Chelsea’s review of The Two Lives of Lydia Bird > Likes and Comments
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So I was the exact opposite! I felt like the first half was way too long and might never end and finally felt like it was going places around the halfway point.
Agree. It went on too long, so on and on that I lost where the boringness started. Sorry but I felt it needs to be more realistic.
I completely agree.. I found myself crying every few pages! I loved The first 80% of this book... but it thought ultimately the ending was cliche and didn’t do justice to characters I loved.
I lost my partner almost 4 years ago and am coming up on the anniversary of his death in a few weeks so, full disclosure, that informs my comment. I had such a hard time reading the beginning. I had to return it to the library and then check it out again twice. For me the beginning went on too long but likely because I know what the process is like, know what only wanting to sleep all day in hopes I'd see him in my dreams (which happened about 75% for a while). It felt excruciatingly long but a friend raved about it and said i should read it so I stayed the course.
I liked the 2nd half so much more. The process of coming back to the world is so fraught and different for everyone. I found Lydia's process in coming back to herself so much more interesting. I also love that her process allowed her to see her relationship more clearly. The impulse is to gloss over all the blemishes and challenges with the person who's died but that invalidates your actual experience. I love how Lydia forced herself to see the places that weren't as perfect and her role in the relationship as well as the things that were truly perfect. So the first part felt way too long and the rest I loved
I felt very similarly !! Towards the end I was getting frustrated with all the random little details of her life that really had like no reason to be in there. I already knew what was probably going to happen in the end at that point so I don’t think it needed that extra fluff. I feel very lukewarm towards this book. I guess it’s a good quick read for when you kinda just feel like escaping for a little while like when you watch a rom com. When you watch a rom com it can be very enjoyable if you go into it knowing what to expect. I feel like this book is the same way. It kind of gave me “in 5 years” feel but I liked “in 5 years” a bit better.
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Tessa
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Mar 28, 2020 08:32AM
So I was the exact opposite! I felt like the first half was way too long and might never end and finally felt like it was going places around the halfway point.
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Agree. It went on too long, so on and on that I lost where the boringness started. Sorry but I felt it needs to be more realistic.
I completely agree.. I found myself crying every few pages! I loved The first 80% of this book... but it thought ultimately the ending was cliche and didn’t do justice to characters I loved.
I lost my partner almost 4 years ago and am coming up on the anniversary of his death in a few weeks so, full disclosure, that informs my comment. I had such a hard time reading the beginning. I had to return it to the library and then check it out again twice. For me the beginning went on too long but likely because I know what the process is like, know what only wanting to sleep all day in hopes I'd see him in my dreams (which happened about 75% for a while). It felt excruciatingly long but a friend raved about it and said i should read it so I stayed the course. I liked the 2nd half so much more. The process of coming back to the world is so fraught and different for everyone. I found Lydia's process in coming back to herself so much more interesting. I also love that her process allowed her to see her relationship more clearly. The impulse is to gloss over all the blemishes and challenges with the person who's died but that invalidates your actual experience. I love how Lydia forced herself to see the places that weren't as perfect and her role in the relationship as well as the things that were truly perfect. So the first part felt way too long and the rest I loved
I felt very similarly !! Towards the end I was getting frustrated with all the random little details of her life that really had like no reason to be in there. I already knew what was probably going to happen in the end at that point so I don’t think it needed that extra fluff. I feel very lukewarm towards this book. I guess it’s a good quick read for when you kinda just feel like escaping for a little while like when you watch a rom com. When you watch a rom com it can be very enjoyable if you go into it knowing what to expect. I feel like this book is the same way. It kind of gave me “in 5 years” feel but I liked “in 5 years” a bit better.