Thank you very much to Farrar, Strauss and Giroux for this ARC!

Over circa 100 pages, the narrator, Caroline, writes a letter to her Italian lover, Lorenzo and reflects on their dynamic, her life, and the need to end their relationship.

The narrator writes about her life, about people she and her lover know, or know about, but their appearance is so cursory, it can be a bit hard to follow. Maybe that's the point though? She has known this man for 30 years, and perhaps wants to portray the idiosyncracy of their dynamic in the context of their individual lives? I did think trying to explore the extent to which we can know each other was a theme, the I versus the We in relationships. I got the sense that the narrator is lost in the dynamic, that she is so concerned with what he is thinking, his past, his feelings, but the writing and the narration felt (to me, too) personal for an external reader to understand or follow. There are also many, many, literary references throughout.

Though I love literary fiction, I don't feel I 'get' poetry a lot, and this walks the line between both (Zarin is also a poet), so this was probably always going to be a tougher read for me. But I recently had some big academic deadlines, and was just so intellectually drained thoughout. I lacked the patience to dive into something so contemplative, which really defined my experience of this.

But if you like work that bridges the gap between poetry and fiction, you may enjoy this, perhaps also if you feel a sense of heartbreak or rejection. This definitely fits the 'no plot, just vibes' category beautifully, but it may not be for everyone, so read a little excerpt beforehand.

2.25

There was some beautiful writing in this, and it wove a delicate and intimate insight into a life. Buuuut, I really struggled through it. The style of writing with lots of interlinking vignettes and no chapters left me feeling a bit windswept and struggling to keep up a lot of the time.

I have got a lot on my mind at the moment so maybe not the best time for a structure like this, I’m sure it’ll be someone else’s favourite book, just not for me!

Beautiful writing. Caroline wants Lorenzo. Lorenzo already has someone, or even two someones. So, Caroline directs her writing to Lorenzo and recounts her memories, her make-believes, her what could be. A lovely read for a day when you are in the mood to reminisce and reflect.

Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

This book was a quick read, resembling a poem or a love letter written to someone special. The way the letter was crafted made you genuinely believe in the deep love between the writer and the man she was addressing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

I thought the writing itself was beautiful, but I found it at times too poetic and lyrical to follow the narrative arc as Caroline writes to Lorenzo.

Thank you Farrar, Straus and Giroux for a free e-arc of Estate by Cynthia Zarin. This review is written voluntarily.

This is my first ARC from Farrar, Straus and Giroux and I went crazy with delight when I see the novel on my dashboard. The synopsis is very interesting, and I was eager to read the story of a woman with a lover who has more lovers. After all, everybody loves a complicated relationship if they are not in that relationship.

This is a letter Caroline writes to Lorenzo, her lover. Lorenzo has many lovers, many women around him and it is like he thinks so much of himself and that women cannot live without him. A walking red flag, a classic. But most of us has been there, crawling for someone emotionally unavailable. Caroline, a middle aged woman, is aware of the nature of their relationship yet she is still with him. And in this letter, she writes Lorenzo about her past, her emotions, and some fragments.

There is no break in the letter, and it is difficult to read a novel with 144 pages without any breaks. The other difficulty in reading was Caroline writes the letter as if she writes her journal and jumps from one memory to another news piece or an emotion. Time and space is flexible, and this novel is more like a prose poetry than a traditional novel. In the spirit, Estate was similar to The Unbearable Lightness of Being, I thought of Tomas as I read about Lorenzo. Also, the writing style reminded me of The Faster I Walk, The Smaller I Am by Kjersti Skomsvold, which gives hints of the main idea of the story in one sentence, and other parts feel like a diary of a unhinged character with no meaning. The breaks in the story is similar to A Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. Overall, I did like the story but it was difficult for me to read. This would be a great read for anyone who likes poems and The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

This was really playful and fun. Had plenty of quotes I would have loved to screenshot. Poetic writing covering the topics of love, affairs, desire in general, and desire to disappear. If you aren’t into poetry idk if you would enjoy. For me, I really enjoyed the writing style and the flow. As always thank you Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for the earc.

Lovers on All Saints’ Day is a playful, emotionally ambiguous novel where Caroline obsessively imagines and writes to Lorenzo. The elastic, clever prose blurs the line between love and creative fantasy, making the story both intimate and disorienting.

Rating: 4.5/5 – Inventive, immersive, and emotionally rich.

Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the ebook. Caroline is thinking about Lorenzo a lot lately. She writes him, calls him, invents stories for him. The book’s language is so elastic and playful, but you never know just how much love she has for Lorenzo or how much is just a fun game to play.

A book that took me to faraway lands. I was enthralled and entertained throughout. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.