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3.12 AVERAGE
3.12 AVERAGE
Alternating voices between two adult sisters tell this story. There is an underlying theme, but you won't discover it until the end. This is a slower-paced novel moving over 25 years. Well written and moving. A good read-alike would be "Sing Them Home" by Kallos.
The general plot of this book revolves around the relationship of two stereotypical sisters--the older sister is the "good" one (doesn't take risks, tries to settle down, went to Harvard) the younger sister is the "Rogue" sister--the smart slut, the daredevil, the one that never settles down, nor never owns anything.
This book was so stereotypical, I kept rolling my eyes as I read each chapter. And what really bothered me was that began with the "Rogue" sister living with an elderly Aunt who held a big family secret that directly affected the family tree (I'm sure you can guess what that is...). However, instead of weaving and building upon that storyline throughout the plot , Glass drops it and then focuses on the mother and a completely different storyline (again, which could have been really interesting if she had developed it further...but no, she drops and moved in to yet another storyline). Each chapter of this book read like it's own short story that was never fully written.
Maybe it's her writing and maybe I'm just not a big fan of it.
This book was so stereotypical, I kept rolling my eyes as I read each chapter. And what really bothered me was that began with the "Rogue" sister living with an elderly Aunt who held a big family secret that directly affected the family tree (I'm sure you can guess what that is...). However, instead of weaving and building upon that storyline throughout the plot , Glass drops it and then focuses on the mother and a completely different storyline (again, which could have been really interesting if she had developed it further...but no, she drops and moved in to yet another storyline). Each chapter of this book read like it's own short story that was never fully written.
Maybe it's her writing and maybe I'm just not a big fan of it.
I almost stopped reading it a couple of times but the last chapter redeemed it.
I seem to remember feeling this way about Three Junes as well. Maybe she just isn't the author for me
I seem to remember feeling this way about Three Junes as well. Maybe she just isn't the author for me
Disappointing novel focused on two sisters who have different outlooks on life. Clem is the rebel and Louisa is the practical one yet each impacts the other as siblings do. Moved slowly and not very surprising.
Starts out intriguing, has a bit of a lull in the middle, but ends on a high note. I really enjoyed his book. A nice window into a complex relationship between two sisters as well as how they feel about themselves. I liked how the book was almost snapshots, each one dipping into the past a bit, but mostly telling of the sister's current state of mind and relationships. I wasn't bothered by the switching point of view, but didn't miss it at the end of the book. I particularly liked the last few chapters, and though I was sad about the end of Clem's story, Louisa's resolution was satisfying.
This book was boring. Maybe it's because I never had a sister relationship. I am not sure why it made the MPR list for 2008.
Took me a while to get into this book, but the relationship between the two sisters was true to life. Despite their huge differences they both wanted to be a priority in each other's lives.
I found the back and forth between the sisters point of view a little complicated to follow, perhaps that was the idea, how far into the chapter do you have to read to figure out which sister the chapter is focused on. I also had to keep going back to determine what they year was at the beginning of the chapter to figure out how much time had passed.
I did enjoy the storyline itself, how a relationship changes as siblings get older but still hold many of their childhood issues against one another.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, I just thought it could have been executed better.
I did enjoy the storyline itself, how a relationship changes as siblings get older but still hold many of their childhood issues against one another.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, I just thought it could have been executed better.
I wish GoodReads had half-star ratings, as I think this deserves 2 1/2 stars. Julia Glass hit a home run with "Three Junes," her debut novel, but with "I See You Everywhere," her third, we get something more of a grounder. I appreciated the form of this novel more than the content, as Glass succeeds with two alternating first-person accounts, jumping through time, place, and extenuating circumstances with relative ease. Yet I think the ultimate enjoyment of the book depends on whether you can appreciate and/or relate to the struggles of Louisa and Clem, the two protagonists. Some of their issues I found very gripping, and some just left me scratching my head. Glass also takes a dark turn in the final act, which I didn't find 100% plausible, given the nature of what we've learned about these characters thus far. Yet -- when Glass gets things right, particularly when she chronicles the tough push-pull relationships within families, she's peerless.
I just generally found this book disappointing. At first I liked the idea of the contrasting stories from two sisters, seeing "behind the scenes" of their relationship. Before long I realized I didn't really connect with either and their voices began to merge - I couldn't always tell who was who. They were differentiated by their job or who they were with, but they otherwise felt like the same person to me. The emotional depth just wasn't there for me. The there was a very large event at the end that seemed totally out of nowhere. The chapters that followed seemed focused on trying to make sense if it, but I just never bought it.