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thecandiegirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Vomit, Medical content, Abortion, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
mariposa517's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Infidelity, Medical content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Toxic friendship, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Cancer, Death, Drug use, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and War
deltadam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
slefebvre95's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Death, Suicide, and Abortion
annaka's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Overall an enjoyable book club read.
Graphic: Death and Vomit
Moderate: Mental illness
cassiealexandra's review against another edition
4.25
The story framing was very interesting to me. I liked that it took a look at Lara’s coming-of-age through the lens of her telling her grown daughters about it. I appreciated the look at nostalgia, suffering (worldwide), legacy, contentment, and the sweet and deep love between husband and wife and family. I was also surprised by the moments of humor in a somewhat serious read.
There were a couple of plot points that seemed to come out of nowhere for me; they seemed nearly unnecessary. The pacing also seemed to slow down at a couple points and I would have preferred it staying steady. I also got confused at a couple of points because of the way the story was framed and reading by audio. I think some of these confusing moments could have been cleared up had I read it in print. And speaking of the audio, I hate to say it, but I had a difficult time with Meryl Streep. I couldn’t keep myself from picturing her instead of picturing our character, Lara, and that was a slight distraction throughout.
Overall, I did enjoy this book and appreciated the writing style and themes, but I think I may have liked the experience more in print.
— NOTES —
Genres: literary fiction
POV: first-person, singular
Content: pandemic, infidelity, death of loved ones (a couple other things that are spoilers)
Romance: mostly vague implied intimacy and a couple minor sexual situations
— MY RATING CONSIDERATIONS —
(all out of 5)
Pace: 4
Enjoyment: 4
Craft: 5
My Gut Feeling: 4
Total Stars: 4.25
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, and Grief
Minor: Suicide and Abortion
thalia16's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
savvyrosereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Sheltering in place during the pandemic, Lara recounts for her daughters the story of her summer spent acting at Tom Lake.
Meryl Streep is one of the very best actors of our lifetimes (or ever) and she performs this audiobook with every ounce of that talent. I could truly listen to her monologue for hours on end, and so the narration made this audiobook an entertaining experience. If you’re a fan of Meryl, I can’t recommend it enough, and if you’re not, I have serious questions about your taste.
That said, this is also a book, and I…didn’t really enjoy the book. I found the plot pretty boring and never really “got” the point the novel was trying to make—it felt like nothing happened, I didn’t particularly like any of the characters, and I wasn’t remotely surprised by anything that happened in either timeline. Honestly, I cannot imagine reading this one in physical form, because the narration was the best part for me by far. In short, 3 stars for the book (being generous), an entire additional star for Meryl.
CW: Infidelity; injury; mentions of death; pandemic
Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
crystalleighwrites's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Alcoholism and Alcohol
Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Medical content
alyssapusateri's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Infidelity, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail