Lin's Perspective

The review might contain spoilers.

This was a book I knew nothing about, and yet I was expecting a lot from. Given the topics it promised to deal with and the whole premise, I was very much intrigued and happy to start my reading journey.

The beginning was quite interesting. We got to know Clover and her backstory, which is supposed to explain why she is the way she is now, at 36: friendless, lonely, and socially awkward, yet well-travelled, intelligent, and well-mannered.

I love the fact it promised to concentrate on topics such as death, death doula and grief and mainly the psychological impact that this has on us daily. I was expecting a deep conversation about these taboo topics, a dive into our most vulnerable experiences, a mirror to look at and reflect on our own life choices and how we cope with death. I was expecting the 5 stages of grief represented to a tea, something that, if not all, then most of the people can actually relate to and find maybe solace, mutual understanding, a companion to guide them, if you will, through a difficult path that is the death of a loved one.

You would think this is what this book is all about, well, in the beginning, it probably was, but then the more I read, the more I disliked our main character. Some of the things she did were morally questionable and definitely did not suit a 36-year-old woman who, as I mentioned earlier, is self-aware and intelligent. Personally, I found her personality highly unrealistic and annoying, and I simply could not relate to her, even though she and I had a lot in common if I were to look back on my own past.

In retrospect, I did find some of the passages beautifully written, especially when it came to the grieving part, and I did appreciate her relationship with her grandad. But it ends here, the rest felt bleak, some things didn’t make any sense, there were plotholes, and things felt rushed. And seriously, can we please stop adding unnecessary romance here and there just to try to save a book? The romance here was miserable, just like Clover, and totally useless to the plot and to the story as a whole. It pissed me off to no end.

If anything, it only distracted from the main topics, and it just was cringe… like reading about a 36 y/o virgin who never had a kiss or an intimate moment with anyone ever, even though, again, I’ll repeat myself, she travelled on her own for 3 months around the world and not even once an opportunity presented? This woman has some serious underlying mental health issues that were merely addressed here and brushed off as her personality and the fruit of her grandad passing away. As if spying on your neighbours with binoculars regularly was something normal, and we had to sympathise with this because she is still grieving after 13 years? The hell I would, I’d go seek some professional help if that was me because unlike Clover I still have my common sense.

I wanted to read something meaningful, inspiring, helpful, thought-provoking, not Peeping Tom-mentally insane-socially-awkward-if-you-view-it-differently-then-me-then-we-cannot-be-friends-and-I-cannot-connect-to-you type a BS.