I just finished Cleaving, Julie Powell's follow up to Julie & Julia. I'm torn about what to say. I loved Julie & Julia. This book is not Julie & Julia. It's darker. Way darker. I found the actual butchering parts of the book interesting, but the whole D thing was a bit much. I couldn't relate & it honestly was just too brutal for me.
Also, the almost rape at the end of the book felt out of place to me. I get why she put it in. It reinforces her issues with sex & highlights her passive aggressive tendencies, but I could have done without it. Actually, I could have done without the entire last part of the book. In my opinion, the whole Tanzania section contributed nothing to the story. I wish she had spent more time delving into her relationship with Eric upon returning home & writing more about going back to Fleischer's.
Overall, I enjoyed reading it. I don't know how she can write so brutally about herself, but more power to her. I couldn't do it. Definitely worth reading, but go in knowing (in the words of Agnes) it's not the triumphant, heartwarming read Julie & Julia was. Hopeful for a third book.
2 comments:
Ah,I guess I'll read it but I'm certain it will bug me... Liked your review.
I think I have to (respectfully) differ with you on some parts of this review (good review, by the way).
I had a hard time getting through the book. Her cruelty to her husband was inexplicable. Almost as inexplicable as his acceptance of it.
Separate from the cruelty of the affair itself, there's the cruelty of the book. Why on earth would she want EVERYONE to know how she, continuously and over the course of a couple of years, humiliated the man she claimed as her "soul mate"?
Inexplicable.
Horrible woman. Absolutely horrible.
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