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elo_wheeze's review
1.0
Just so crap. Very disappointing as the only other AM H book I've read was excellent.
sarah_mcmullan_nz's review
2.0
Slow to start, obvious plot, confused, rambling and a waste of my time. Really disappointing.
aleexbee's review against another edition
3.0
i really enjoyed homes' writing style, and was very engaged in the story throughout reading. that being said, i think that was partially due to the subject matter being SO wacky and unsettling. i appreciate the themes and discussions in the book and feel like the story had lots of potential, but it just never came full circle for me. the ending left me unsatisfied and wondering what the message was supposed to be. also, i was really unsettled by like the simultaneous maternal and sexual undertones (and, frankly, overtones)?? all in all, i had a hard time putting this book down, but when i finished it, i was relieved it was over.
mfunk1989's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- 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
3.0
sushai's review
3.0
I think I got the gist of the novel, but not enough happened. You do get the moment of, wait, who's the crazy one here--are we all crazy?! but not enough happens to keep the story going or to develop the arc of any character. Personally speaking, I would like to see it rewritten as a play.
maedo's review
2.0
My experience with A.M. Homes books is that they are a weird combination of 1.) scandalous, 2.) boring, and 3.) sometimes wonderful on a line by line basis, good for that one shot observation that you could have given the same words to if only you'd been smart enough to think of it first.
Exhibit for 1.) All of The End of Alice.
Exhibit for 2.) Also, somehow, all of The End of Alice, since the characters never seemed real at all to me and thus, the whole narrative was like "ennui eating scabs ennui leaking shit ennui pedophilia".
Exhibit for 3.) The part in In a Country of Mothers where twenty-four year old Jody, uninterested in having sex any longer with the man she is currently having sex with, turns her head around to tell him no and "no longer cares if this makes her look like she has two or three chins".
In fact, I was so delighted by #3 that I began to notice and to enjoy A.M. Homes' brand of feminism, which is far from preachy and rarely fulfilled or executed by her characters. Her tactic of mentioning repeatedly, but not commenting on, the fact that Claire has an unspoken expectation to provide her family of blissfully unhampered men and boys with food and schedules is great, because a woman's domestic responsibility often is assumed and yet not made mention of. I felt Claire's exhaustion without any commentary.
I know it sounds like I really enjoyed this one, especially compared to Homes' other work. And that's true, to an extent. I never thought I'd say this, given #1 above, but I reaaaally wanted this to be a little crazier than it was. If there's any author I'd rely on to make things a little crazy, it's A.M. Homes. This book let me down by having only a smattering of psychosis, even though the leg-in-heels on the front cover teased me with the possibility of a Sharon Stone/Glenn Close/SWF twist. Eh, it only cost $1. I don't regret spending that.
Exhibit for 1.) All of The End of Alice.
Exhibit for 2.) Also, somehow, all of The End of Alice, since the characters never seemed real at all to me and thus, the whole narrative was like "ennui eating scabs ennui leaking shit ennui pedophilia".
Exhibit for 3.) The part in In a Country of Mothers where twenty-four year old Jody, uninterested in having sex any longer with the man she is currently having sex with, turns her head around to tell him no and "no longer cares if this makes her look like she has two or three chins".
In fact, I was so delighted by #3 that I began to notice and to enjoy A.M. Homes' brand of feminism, which is far from preachy and rarely fulfilled or executed by her characters. Her tactic of mentioning repeatedly, but not commenting on, the fact that Claire has an unspoken expectation to provide her family of blissfully unhampered men and boys with food and schedules is great, because a woman's domestic responsibility often is assumed and yet not made mention of. I felt Claire's exhaustion without any commentary.
I know it sounds like I really enjoyed this one, especially compared to Homes' other work. And that's true, to an extent. I never thought I'd say this, given #1 above, but I reaaaally wanted this to be a little crazier than it was. If there's any author I'd rely on to make things a little crazy, it's A.M. Homes. This book let me down by having only a smattering of psychosis, even though the leg-in-heels on the front cover teased me with the possibility of a Sharon Stone/Glenn Close/SWF twist. Eh, it only cost $1. I don't regret spending that.
micaelabrody's review against another edition
3.0
Even from the beginning, reading this book before my therapy appointments was a little uncomfortable. So before I go any further I want to say that up front, since it speaks to a fundamental quality of the book. Past that there were some frustrations but that's, to me, the most important takeaway.
I remember the thing that most impressed me about May We Be Forgiven was the pacing of the book, which felt like a gripping thriller even though the events in the book weren't really gripping or thrilling (not that it was boring, just that it wasn't like car chases or intrigue, etc, just a dysfunctional family being exposed to the reader).
Much the same happens in this book. That said, and I don't remember the details of May We Be Forgiven too well, I do think you can tell that this is both a more personal story for Homes, that maybe she wasn't telling it with quite the distance she needed to telegraph fear, and a much earlier book. The prose is okay with moments of greatness, which is what I thought of MYBF as well. Here, though, since so much of the plot is purely psychological, the writing could have used a little beefing up to help show some plot rather than telling towards the beginning, to avoid having to say halfway through things like "Jody felt she needed Claire" (not a direct quote). (On the other hand, Claire's marriage and the underlying commentary on wife- and motherhood were well written without having to declare anything.)
You can see where the plot is going a mile off, which again I see as a mark of less experience more than a comment on quality. To be fair, you can kind of tell where it's heading from the blurb on the back, but I mean even the emotional beats are kind of waiting to happen, and not in the good way where it'd feel inevitable because of good groundwork. If Jody showed more resistance, if Claire had (frankly) been a better therapist all around, some of that tension and release would have felt a little more engaging.
It's too bad because it unfortunately kills the momentum of the first two parts. Once she gets into the good stuff (Jody returning from LA, Claire fully cracking into her fantasies, the animosity and anger) we see where I think Homes shines: making everyday life terrifying.
I should probably come back to this review in a day or two when I've mulled this one over a little. And, this is another one that took me ages through no fault of its own.
I remember the thing that most impressed me about May We Be Forgiven was the pacing of the book, which felt like a gripping thriller even though the events in the book weren't really gripping or thrilling (not that it was boring, just that it wasn't like car chases or intrigue, etc, just a dysfunctional family being exposed to the reader).
Much the same happens in this book. That said, and I don't remember the details of May We Be Forgiven too well, I do think you can tell that this is both a more personal story for Homes, that maybe she wasn't telling it with quite the distance she needed to telegraph fear, and a much earlier book. The prose is okay with moments of greatness, which is what I thought of MYBF as well. Here, though, since so much of the plot is purely psychological, the writing could have used a little beefing up to help show some plot rather than telling towards the beginning, to avoid having to say halfway through things like "Jody felt she needed Claire" (not a direct quote). (On the other hand, Claire's marriage and the underlying commentary on wife- and motherhood were well written without having to declare anything.)
You can see where the plot is going a mile off, which again I see as a mark of less experience more than a comment on quality. To be fair, you can kind of tell where it's heading from the blurb on the back, but I mean even the emotional beats are kind of waiting to happen, and not in the good way where it'd feel inevitable because of good groundwork. If Jody showed more resistance, if Claire had (frankly) been a better therapist all around, some of that tension and release would have felt a little more engaging.
It's too bad because it unfortunately kills the momentum of the first two parts. Once she gets into the good stuff (Jody returning from LA, Claire fully cracking into her fantasies, the animosity and anger) we see where I think Homes shines: making everyday life terrifying.
I should probably come back to this review in a day or two when I've mulled this one over a little. And, this is another one that took me ages through no fault of its own.
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