Bitter in the Mouth in Around the World in 80 Books

Dec 24, 2010 Elizabeth rated it liked it

This is a book that is easy to fall into. The setting, characters have a familiar lilt to it, reminiscent of Southern classics like To Kill A Mockingbird. The main character's synesthesia allows for some interestingly poetic interpretations of classic scenes (boy meets girl scenes, especially). Others have mentioned that the book is a little self-conscious. I think it started out more charming and engaging than self-conscious, but toward the middle some of the "Southern" story characterizations, This is a book that is easy to fall into. The setting, characters have a familiar lilt to it, reminiscent of Southern classics like To Kill A Mockingbird. The main character's synesthesia allows for some interestingly poetic interpretations of classic scenes (boy meets girl scenes, especially). Others have mentioned that the book is a little self-conscious. I think it started out more charming and engaging than self-conscious, but toward the middle some of the "Southern" story characterizations, tropes, plot started to become a little more obvious and tiresome. The sense of imaginative-ness and quirkiness kind of dissolved as the plot moved along. The main character grew into one of those all-black wearing loner intellectual types. I'm still into reading it though. I like what she's attempting to do (the big reveal, which was spoiled for me in some of the reviews/interviews I listened to), and her writing is easy on the ears.

Just finished. I felt like the story was going through the motions in the second half. Everything seemed too on the nose and pat toward the end. I really wanted to like this book, because there are lots of smart and observant moments in the book. Maybe the smart and observant qualities would have been more fitting in an essay, not necessarily in a family drama. Maybe there was just too much there in the service of making a point.

I think the appeal of this book is similar to that of a genre novel. You sort of have to enjoy inhabiting the world of this book (family drama/dysfunction) and its conventions (how it goes about detailing the South, resolving or coming to terms with family drama/dysfunction) to be able to forgive some of the predictable moves the writer makes.

But it was worth reading. The intentions behind the book were original... I think. Just sometimes not the execution, which seemed a little clinical at times (you can almost see the cliff notes that might go along with the story).

I actually loved the "distractions" in the book. The historical vignettes especially, about Virginia Dare, the Wright Brothers, George Moses Horton. The writer's voice shines in these asides (but kind of irritatingly gets ruined, because you realize it sometimes serves to bring home certain points the author wants to make a little too obviously). ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Feb 24, 2014 Joseph rated it really liked it

Shelves: medical-fiction, synesthesia, read-in-2014-04-april, read-in-2016-11-november

I don't usually read realistic fiction, but this one was one of the best I have read. So well written that the author makes it very easy for you to imagine yourself there able to live the life of the narrator. There are just enough unusual aspects of the main characters life to keep you interested yet it is still a believable story being told. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 02, 2011 Suzanne rated it really liked it

Professional reviews of Bitter in the Mouth accurately describe the book as lyrical, compelling, artfully crafted, elegant, and exquisite. The only word I could think after finishing the novel was, "wow!" I don't think I've ever read anything so original and awe-inspiring. The book was a little slow moving in the beginning, but as I became adjusted to the gorgeous, gorgeous prose and the engaging, southerly-quirky characters I was just almost hypnotized by the unfolding pages.

I really liked tha ...more

Like · see review

Oct 23, 2011 Mary rated it really liked it

This book is delicious. The writing is superb. I felt as though I were Linda. Her family members became my family members. This is a story aout Linda growing up in the South in the 70s. Periodically I found out another fact out Linda and her life that blew me away, so unexpected it was. Linda knows that she is different from everyone else. I found out why through my reading of this book. We all need a story of where we came from and how we got there. Otherwise, how can we ever put down our tende ...more

Like · see review