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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
Meh. Usually I love everything Ann Patchett writes but this one just didn't do it for me. Taft is not a bad book by any means, but it wasn't my favorite. I really didn't care about Carl and Fay and I couldn't get into the imaginary memories of Taft and his family. I liked what I considered the main story line about John Nickel and would have liked more about him.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really wanted to like this because Commonwealth and Bel Canto are so so good, but this book didn't have the same lush prose and depth of characterization as those books.
So as I was reading this I kept thinking 'I like this but I'm not sure why'. By the end I had figured it out. It was the characters. I liked all of them. Even the flawed ones. I am desperate for this to be made into a movie, as I want to see the characters brought to life. The only reason I didn't give it a 5 is that 5s are reserved for books that have a major impact on me. This did not, but it was a great read and I would recommend
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent
Very slow moving, I actually almost put it down and walked away but being stuck on a plane will make you do anything to avoid boredom. The last 2-3 chapters were the best part of the book and picked up quickly and wrapped the 2 stories together nicely. I really enjoyed the intense love and emotions Nickels had for his son, I think that was the best part of the book.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Her other books are much better, but I still enjoyed the wilting.
So as I was reading this I kept thinking 'I like this but I'm not sure why'. By the end I had figured it out. It was the characters. I liked all of them. Even the flawed ones. I am desperate for this to be made into a movie, as I want to see the characters brought to life. The only reason I didn't give it a 5 is that 5s are reserved for books that have a major impact on me. This did not, but it was a great read and I would recommend
definitely not my favorite of hers but it was the last patchett book i hadn’t read yet so that’s something.