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2.98 AVERAGE
2.98 AVERAGE
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was so boring. Half of the story lines didn’t even make sense which made it extremely difficult to follow along. Politics are mentioned but nothing in the plot needs it, an attempted sexual assault but his “area” was too big. It’s as if someone was sleep talking and those words were put on paper.
The blurb about the book makes it seem like a really good read, but it’s very far from even a decent read. Not a single story line was wrapped up. Cate is such a dreary character that can’t let go of the past and believes everyone is better than her - mostly because they are.
The blurb about the book makes it seem like a really good read, but it’s very far from even a decent read. Not a single story line was wrapped up. Cate is such a dreary character that can’t let go of the past and believes everyone is better than her - mostly because they are.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Rape
Gun violence is never okay.
It’s a modern book that read as an incredibly outdated one. 🖤
It’s a modern book that read as an incredibly outdated one. 🖤
The story of Cate, a theater set designer in Chicago, exposes all of the messiness of life in a way that keeps you reading but always wondering "where's the crisis". And, even when the crisis arises it seems muted, somewhat dull, and soon you're wondering "where's the crisis?"
I like that Anshaw presents Cate as a more real, relatable, person than many protagonists. She has a strained relationship with her mom, one really good friend, a bizarre relationship with her ex-husband, and isn't totally true to her current lover. There's a lot that makes her feel real. It seems that the only truly good thing in her life is her ex-husband's dog. But in that presentation, Cate becomes disjointed and disengaged. I never connected to a single storyline and when the end came I felt that several of the plots were shutdown instead of wrapped up.
I guess I really wanted more depth in the main characters. I wanted to hate the bad guys more, I wanted to be able to root for Cate see her really triumph. But that didn't happen.
I like that Anshaw presents Cate as a more real, relatable, person than many protagonists. She has a strained relationship with her mom, one really good friend, a bizarre relationship with her ex-husband, and isn't totally true to her current lover. There's a lot that makes her feel real. It seems that the only truly good thing in her life is her ex-husband's dog. But in that presentation, Cate becomes disjointed and disengaged. I never connected to a single storyline and when the end came I felt that several of the plots were shutdown instead of wrapped up.
I guess I really wanted more depth in the main characters. I wanted to hate the bad guys more, I wanted to be able to root for Cate see her really triumph. But that didn't happen.
For me this is more like a 2.5 star rating. I'm rounding up because there were small aspects of the story I thought were decent and I just can't give my first book of 2020 a low rating.
I guess I don't really understand the title of the book. As a reader that drives me up the wall. I kept waiting and waiting for that moment in reading where everything clicks and makes sense. That moment never happened for me. When the publisher sent me a copy to read I was excited after reading the blurb about the book. For the first 45% of the book I kept wondering when any of the blurb was going to play out in this book. That was frustrating as well. So many times I almost put this down as a DNF, but then a small moment would happen that I thought maybe this will turn around. The book never turned around for me. I felt there were three or four different storylines going on and I know the purpose was for all of them to converge and overlay in some fashion for the book to make sense as a whole. I just didn't feel they really did. One or two moments did, but not enough to string each storyline together to make a cohesive unit.
I realize the book description says it's set "against the backdrop of the new Trump presidency ". What I didn't think, nor cared for, is how much of a political agenda would be shoved down your throat while reading. (I'm coming from a stance of not being for or against Trump in saying that. I would feel the same way if the person was a Democrat). I don't feel what the author was conveying had much to do with the storyline.
Lastly the book read way too slow for me. Nothing grabs you in and takes ahold of you. There isn't a moment where I felt "I just can't put this book down" or "I have to know what happens next". Moreso I said when will this end? It fell flat to me.
I don't want my entire review to be negative. There are some good aspects of the storyline. Cate is an interesting character and I do believe the author did a fantastic job with her character development. There is an audience for this book, one that will love it. I'm not that audience. Having said that, the author showed me enough good qualities that I would consider another book or hers. (All of these positives added to me rounding up versus down).
My thanks to the Carol Anshaw, Atria Books and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I guess I don't really understand the title of the book. As a reader that drives me up the wall. I kept waiting and waiting for that moment in reading where everything clicks and makes sense. That moment never happened for me. When the publisher sent me a copy to read I was excited after reading the blurb about the book. For the first 45% of the book I kept wondering when any of the blurb was going to play out in this book. That was frustrating as well. So many times I almost put this down as a DNF, but then a small moment would happen that I thought maybe this will turn around. The book never turned around for me. I felt there were three or four different storylines going on and I know the purpose was for all of them to converge and overlay in some fashion for the book to make sense as a whole. I just didn't feel they really did. One or two moments did, but not enough to string each storyline together to make a cohesive unit.
