh cut grass, the giggle of her little sister, wine.....everything! Every love, even 'fresh sheets', my personal very favorite thing in the world!!
Ok, t...more
I am reading My Hundred Lovers (courtesy Allen & Unwin) as part of a read-a-long hosted by Bree at All The Books I Can Read over the next three weeks. Please be aware that it is likely that in answering the discussion questions, I will reveal spoilers. Read at your own risk!
Discussion Pages 1-88
Discussion Pages 89-172
Summary Pages 173-end
While fiction, My Hundred Lovers reads as if a confessional memoir- brief memories of physical and emotional awareness from the taste of a fresh croissant,...more
Discussion Pages 1-88
Discussion Pages 89-172
Summary Pages 173-end
While fiction, My Hundred Lovers reads as if a confessional memoir- brief memories of physical and emotional awareness from the taste of a fresh croissant,...more
About fifty pages into this I thought of Jeanette Wintersons' "Written on the Body" which is kinda funny cos I'd read that almost twenty years ago and I was surprised I'd remember anything from twenty years ago times being what they were, but such is the power of memory, stored like precious seeds til nudged gently into fertile ground. And this is the very essence of this surprising little novel. Susan Johnsons character Deb gently recalls her Myriad 'lovers' with such grace and tenderness that...more
I loved the idea of this book, what a fantastic way to remember various parts of your life, like random snapshots of yourself shown haphazardly in no real order.
It was a sensory experience reading this "That afternoon in the small bedroom the light was blue. The curtains were cream and blew softly in the wind. There was a cry, far off, almost out of earshot. There was a man in my bed and I did not know how he got there." and we were shown a glimpse in to the life that belonged to Deborah, a norm...more
It was a sensory experience reading this "That afternoon in the small bedroom the light was blue. The curtains were cream and blew softly in the wind. There was a cry, far off, almost out of earshot. There was a man in my bed and I did not know how he got there." and we were shown a glimpse in to the life that belonged to Deborah, a norm...more
I loved this book, it is delightful & beautiful to read.
I enjoyed how Susan explored a woman's history or I could say herstory through the ecstatic highs, painful lows and unconscious complexities of her body. It felt like Susan was exploring an idea (the body's narrative that is not bound by linear time)and wrapped it within a fictional based narrative that moved easily between time and place.
I enjoyed how Susan explored a woman's history or I could say herstory through the ecstatic highs, painful lows and unconscious complexities of her body. It felt like Susan was exploring an idea (the body's narrative that is not bound by linear time)and wrapped it within a fictional based narrative that moved easily between time and place.
A book of naked courage and intimacy told in a language that made my skin tingle. Susan Johnson has introspected over Deb from the inside out; a candid, lyrical and astoundingly honest account of womanhood as well as life's simpler gifts that soar in the hands of a master storyteller. I'll keep it by my bedside not as a novel alone but as a book of cherished prose.
Did not enjoy the mix of first person and third person narrative. Jumped around too much in time. Did not flow well and felt that it was written as a pompous show off of words rather than the telling a story.
I can see how some would say it is poetic writing - but there was no substance to it.
Finished the last page and thought 'what a waste of time'.
I can see how some would say it is poetic writing - but there was no substance to it.
Finished the last page and thought 'what a waste of time'.
I disliked this book immensely as, for me, it had very few redeeming qualities about it. I was involved in the read-a-long with a couple of the other reviewers (Hi Bree and Marg!) and I was the devil's advocate for the group.
It is a very feminine book and I feel as though some parts were written sheerly for shock value.
It is a very feminine book and I feel as though some parts were written sheerly for shock value.
I got through this in one night, I thought it was so beautiful I didn't want to stop. The way every day things and feelings and emotions were described so poetically and romantically . It made me think about the small things in life that I don't really appreciate. Including croissants :)
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Feb 02, 2013
Newtown Review of Books
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
reviewed
As Samuel Beckett reminds us, we are all born ‘astride of a grave’, so there is no reason why turning fifty per se should signal impending decrepitude. Western culture has been quick to turn a dollar from women’s anxieties about ageing – you need botox! wrinkle cream! surgery! – so the response of Susan Johnson’s protagonist, Deborah, to her half century does not immediately auger well.
Read full review here: http://newtownreviewofbooks.com/2012/...
Read full review here: http://newtownreviewofbooks.com/2012/...
What an exquisite book. I read it slowly because I didn't want it to end. One of the best books I've read this year.
A lovely book that represents a woman taking stock of herself and the things and people she has loved.
Loved this book, superbly written. A book that makes you remember and ponder your own life and loves.
4.5/5
Glad I got to participate in the readalong for this one.
Final post up soon.
http://www.theintrepidreader.com/sear...
Glad I got to participate in the readalong for this one.
Final post up soon.
http://www.theintrepidreader.com/sear...
Light touch, deep topics, many truths.
Too boring, couldn't finish it...
My Hundred Lovers was not what I was expecting (well what would you expect with that title???) but it was enjoyable all the same. I love a good memoir and Johnson’s change in narrator from first to third person was quite an interesting device as were the ‘snippet’ chapters interspersed between the more average length ones.
If you don't like seriously funky structure, then you shouldn't get anywhere near this book. But if you enjoy going along with an author's experiment with unique methods of structuring a story, then this is a great example to enjoy. The voice is captivating and there are just some really incredibly delicious bits of prose throughout. I also enjoyed using the premise to think about my life-- if I had to name 100 lovers in my life, who or what would they be?
annoyed the hell out of me to be honest. Didn't like how it jumped from third to first person depending on the chapter. Not sure if it supposed to be autobiographical, but the character comes across as an unlikeable self obssessed individual who seems to have the misfortune to meet and have sex with lots of unlikeable men!She seems to just give her body to anyone and not have any mind of her own, which made me just want to give her a big slap.
Grace interviewed Susan Johnson about My Hundred Lovers, sex, death, and the perfect croissant. Originally broadcast on The Book Club on 26 July 2012.
Listen to Susan Johnson reading a passage from My Hundred Lovers here.
Listen to Susan Johnson reading a passage from My Hundred Lovers here.
This is on the list of "50 books you cant put down" and i beg to differ.
I didnt hate this book but i found myself wanting it to be over.
I didnt hate this book but i found myself wanting it to be over.
This is a fascinating book where a woman shares stories of the loves of her life. No they are not all men. They are not all women. They include buttery croissants and a gorgeous summer dress. Thie writing is beautiful, infused with nostalgia. A very special book.
Hard to follow, I could not finish this book as nothing exciting was happening and got sick of having to reread pages as the tenses kept changing
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Women ...: I'm Hosting A Read-A-Long.... Who Wants To Take Part? | 5 | 19 | May 24, 2012 08:00am |
