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Sarah Bannan

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Weightless (2015) 88 eksemplarer

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“We were young and hopeful and beautiful and fearless, for just a few seconds,"

Weightless by Sarah Bannan

"We couldn’t talk – the sound of the wind was too much -and once we reached a certain height, after the people below us became unrecognizable, and after it was impossible to tell what was the person and what was the building, after that we held our breath, not wanting to add any weight or bring us closer to the ground: we wanted to be up high forever".

Weightless by Sarah Bannan

I do not know even where to begin with this book.

First, let me just say..I was i n tears.I am not speaking of the book. I am speaking of some of the reviews on here. Quite a few of them moved me to t ears and there isn't anything I can say that has not been said. There is so much love for this book and I understand why.

So, as many have said, this book is about bullying. I knew about Weightless. It has been on my TBR list for years. I figured it might be hard to read and it was.

I would also add it can be triggering to anyone who finds it hard to read about thus subject. This book goes into the weeds on bullying and I cannot stress how upsetting aspects of the book can be so know that before reading it.

The writing style, as many have said is languid and written in a dream like way that keeps the reader a bit distant from the story but at the same time, some of the prose is so luscious and ethereal and lovely one wants to melt into it. I particularly enjoyed the breathtaking scene of flying over head, in the hot air balloons.

At the same time the story is guttural. You know early on..that the new girl, Carolyn, will most likely come to a bad end. And it is tough reading because you get so attached to her. I know I did.

And Weightless will make you MAD..I do not remember a book in recent memory where I was this angry. As we read about the literal destruction of an individual, for no other reason than sport, it is hard not want to throw something.

Bullying was a big deal when I was in school. I was bullied as were many of my friends. I related to Carolyn. I too had the Naivete AND the wise ass aspect. I connected to her deeply.

I used to think about High School, "Well..things couldn't get worse". How wrong I was. I would NEVER EVER want to be a kid in today's times. I just..I cannot even imagine what it must be like.

In my opinion, school bullying should be illegal

What shocked me here was the narrator. As many have said, it is written from either the first party plural or first party single. An anonymous "we" tells the story but we do not really know anything about "We" except that she..or they..go the school.

"We" is almost a robot. The way she..or they..tell the story. Carolyn, in their brains, is not human. She is like a unique tropical bird, there for their viewing pleasure as they relentlessly look into every detail of her life and emulate her and stare at her they way one would a tiger at a zoo. She loses her humanness if she ever had any to begin with in the mind of We. "We" thinks of her as an object.

I expected some sort of humanity after what happened. But "we" never does get it. The cynicism with which she blames Carolyn..for breaking the clique rules..had me speechless. I had forgotton, you see, the petulance, the viciousness that only the bully can possess. And though "W e " is not the bully herself. all the onlookers have their own price to pay.

That is a controversial subject. I am a big fan of the film, "The Accused" In the film, a woman, played by Jodie Foster, is Gang raped while a bunch of people stand by and do nothing. The onlookers are eventually prosecuted themselves. It was a very controversial film but reading Weightless brought that film to mind. Just how accountable should all the "We's" be? I personally think..deeply, deeply accountable.

The teachers..well their actions did not surprise me. Look at the Scandal at the school in Ohio where so many boys were allegedly abused by the Athletic coach. Read that story. It is in the news right now. Allegedly, many of the coaches simply turned their backs.

Every day bullying happens in different ways. Weightless maybe fiction but the story that is told goes on and on and on.

So..in closing..I agree this should be required reading. It is a deeply emotional, soulful, moving piece of literature that is not fun to read and may leave you in tears.
… (mere)
 
Markeret
Thebeautifulsea | 2 andre anmeldelser | Aug 6, 2022 |
This book took me on an emotional... well, it hasn't been a rollercoaster. It just went down, down, deeper down. It's really scary how cruel and thoughtless the characters were. Don't get me wrong, the behaviour's been totally realistic. That's why it was so scary.

I haven't read a pluralistic first person point of view before and I don't think I want to read it again. While the we included the reader and made them feel as if they were a part of the group, I couldn't get a feel for those characters. I couldn't glimpse behind their facades, so the things I did learn about them... stereotype after stereotype. The characters didn't even really differ from each other. Everyone was obsessed with money, appearances and popularity.

Nonetheless it was really interesting to read about the bystanders, instead of about the victim, which is done way more.

If you are triggered easily by the following things, this isn't a book you should read: Bullying, slut shaming, body image issues, eating disorders, self harm, suicide.

Droemer Knaur provided me with a free copy of Die Neue (which is weightless's german title) in exchange for a honest review. Thank you!
… (mere)
 
Markeret
bookstogetlostin | 2 andre anmeldelser | Jul 26, 2015 |
I was lucky enough to win a copy of Weightless through Goodreads First Reads.

This is a powerful, mesmerisingly terrible story focusing on bullying within a high school. I will say here that I found the subject matter hit a little too close to home, I was friends with a girl exactly like Carolyn when I was 16. Thankfully her story had a happier ending, but I did find myself feeling quite queasy reading things that were so personal to my life on paper. I would not recommend this book for anyone who may find themselves triggered by reading about bullying, eating disorders, self harm or suicide.

I found this book so interesting to read, particularly due to the telling of the story. Weightless reminds me strongly of Jeffrey Eugenides 'The Virgin Suicides' with its collective, somewhat anonymous 'we' voice, the story told from the outside perspective after the events. Those who haven't encountered this style before will enjoy its uniqueness.

It's interesting that a book can make you feel so stale. You feel so little attachment to any of the characters, and yet become so involved within their story, and the use of 'we' plays to put you in the mix with them, and by the end of the book you share in the characters' guilt.

Weightless is depressing, gut-wrenching, and a bleak reflection on high school life and teenage interaction. Particularly with the use of technology as a tool to hurt and humiliate others. And I think it's a masterpiece. Perhaps if every young teen could read this, and understand it, we would see a lot less bullying and a lot more compassion in schools.

Five stars.
… (mere)
 
Markeret
chimocho | 2 andre anmeldelser | Jul 7, 2015 |

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Statistikker

Værker
1
Medlemmer
88
Popularitet
#209,356
Vurdering
4.0
Anmeldelser
3
ISBN
18

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