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ndbeyer's review against another edition
4.0
I see there were a lot of negative reviews about this book. I enjoyed reading about how the dream lives of the daughters were not what they thought they would be. I enjoyed the story and the premise that home is a safe place- a place to return to when life is not all you thought it would be- and a mother's love is forever.
tessisreading2's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
2.0
One of those weepy "women's fiction"/family sagas. It moves along at a good clip and is very readable, but it's hampered by, firstly, some truly astounding racism; one daughter, Julia, moves to Cameroon, where she wins the love of all the locals by being nice to them; her maid is so devoted that she sobs hysterically at the thought of leaving the family's employ and refuses any raises, while the other locals are so devoted that they attempt to kill Julia so that she will be "forced to stay," even if it's dead (I only wish I were joking - later Julia's husband is murdered by a poisoned arrow because the locals don't want him to take Julia away - I mean I can't even).
Secondly, the overall message of the book is an uneasy mix of "woman power!" and old-school misogyny. At one point, one of the daughters has cheated on her husband; he retaliates byattacking, beating, and raping her, but she feels guilty for having forced him to it - and the narrative supports that interpretation, it was all her fault for cheating in the first place . Another daughter has an affair with an emotionally unstable, controlling man, and when he proposes marriage dumps him; he commits suicide and that's all her fault, too, she's evil and unfeeling .
I can't really recommend this.
Secondly, the overall message of the book is an uneasy mix of "woman power!" and old-school misogyny. At one point, one of the daughters has cheated on her husband; he retaliates by
I can't really recommend this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Infertility, Sexual assault, Grief, Child death, Death, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
vene121's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVED this book. I was simply captivated by the lives of the five sisters. When I wasn't reading this book, I was longing to read this book.
book_worm_13's review against another edition
1.0
I truly wanted to like this book but for some reason I found it dull.
tobia's review against another edition
I stopped reading at 45%.
It’s just boring, redundant and predictable.
Nothing happens every life is the same in a different setting and I am pretty sure I know the ending: the all meet back at the house by the river. Yawn...
I couldn’t separate the girls names it just felt all so similar l. I didn’t buy into the role woman played of being so passive and depended on their husband but ok this might be the time and area. I was interested in learning more but there was just nothing new, no real conflict, no real feelings, it was just like a river flowing by - you can continue watching aka reading but most likely the scenery stays the same...
I guess some people like this kind of story. I am not one of them.
It’s just boring, redundant and predictable.
Nothing happens every life is the same in a different setting and I am pretty sure I know the ending: the all meet back at the house by the river. Yawn...
I couldn’t separate the girls names it just felt all so similar l. I didn’t buy into the role woman played of being so passive and depended on their husband but ok this might be the time and area. I was interested in learning more but there was just nothing new, no real conflict, no real feelings, it was just like a river flowing by - you can continue watching aka reading but most likely the scenery stays the same...
I guess some people like this kind of story. I am not one of them.
jenmeleon's review against another edition
4.0
This was a captivating story about a family of women who all took different paths that involved varying degrees of adventure, love and heartbreak. I liked how the author gave each daughter a unique story but common themes kept them connected. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect Greek cultural traditions and beliefs also played a part in the construction and overall themes of the book. There seemed to be a timelessness to the work. The writing was also beautiful, for the most part. (There was some dialogue that was trite and a few scenes didn’t ring authentic. That might be result of the translation though.) This book kept me interested and was a rare good find through Kindle First.