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All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews - Fetch Book Group discussion thread

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McGoohan Dec 2015 4:45pm, 1 Dec 2015 19,854 posts	Quote Pin McGoohan This is a thread for discussion of this book. Read on and write on if you have read it!
mulbs Dec 2015 4:24pm, 17 Dec 2015 11,558 posts	Quote Pin mulbs Quite liked this one, I have three sisters who I love dearly but can't imagine having a relationship with any of them that's so kindred-spirity-I feel-your-painy though . . . maybe I'm just cold-hearted? found the pattern within the family interesting, along with the idea of whether it's stronger to stay and fight or to end it. I did think at one point that it would be Elf who survived and Yoli who went. I've a relative who has mental health issues and his experiences have been somewhat mixed but thankfully not as bleak as described here.
Columba Dec 2015 6:10pm, 20 Dec 2015 8,662 posts	Quote Pin Columba I was intrigued by this book for about the first one-third or one-quarter, but then stopped being able to believe in the characters. Possibly, as mulbs says, the "kindred spirit I feel your pain" is just not credible. By the time I was getting towards the end, I didn't care whether Elf - or anyone else - lived or died. It wasn't just Elf and Yoli, but their mother and her sister too. And Julia and Elf.
westmoors Jan 2016 1:26pm, 6 Jan 2016 742 posts	Quote Pin westmoors I really struggled with this, not because of the subject matter, more to do with the writing style. Are quotation marks a thing of the past now? I often had to re-read sections as I hadn't realised conversations had started/stopped. I didn't feel any connection with any of the characters which probably didn't help either. Took me a long time to read as I just wasn't compelled to pick it up. Gave it a 6/10.