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booksforbrooks's review against another edition
2.0
I just didn't feel like there was much of a story here. While I don't mind a story about memories of a life, this was just boring. Also I'm normally quite good about scenes switching between timelines but I felt it was overdone here for cleverness rather than the effect it had on the reader. Not hideous, just not very exciting.
orygunn's review against another edition
4.0
This was an interesting and unexpected story of people and their relationships in rural Canada. I wasn't a huge fan of the ending but can appreciate the sentiment.
kittykornerlibrarian's review against another edition
2.0
I'm sorry, hasn't this been done before? Isn't there another recent novel (The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry) about an elderly person suddenly taking off for a really long walk across the country? In any case, I couldn't like this book. I don't like books that take themselves too seriously, and this is one of them. I could not get inside of any of the characters, and the plot was not engaging enough to make up for it. I finished it because it got good reviews and some of my library patrons have asked me about it. And that's the most positive thing I can say, is that I did finish it, reluctantly.
hazelrah's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
rakg7's review against another edition
4.0
I haven't seen Amelie in a while but this book reminds me of it - it's quirky and unique. It's a bit unclear where one character stops and another one begins at times which I simultaneously liked and found confusing from time to time. I think this was better than a 4 but not quite sure if it's a 5 level.
rainyamy's review against another edition
5.0
This was a very, very good book, an excellent book. This is a book written in the rhythmic and natural style I would love to be able to write in someday. The seemingly effortless way the words communicate thoughts and deep feelings, so smoothly and beautifully, is perfect. I loved the way the story wove through time and perspectives elegantly and seamlessly, even though I expected to dislike this format going in. The details and the cleverly complete descriptions made this book exactly right. I saw every inch of this story, and I was grateful for it. It was a love story, an adventure story, a war story, a wilderness survival story, a story of bravery, a story of patient perseverance, a story about finding yourself and loving others. It was whatever kind of story Forrest Gump was, but totally different at the same time. I didn’t like all the wilderness survival bits—eating animals in the woods isn’t something I enjoy reading about—but I loved this book. I knew, very early in, that this would make me cry, even though I couldn’t tell yet if this book would have a happy ending, a sad ending, or something bittersweet. I won’t tell you about the ending, but I will admit: I cried.
hannahmh13's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
edottiffany's review against another edition
2.0
So, I greatly disliked this book. And, I'm really disappointed because I had really wanted to read it and the cover is seriously so beautiful.
I was disappointed fairly early on because the story progressed very slowly. Painfully slow. There was actually a moment where I thought that the book would get better because the story finally picked up, but it was short-lived, and I was left entirely underwhelmed by Hooper's first novel.
There are really three things that contributed to my low rating:
1. The lack of quotation marks for dialogue. Oh my goodness. I think this was the worst literary decision the author made. There was A LOT of dialogue in this book, and I found it completely inappropriate to not assist the reader by including quotation marks. I found myself needing to reread conversations because I didn't realize someone was speaking at first. It was a big reason why I struggled to get through this one.
2. The magical realism was really disappointing. I actually love magical realism, but this was not integrated into the story properly in my opinion. I found it jarring and questioned the author's intentions for including it.
3. What was the point? Hooper drug out a fairly benign and uninteresting love triangle by narrating in roundabout ways and to what end? I don't know. I couldn't figure out the objective when I started the book, and when I got to the end, I still didn't know WHY this story needed to be on paper?
Apologies for the quickly whipped up review. Hopefully someone still finds it useful!
I was disappointed fairly early on because the story progressed very slowly. Painfully slow. There was actually a moment where I thought that the book would get better because the story finally picked up, but it was short-lived, and I was left entirely underwhelmed by Hooper's first novel.
There are really three things that contributed to my low rating:
1. The lack of quotation marks for dialogue. Oh my goodness. I think this was the worst literary decision the author made. There was A LOT of dialogue in this book, and I found it completely inappropriate to not assist the reader by including quotation marks. I found myself needing to reread conversations because I didn't realize someone was speaking at first. It was a big reason why I struggled to get through this one.
2. The magical realism was really disappointing. I actually love magical realism, but this was not integrated into the story properly in my opinion. I found it jarring and questioned the author's intentions for including it.
3. What was the point? Hooper drug out a fairly benign and uninteresting love triangle by narrating in roundabout ways and to what end? I don't know. I couldn't figure out the objective when I started the book, and when I got to the end, I still didn't know WHY this story needed to be on paper?
Apologies for the quickly whipped up review. Hopefully someone still finds it useful!