How I Live Now - Audiobook
May 9, 2008 by sassymonkey
Yes, another one. I’ve been on an audiobook binge.
First of all - Wow! Not quite what I expected. What was I expecting? Something closer to Susan Beth Pfeffer’s Life As I Know It.
Second of all - Has Meg Rosoff’s How I Live Now been challenged/banned anywhere? Because I can totally see some people not liking the Daisy/Edmond thing one itty-bitty bit. Or the anorexia stuff either. (Hmm just checked some Amazon review and yep and yep on both those counts…)
Third of all - potentially triggery due to violence, eating issues and incestuous relationships.
Taking all of the above into context - I absolutely completely get how How I Live Now won the 2005 Printz award. Daisy’s voice is both typical of a teen and completely not. It’s raw and real.
Daisy lived in Manhattan at a time somewhere, but not too far, in our future, before being sent to England to stay with her aunt and cousins. The world is either in a war or on the tip of a war - no one is exactly certain, least of all Daisy. She doesn’t care too much either. She’s too concerned with her evil stepmother and punishing herself and her family by not eating. But then once she’s in England everything changes. The war happens. Love happens. Horrible things happen. And the novel is the story of how she survived it and how it brought her to how she lives now.
While Daisy was an interesting character Piper completely stole the show. Piper is one of the best characters that I’ve seen in a novel in a very long time. Sweet, shy, innocent but at the same time completely other-worldly and resilient. She’s a truly great character.
I’ve skimmed through some reviews and there were some issues with the punctuation - or lack there of - in dialogue. This completely does not come through at all in the audio version. The audiobook was really well narrated.
I’m curious about Rosoff’s other novels (this was her first) but I have a feeling they are the type of novels that it’s best to space out a bit. And that you shouldn’t expect anything too “typical” from her because she’s not afraid to go to places people stay clear of.
(And Cat - you were right in your comment on Stephanie’s post - this is not a you book at all.)
I like a book that will challenge me a little with subjects to which I am personally unconnected, which bring a level of discomfort and force me to face others’ experiences - and thus in a tiny way experience the essence of them. This sounds like a book to stretch the boundaries of my comfort zone, thank you for the review.
[...] how i live now, by Meg Rosoff (sassymonkey reads) (tags: meg.rosoff how.i.live.now young.adult war eating.disorder parental.fuckups england kissing.cousins printz against.all.odds) [...]
[...] how i live now, by Meg Rosoff (sassymonkey reads) (tags: meg.rosoff how.i.live.now young.adult war eating.disorder parental.fuckups england kissing.cousins printz against.all.odds) [...]
How I Live Now is one of my Top 5 reads so far this year. I became completely absorbed in Daisy’s world, and I agree, Piper was adorable, and I talk about her in my review, too. Like you, I understand how the incest bit might turn some readers off, but I found the story so engaging that the cousin-love didn’t bother me. I was more disturbed by the violence than by Daisy and Edmond’s relationship. Have you read anything else by Meg Rosoff?
“How I Live Now” was my first Meg Rosoff novel as well and I was bowled over by it. I also took it in via audiobook and thought that the reader did an excellent job of conveying Daisy’s voice. I suspect that the punctuation thing would have distracted me on the page but, like you, I had no idea until I read a few reviews afterwards. I’m very keen now to read more Rosoff.