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elliewhitereads's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sara_mackey's review against another edition
5.0
I read the book very slowly because I knew at the end I wouldn't want to let the characters go. It is fantastic - loved it.
jniemeier's review against another edition
3.0
At first i was thrown by all the time leaps but then I got used to it. In general, I liked this book...which surprised me a bit because it got all sorts of good literary press which usually means it is all "literary" and not a pleasant read for the average gal. I will confess I spent a lot of the book expecting characters to die.....and was wrong!
bandgeek3997's review against another edition
4.0
I picked up this book from the public library on a whim. I'll admit, the bright book cover is what drew me to the book, and then once I read the description on the book jacket, I knew that it'd be a great book, and in many ways it did not disappoint.
The basics go like this: six friends meet at a summer camp and over the course of a lifetime, their friendships blossom. Some remain stronger than ever, and others shrink away. Two of these friends experience a rise to fame, and the story emphasizes what effect it has on the other friends.
I have always loved stories that focus on a tight-knit group of friends. This book goes a step deeper because we stay with these friends over a course of a lifetime. By the time you end the book, you felt like you completely knew every character. Of course, these books often contain more than one tragedies and it hits hard every time it happens. Unlike a book with a singular storyline, having one with such a wide span makes room for lots of things to happen.
...but that's also a downside. I spent most of the book just waiting for it to end, but being completely clueless as to where their lives would be by the time it was finished. Would they be in their 40s? 50s? 80s? It almost seemed as if there was no point of direction to it.
As for the author's writing style, she constructed good sentences with a captivating narrating voice. I feel the problem lies with her characters, though. Many times we hear that Jules, the main character, is funny and witty, but not once do we see a bit of dialogue that proves this. The same with Jonah. And Ash. And Ethan. And his Figland show. You had to take the author's word for everything about the characters because there was nothing in the story to back them up.
Lastly, I had a big gripe with the main character, Jules. I had the hardest time enjoying her personality. She had great friends, loved by many clients, had a star husband (who happened to be my favorite character by far), but still all she could do was whine it seemed. Rarely ever was there gratitude for her life that she was living. I don't think that was the author's intent, so she really could've done some work in perfecting the main character.
Still, I have to give this book four stars. I became friends with these characters and invested in all their lives over so many decades. Flaws in characters: yes. Poor writing at times: yes. But anything less than four stars is treason to the relationship I found to this book.
The basics go like this: six friends meet at a summer camp and over the course of a lifetime, their friendships blossom. Some remain stronger than ever, and others shrink away. Two of these friends experience a rise to fame, and the story emphasizes what effect it has on the other friends.
I have always loved stories that focus on a tight-knit group of friends. This book goes a step deeper because we stay with these friends over a course of a lifetime. By the time you end the book, you felt like you completely knew every character. Of course, these books often contain more than one tragedies and it hits hard every time it happens. Unlike a book with a singular storyline, having one with such a wide span makes room for lots of things to happen.
...but that's also a downside. I spent most of the book just waiting for it to end, but being completely clueless as to where their lives would be by the time it was finished. Would they be in their 40s? 50s? 80s? It almost seemed as if there was no point of direction to it.
As for the author's writing style, she constructed good sentences with a captivating narrating voice. I feel the problem lies with her characters, though. Many times we hear that Jules, the main character, is funny and witty, but not once do we see a bit of dialogue that proves this. The same with Jonah. And Ash. And Ethan. And his Figland show. You had to take the author's word for everything about the characters because there was nothing in the story to back them up.
Lastly, I had a big gripe with the main character, Jules. I had the hardest time enjoying her personality. She had great friends, loved by many clients, had a star husband (who happened to be my favorite character by far), but still all she could do was whine it seemed. Rarely ever was there gratitude for her life that she was living. I don't think that was the author's intent, so she really could've done some work in perfecting the main character.
Still, I have to give this book four stars. I became friends with these characters and invested in all their lives over so many decades. Flaws in characters: yes. Poor writing at times: yes. But anything less than four stars is treason to the relationship I found to this book.
drbrizzlybear's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
critcritter2015's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.0
lexlibris's review against another edition
4.0
read this knowing it’s being adapted for a musical and I am INTERESTED to see how they make this very serious and intense novel a choreographed, singing stage production
sarah_in_scotland's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
4.0
estellecool's review against another edition
5.0
man I don’t even know what to say, as a somewhat ambitious person I had so many ‘I can see myself and I don’t like it moments’. every character was just so full of life but also impossible to feel like you actually understood their multitudes. every relationship was complicated but not contrived. jesus I will be thinking about this novel for days.