March Reviews: Butterflies and Monkeys

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So, this was apparently a low month, in terms of reading, although it didn't really feel like it. If I only read 2 books a month for the next five years that would mean I'd only read 120 books, or twice my current TBR pile. Fun facts, friends. 

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

320 pages

This story if about a girl named Rose who was raised for the first few years of hr life with her sister, who also happened to be a chimp. Her father was a researcher and their lives were basically an experiment, until things went wrong. The novel is told from Rose's perspective as a young college student coming to terms with her past.

Verdict: I thought this was a great, entertaining, quick, yet poignant read that I think many readers would enjoy. It deals with memory, unique family bonds, and animal activism. 

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

464 pages

This is my first Kingsolver fiction that I have read and I thought this one was well-written, albeit having some flaws here and there. Dellarobia is the main character, a young mother and wife who is frustrated with her life of poverty in the Appalachian Mountains. While on her way towards meeting a man to have an affair she encounters a huge pocket of butterflies in the family woods. What ensues is a story about environmentalism, faith, family, and making a life for oneself.

Verdict: The writing is good, the story is interesting, and I appreciate the overall message of the text. I did find some serious cliches, some issues with pacing, and then a slightly predictable ending, though. 

total: 784 pages