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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
"...he knew the ocean - both what it could give a swimmer who was paying attention and what it could take away."
This looks at loss and grief in a really interesting, unique way, and also explores 1930s life, customs, and expectations and has a lot to say about wealth and religion and family. It's very well-written and hugely evocative and immersive, painting a vivid picture of 1930s Atlantic City, and there are many truly beautiful and bittersweet moments.
However, I found that I didn't love the direction the story ended up going in, and the ending felt, to me, pretty rushed and unsatisfying. Additionally, the fact that we get the perspectives of so many different characters meant that some feel underdeveloped and that it did feel like a lot was missing both plot-wise and character-exploration-wise. I admire the author's ambition in structuring the story in this way, but it just ultimately didn't quite work for me. It also bothered me that I found Esther's and Joseph's characters read as much older than they actually are, and this meant I struggled to get into their heads and to connect with them.
To me, this was an unfortunate case of exciting and worthy idea, but slightly poor execution.
This looks at loss and grief in a really interesting, unique way, and also explores 1930s life, customs, and expectations and has a lot to say about wealth and religion and family. It's very well-written and hugely evocative and immersive, painting a vivid picture of 1930s Atlantic City, and there are many truly beautiful and bittersweet moments.
However, I found that I didn't love the direction the story ended up going in, and the ending felt, to me, pretty rushed and unsatisfying. Additionally, the fact that we get the perspectives of so many different characters meant that some feel underdeveloped and that it did feel like a lot was missing both plot-wise and character-exploration-wise. I admire the author's ambition in structuring the story in this way, but it just ultimately didn't quite work for me. It also bothered me that I found Esther's and Joseph's characters read as much older than they actually are, and this meant I struggled to get into their heads and to connect with them.
To me, this was an unfortunate case of exciting and worthy idea, but slightly poor execution.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Racism, Antisemitism
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
1934. The Nazi’s are cementing their power and Florence Adler is training to swim across the English Channel. Her sister Fannie is in the hospital on bed rest in an effort to make sure that this pregnancy is successful, unlike the last one. Her parents Joseph and Esther are watching Fannie’s 8 year old daughter Gussie and hosting Anna, Joseph’s childhood friend’s Inez’s daughter from Germany. When Florence drowns (chapter 1) the family decides to keep the truth from Fannie for the remaining two months of her pregnancy, fearing she won’t be able to handle the shock. That decision set’s up the characters (including Florence’s coach, and Fannie’s husband) for the rest of the novel.
Life in Atlantic City after the Depression is brought to life with the beach activities, the large hotels, (some restricted), Jewish life (both cloistered and public) and the Jewish community’s growing concern over what’s happening in Europe and the stance of the United States. The author is great at revealing life through the little moments like getting dressed, a visit to the hospital, or learning to swim. Everyone has dreams that go unrealized and the fortitude in spite of the anguish is well written. Parents and children are both revealed as fully realized characters as well as people in relationships with history that is both known and unknown.
This is a books that really lends itself to a book group discussion: What would you/your parents do to protect you? How independent can a child from a parent? What is unforgivable between parents and children? Are secrets ever the right thing to keep form a family member?
Life in Atlantic City after the Depression is brought to life with the beach activities, the large hotels, (some restricted), Jewish life (both cloistered and public) and the Jewish community’s growing concern over what’s happening in Europe and the stance of the United States. The author is great at revealing life through the little moments like getting dressed, a visit to the hospital, or learning to swim. Everyone has dreams that go unrealized and the fortitude in spite of the anguish is well written. Parents and children are both revealed as fully realized characters as well as people in relationships with history that is both known and unknown.
This is a books that really lends itself to a book group discussion: What would you/your parents do to protect you? How independent can a child from a parent? What is unforgivable between parents and children? Are secrets ever the right thing to keep form a family member?
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Child death
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
From the synopsis of the book, I thought there would be a lot more Florence and a lot more of her relationship with her family. That was very much not the case. Although her presence permeates the story , the story really isn't about her at all. So it was pretty different from what I expected. I enjoyed a lot of the book, but really couldn't connect with either Esther or Isaac's stories, unfortunately. I also didn't love the open ending of the book. It made sense for the story, but I wanted to see what happened to Fannie and if she did ultimately become independent and self-sufficient.
Spoiler
and her death in the first 15 pages is the big catalyst for many events in the book
Loved this book. Loved the writing. The characters. The plot. The dialogue. All of it. Even the time period. I was blown away at the end that this was based on a true story from the author’s family. I cried reading the author’s note, and I believe she did a good deal of justice with Florence’s story.
I really enjoyed this book. The characters and family relationships were engaging and I cared about what happened. I always appreciate when things resolve on a positive note at the end of the book.
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No