All My Puny Sorrows

christa reviewed All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews

lol fuck

5 stars

Content warning mention of suicide

I started reading this at the recommendation of @roadbeard@void.holdings after finishing women talking, without reading anything about it. I wasn't really ready for it, and I'm not sure if I ever really could have been. I don't know how you prepare to read a whole book about suicide, suicidal ideation often in deep detail, and loving, often hilarious family that grapples with waves all of that without flinching, and go on about your day. it was beautiful and funny and fun and relatable, and also often absolutely devastating to the point of being near unreadable. so, read it for sure, but if these topics are sensitive for you, maybe tread carefully

Shiyana reviewed All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews

Review of 'All My Puny Sorrows' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

I don't know how to do book reviews, but I'll try to collect my disconnected thoughts.
This book was recommended to me by a friend, likely well intentioned. So, I'll speak to the negatives because I really could have used a warning. This book is mostly about one person trying to kill themselves. Yes, there is family dynamics, inter-generational trauma, etc... But the bulk of the book discusses suicide. This put my mental health in a bad place. So, if you struggle with suicidal ideation please tread carefully. It's not something I had struggled with for MANY years (over a decade), and this book still triggered me. I almost didn't finish because of this, but needed to know how it ended. Also, the book was kind of boring in the beginning. It was a slog to get through. A book this long doesn't usually take me over a month to …

I don't know how to do book reviews, but I'll try to collect my disconnected thoughts.
This book was recommended to me by a friend, likely well intentioned. So, I'll speak to the negatives because I really could have used a warning. This book is mostly about one person trying to kill themselves. Yes, there is family dynamics, inter-generational trauma, etc... But the bulk of the book discusses suicide. This put my mental health in a bad place. So, if you struggle with suicidal ideation please tread carefully. It's not something I had struggled with for MANY years (over a decade), and this book still triggered me. I almost didn't finish because of this, but needed to know how it ended. Also, the book was kind of boring in the beginning. It was a slog to get through. A book this long doesn't usually take me over a month to finish. The ending was sweet, but overall, didn't make up for my experience with this book. I could see how other people may appreciate this book, but it wasn't for me. The style was a bit annoying to me, too. I didn't enjoy it in totality, but had moments of appreciation.

katinalynn

rated it

May 10, 2019

Steven Watt

rated it

July 17, 2014

gadabyte

rated it

Nov. 6, 2022

All My Puny Sorrows

Subjects