Official Review: The Diary of A Divorce by Isolde
Posted: 23 Sep 2019, 14:56
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Diary of A Divorce" by Isolde.]
2 out of 4 stars
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39-year-old Cecily is stuck in a loveless marriage to an awful husband. By the time she works up the courage to divorce him, they have a daughter named Colette. Too young to understand the gravity of the situation, Colette harbors resentment towards her mother for 'ruining everything.' Now, as a grown woman, Colette comes across a diary Cecily wrote during the lengthy divorce process. Maybe getting an insight into her mother's perspective during the situation will provide her with some much-needed closure.
As the title suggests, The Diary of a Divorce by Isolde is mostly written in the form of Cecily's diary during the divorce. We witness Cecily's thought process as she despairs over how her choices may affect her daughter, and as she slowly begins to see the light at the end of the tunnel. She has spent years pining for a man named Francis; will she finally get what she's been dreaming of? Or is she just projecting all her unrealistic fantasies on him?
This book is not everyone's cup of tea. There is not much action here; we mostly just read about Cecily's thoughts, feelings, conversations she has with her friends. Of course, there are a few twists and turns as her cruel husband unnecessarily prolongs the divorce, but these are not very exciting. This is not to say the book is boring—in fact, I really enjoyed diving into Cecily's psyche. Getting to read her mind as she went through such a stressful situation was the best part of the book for me.
I found the poetic writing style particularly intriguing—long, rambling sentences, like a stream of consciousness. I particularly liked this paragraph from when she meets Francis:
"It was like meeting the embodiment of the internal voice that had given me the courage to find a path through horror all my life. My invisible childhood friend had taken on a physical presence. Years were to pass before I saw him again, but I thought of him every single day."
Unfortunately, the sentences can get a bit too long sometimes. For example:
"With the familiar atrophy of heart at the prospect of the evening before me, I stood there, champagne in hand, wondering how not to drop a stitch from the dreary, little tapestry into which my life was so tightly woven, all hope of any joy beyond the sweetness of children, already ashes by then."
At over 50 words, that sentence is definitely a mouthful. I did enjoy the lyrical writing style for the most part, but some might find it rather confusing. Like the plot, this is not everyone's cup of tea.
While I liked the psychological aspects of this book as well as the writing style, there are definitely some areas that need improvement. This book could be greatly improved just by having a professional editor take a look at it. Commas are frequently omitted, and I believe an editor could help make the writing style a bit more accessible. Although the book is supposed to be written in present tense, there are some basic tense errors where the author uses past tense instead.
A more serious issue is Colette's character. Aside from the first few chapters, she doesn't do much at all. Entire chapters go by without her commenting on anything. You get so invested in Cecily's story that it's very disorienting when Colette finally makes some random comment. The summary makes it seem like Colette will also be a major character, but she is little more than an annoying commentator. This could easily have been fixed by giving Colette her own plot and life as well, beyond just reading her mother's diary.
I give this book 2 out of 4 stars for Cecily's lovely characterization and the distinctive writing style. I would easily give it 3 stars if the editing errors were fixed, or even 4 stars if the issues with Colette's character were also fixed.
Those interested in psychology and the human mind would probably love this. There is some profanity used, but people of all religious belief are equally suited for this book. Due to the nature of the plot, I would recommend it to everyone 16 and above.
******
The Diary of A Divorce
View: on Bookshelves
2 out of 4 stars
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39-year-old Cecily is stuck in a loveless marriage to an awful husband. By the time she works up the courage to divorce him, they have a daughter named Colette. Too young to understand the gravity of the situation, Colette harbors resentment towards her mother for 'ruining everything.' Now, as a grown woman, Colette comes across a diary Cecily wrote during the lengthy divorce process. Maybe getting an insight into her mother's perspective during the situation will provide her with some much-needed closure.
As the title suggests, The Diary of a Divorce by Isolde is mostly written in the form of Cecily's diary during the divorce. We witness Cecily's thought process as she despairs over how her choices may affect her daughter, and as she slowly begins to see the light at the end of the tunnel. She has spent years pining for a man named Francis; will she finally get what she's been dreaming of? Or is she just projecting all her unrealistic fantasies on him?
This book is not everyone's cup of tea. There is not much action here; we mostly just read about Cecily's thoughts, feelings, conversations she has with her friends. Of course, there are a few twists and turns as her cruel husband unnecessarily prolongs the divorce, but these are not very exciting. This is not to say the book is boring—in fact, I really enjoyed diving into Cecily's psyche. Getting to read her mind as she went through such a stressful situation was the best part of the book for me.
I found the poetic writing style particularly intriguing—long, rambling sentences, like a stream of consciousness. I particularly liked this paragraph from when she meets Francis:
"It was like meeting the embodiment of the internal voice that had given me the courage to find a path through horror all my life. My invisible childhood friend had taken on a physical presence. Years were to pass before I saw him again, but I thought of him every single day."
Unfortunately, the sentences can get a bit too long sometimes. For example:
"With the familiar atrophy of heart at the prospect of the evening before me, I stood there, champagne in hand, wondering how not to drop a stitch from the dreary, little tapestry into which my life was so tightly woven, all hope of any joy beyond the sweetness of children, already ashes by then."
At over 50 words, that sentence is definitely a mouthful. I did enjoy the lyrical writing style for the most part, but some might find it rather confusing. Like the plot, this is not everyone's cup of tea.
While I liked the psychological aspects of this book as well as the writing style, there are definitely some areas that need improvement. This book could be greatly improved just by having a professional editor take a look at it. Commas are frequently omitted, and I believe an editor could help make the writing style a bit more accessible. Although the book is supposed to be written in present tense, there are some basic tense errors where the author uses past tense instead.
A more serious issue is Colette's character. Aside from the first few chapters, she doesn't do much at all. Entire chapters go by without her commenting on anything. You get so invested in Cecily's story that it's very disorienting when Colette finally makes some random comment. The summary makes it seem like Colette will also be a major character, but she is little more than an annoying commentator. This could easily have been fixed by giving Colette her own plot and life as well, beyond just reading her mother's diary.
I give this book 2 out of 4 stars for Cecily's lovely characterization and the distinctive writing style. I would easily give it 3 stars if the editing errors were fixed, or even 4 stars if the issues with Colette's character were also fixed.
Those interested in psychology and the human mind would probably love this. There is some profanity used, but people of all religious belief are equally suited for this book. Due to the nature of the plot, I would recommend it to everyone 16 and above.
******
The Diary of A Divorce
View: on Bookshelves
Hopefully Colette got a better appreciation for the tough decision her mother had to make. Thanks for your review!