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2.98 AVERAGE
2.98 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A set designer with a master’s degree, but an unsteady income, Cate, at forty-two, gets by—barely—only because her ex-husband bought her a condo and her parents still give her money. Still, she is working on Plan C which involves a new relationship with Maureen and the possibility of working with a renowned playwright and director Off-Broadway even as her old relationships simmer on the surface. Her ex-husband, Graham, separated from his third wife, has taken residence in her guest room and spends his days online discussing conspiracy theories, while she can’t shed feelings for Dana who is firmly committed to her girlfriend despite their passionate affair.
Cate’s singular constant is Neale, her best friend since childhood. When Cate arrives at Neale’s house to pick her up for a yoga class and sees her being brutally attacked, Cate responds with equal savagery. That moment of violence ripples through all Cate’s relationships, challenging her very assumptions about herself and her closest confidants.
Right after the Weather is highly character driven and low on plot, but the writing is spectacular, and the themes are thought-provoking. Set in the fall of 2016 and spring of 2017, the characters grapple with Trump’s victory and the associated issues it raised.
That Cate is in theater as a set designer shows an interesting profession but more than that, the act of designing a set can be seen to parallel that of presenting a particularly curated face, one that Cate has to defend when her story becomes public. Faced with such a clear delineation between before and after, Cate, Neale, and the other characters in their orbit must renegotiate not only what they mean to each other, but their very identities.
For fans of Ottessa Moshfegh, Binnie Kirshenbaum, and Jen Beagin.
Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.
Not really my cup of tea. I don't care for books that ramble on as if there's no point. I get what happened to Cate and Neale and how it changed them as people, but the rest of their lives seemed so boring I didn't really care to invest any feelings in them. 2 stars from me
When I was on vacation abroad, I finished reading this very interesting, contemporary, women’s fiction novel, set in my home town of Chicago. This book was offered to me by the author’s publicist, and if you want to know what I thought of it, I hope you'll read my #bookreview on my blog now. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2019/10/18/games-sets-and-mismatched/
This book sounded so good in the description. I was really excited about it. But it was so slow. It took me ages to get through it. And by the end, I didn't really see the point. I did not enjoy this book. I'm sure there is someone out there who will like it... but totally not for me.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Carol Anshaw really has her way with words. The novel is fantastically written and the style is beautiful and eloquent. Unfortunately, I can’t say I enjoyed the novel.
The main issue I have with this book is that not much happens in it. The plot is practically non-existent and the characters don’t develop much either. The assault mentioned in the blurb happens only after 150 pages, which is the very middle of the book. Everything before that seems like a never-ending back-story. In addition, even after the assault, things stay pretty much the same.
Moreover, I don’t like that there are several subplots in the beginning (mostly related to Maureen and her sister, as well as Cate’s ex-husband) that are never resolved. These characters almost disappear at some point.
Also, neither the characters nor the story itself managed to draw me in. If this wasn’t an ARC, I would have DNF-ed it a while ago.
Not all is bad, though. As I’ve said, Carol Anshaw really knows how to write. The style is probably what kept me going. Also, there are a couple of interesting characters. Cate, for example, is an extremely unlikeable protagonist. Still, she’s very realistic and written with a lot of depth. My favourites were Neale and her son Joe — I loved reading about them.
However, the most interesting part of the novel is related to the theatre. Cate is a set designer, and we get to see the whole process of setting up a play. Moreover, there are plenty of interesting characters that show up in these scenes, such as actors, directors, and playwrights.
Also, I loved the short, but intense, moments with Nathan and Irene. It’s a shame we don’t get to know them better.
All in all, I think Carol Anshaw is a good writer. However, I think Right After the Weather is not a book for everyone and I’m probably not the target audience. Still, I’ll give some of her other books a try.
See the original review here: https://stacked-reviews.com/right-after-the-weather-review/
The main issue I have with this book is that not much happens in it. The plot is practically non-existent and the characters don’t develop much either. The assault mentioned in the blurb happens only after 150 pages, which is the very middle of the book. Everything before that seems like a never-ending back-story. In addition, even after the assault, things stay pretty much the same.
Moreover, I don’t like that there are several subplots in the beginning (mostly related to Maureen and her sister, as well as Cate’s ex-husband) that are never resolved. These characters almost disappear at some point.
Also, neither the characters nor the story itself managed to draw me in. If this wasn’t an ARC, I would have DNF-ed it a while ago.
Not all is bad, though. As I’ve said, Carol Anshaw really knows how to write. The style is probably what kept me going. Also, there are a couple of interesting characters. Cate, for example, is an extremely unlikeable protagonist. Still, she’s very realistic and written with a lot of depth. My favourites were Neale and her son Joe — I loved reading about them.
However, the most interesting part of the novel is related to the theatre. Cate is a set designer, and we get to see the whole process of setting up a play. Moreover, there are plenty of interesting characters that show up in these scenes, such as actors, directors, and playwrights.
Also, I loved the short, but intense, moments with Nathan and Irene. It’s a shame we don’t get to know them better.
All in all, I think Carol Anshaw is a good writer. However, I think Right After the Weather is not a book for everyone and I’m probably not the target audience. Still, I’ll give some of her other books a try.
See the original review here: https://stacked-reviews.com/right-after-the-weather-review/
Thanks to Atria and Netgalley for the ARC of this upcoming novel. I have to say though that it did nothing for me. I found it mildly interesting, well-written enough, but neither the characters or the storyline made me want to keep reading. I’m sure it has its audience, but not me.