Amaryllis | REVIEW SHOP [ CLOSED ]

《Ananas》The Love and Pain Diary

REVIEWER: rebecca_batteur

CLIENT: lelyko

Title:

The title is, in my opinion, perfect. I find it both poetic and full of meaning. This is the story ofthe traumatic experience that Alexandra underwent, hence the term diary. It's a bit of a way totalk about what she experienced without ever having to express herself directly. Love and Pain isa very good way to summarize the content of this book, since it is a mixture of both at the sametime. The mad love that is born from the meeting between the two main characters but also thepain, the pain present everywhere, in every corner of this text, in each character. A pain thatcould define them entirely and take control of their lives, a pain that they will manage to putbehind with the help of love, this love that they manage to find together, whether between Alexand Nolan or with the rest of their friends.

It is at the same time a tribute to past loves, Mark,who disappeared without the reader knowing what happened to him, who represented love for along time for Alexandra and who is today a source of pain.It is a beautiful duality which is presented in the title and which is found later throughout thetext. The love that is born after pain or the pain that is born from love, or maybe both at the sametime.

Cover:

This cover seems to me to be both simple and charming in the gentle candor it conveys and theintoxicating atmosphere of love it suggests. The pastel colors, pleasant to the eye, immediatelybring to mind a soft and languorous story, a real little bubble of happiness. I think it's a very wellchosen combination that suits the tone of the story. This simplicity also highlights the onlydrawing on the cover, the image of two hands trying to come together. Again, the idea of loveand pain. Love in the possible reunion of the two hands, pain in the distance that there is stillbetween the two. It is perhaps also a kind of love therapy that is offered here.

To conclude, I alsoreally like the little detail of the heart above the word Love and the blood stain that stains theword Pain. It's very well found and very elegant.

Blurb: 

I find this summary very good, although incomplete. The first paragraph in particular is by farmy favorite. I really like this idea of trying to put the pieces of memories together to understandeverything that happened, plus, that's exactly how the book has worked so far. From Alex, welearn little directly, we only discover the truth through the scraps of her memories which unfoldhere and there.

The other two paragraphs clearly set up the framework of the story and allow thereader to easily imagine what happens next, in a suggestive way that is nevertheless simpleenough so that the exercise is not impossible for someone who has never read the book. I simplyfind that this summary ends too abruptly for my taste. One line at most would be enough tocomplete everything and give the impression that the summary ends properly. Maybe a questionwould work well, like "Is there a place for love inside Alex's diary of pain?".

Plot: 

I don't have much to say about the story itself. It is coherent and seems partly based on trueevents if I understood correctly what war Alex had to face. I think this kind of story, based onfacts, is very helpful for people who have suffered the same kinds of things as Alex. It's a goodway to express pain and incomprehension, the feeling of no longer being able to conform tosociety that they may have felt. Showing suffering, telling it and above all, proving that there is away out of it is a completely laudable endeavor.

In addition, Alex's tragic past really adds depth tothe story and creates some of the most touching and memorable passages in the book. Alexbecomes completely different thanks or because of what she has experienced. This really sets herapart from the "classic" romance heroine, in that she immediately acquires a much greater depth.