I realize the book description says it's set "against the backdrop of the new Trump presidency ". What I didn't think, nor cared for, is how much of a political agenda would be shoved down your throat while reading. (I'm coming from a stance of not being for or against Trump in saying that. I would feel the same way if the person was a Democrat). I don't feel what the author was conveying had much to do with the storyline.
Lastly the book read way too slow for me. Nothing grabs you in and takes ahold of you. There isn't a moment where I felt "I just can't put this book down" or "I have to know what happens next". Moreso I said when will this end? It fell flat to me.
I don't want my entire review to be negative. There are some good aspects of the storyline. Cate is an interesting character and I do believe the author did a fantastic job with her character development. There is an audience for this book, one that will love it. I'm not that audience. Having said that, the author showed me enough good qualities that I would consider another book or hers. (All of these positives added to me rounding up versus down).
My thanks to the Carol Anshaw, Atria Books and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Frequently of late --- rather more frequently than is comfortable, in fact --- the topic of whether or not I (or friends) would use a gun/kill in defense of ourselves or our loved ones. Thus is America since the November 2016.
In this, Carol Anshaw's "Right After the Weather", the main character, Chicago theatre set designer, Cate, happens upon her dearest friend, Neale, being assaulted, and Cate, without conscious thought, takes action.
Living with the outcome of those actions, and the assault itself, upend in different ways the lives of Cate and Neale and everyone with whom they interact.
The premise is frighteningly relevant in these times when leaders intimate their cultists would rise in revolution should they be de-throned, though, of course, they've never actually earned the king-ship they think they're entitled to. So, what if someone was attacking someone we loved?
It is a question, a premise, worthy of much and many explorations. I found "Right After the Weather" to be quite good in the build-up to the attack --- which doesn't happen until more than halfway through the book --- and the character building skilled, precise, clear , and given to easy visualization of these people; but after the attack, things felt less alive, less real, less legitimate. I had trouble believing some of the actions taken, some of the words said, and by the ending I felt, "Well, this is unfinished."
Which, on the one hand --- okay. There is no end to recovery from post traumatic stress situations. On the other hand, where it ended didn't feel like the right place to stop. When characters have been so richly invented, I want their final scenes to be equal to the heft of the creations they are. In this, I felt that was not the case.
In this, Carol Anshaw's "Right After the Weather", the main character, Chicago theatre set designer, Cate, happens upon her dearest friend, Neale, being assaulted, and Cate, without conscious thought, takes action.
Living with the outcome of those actions, and the assault itself, upend in different ways the lives of Cate and Neale and everyone with whom they interact.
The premise is frighteningly relevant in these times when leaders intimate their cultists would rise in revolution should they be de-throned, though, of course, they've never actually earned the king-ship they think they're entitled to. So, what if someone was attacking someone we loved?
It is a question, a premise, worthy of much and many explorations. I found "Right After the Weather" to be quite good in the build-up to the attack --- which doesn't happen until more than halfway through the book --- and the character building skilled, precise, clear , and given to easy visualization of these people; but after the attack, things felt less alive, less real, less legitimate. I had trouble believing some of the actions taken, some of the words said, and by the ending I felt, "Well, this is unfinished."
Which, on the one hand --- okay. There is no end to recovery from post traumatic stress situations. On the other hand, where it ended didn't feel like the right place to stop. When characters have been so richly invented, I want their final scenes to be equal to the heft of the creations they are. In this, I felt that was not the case.
Carol Anshaw has written a wonderful character in Cate, who is juggling a series of events and relationships, none of which quite connect or overlap with each other. The writing is smart and often funny, and the detail, perceptive and brilliantly observed. I loved being submerged in Cate's chaotic life, and even as I closed the last page, I was completely sure that she and all the other characters were alive and well, and continuing to muddle through, somewhere in Chicago.
(This was a proof sent to me by my publisher, but it hasn't influenced my review.)
(This was a proof sent to me by my publisher, but it hasn't influenced my review.)
I bought this as a blind-date book. I have to start by saying this book was nothing like the description written on the paper cover. It is a snapshot of a woman’s life written in a way that you only slightly know how she got here and interspersed with weird writings of psychopaths. Truly the only reason I finished the book was because I wanted it to make sense, but it didn’t. I am left confused and a little scared of people. I’m not sure if that was the point or not. I wouldn’t recommend and I wish it came with a few trigger warnings.
A compelling, layered story of friendship, relationships and fear. Such deft and intelligent writing.