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hatrireads's review against another edition
4.0
My husband brought me this book back from Australia - a recommendation from my favorite bookseller in Sydney (Blues Point Books) - and it was a great choice. Hard to put down. I read it in two nights. Enthralling story of a young mother, yearning for her homeland, and her husband, who was not at home anywhere, both living in hot faraway Perth in the early 1960s. Read this if you can find it!
needilup's review against another edition
2.0
This has won a lot of awards but Charlotte annoyed me. Mental Health issues were up front. She had an understanding husband. But it still made me uneasy. I couldn't connect to her as a character.
annawalsh's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
marilynmalloy's review against another edition
3.0
I was sent this as part of the Simon & Schuster Canada review program - for a unbiased, true review.
I enjoyed the book - more then enough to finish it. But not enough to seek out more by this particular author.
I found it ran on, and on, and on a lot. I was reading an "Advance Uncorrected Proof", so I don't know if that was due to lack of formatting, or something else.
Chapters did seem to be separated, and within the chapters, sometimes different sections. But then other times you would be reading about the wife, and the next paragraph - with no indication, you are suddenly reading about the husband, in a different location altogether.
I also have a habit of reading the synopsis off the back of the book AFTER I have finished reading - to judge how much it lines up, but also to not ruin what's between the pages right before or during the enjoyment of the book itself.
If I had have read the synopsis before I'd of been sorely disappointed. In short, within the book the family moves from England to Australia - and it's about what happens mainly when in Australia. However, the focus the synopsis had on Henry being ostrasized at work, I found that yes he did - but it was a VERY minor part of the tale. The same as the infidelity that happens - though I felt it did play a bigger part than the work stuff for Henry.
I also found that a few times the author would set you up for something to happen, set the scene, and then nothing. The scene would change, or just plain end. I found it odd.
The main story line however, I did enjoy. I felt that it was a good story, and a decent tale, if a bit poorly executed. I enjoyed looking at a tale of a family emigrating from England to Australia - and what it may have been like to do so in the 1960's. I enjoyed the slight look at racial issues with Indian-Anglo relations, though I felt like it could have touched on it a bit more, and in a different way - not quite so dry, or bland.
Also, I realize that while I have an advance copy to it's Sept. 2016 publishing (which I didn't receive till after the date listed), it was published previously in June of 2015, so while to me it seems like a lot of the "issues" I could have with it are editing, the previous publishing makes me thing that that isn't really the case.
The ending I enjoyed. I know I don't usually enjoy that type of cliffhanger, but in this situation I found it very, very fitting and enjoyable. It was set up well, and wonderfully executed.
I enjoyed the book - more then enough to finish it. But not enough to seek out more by this particular author.
I found it ran on, and on, and on a lot. I was reading an "Advance Uncorrected Proof", so I don't know if that was due to lack of formatting, or something else.
Chapters did seem to be separated, and within the chapters, sometimes different sections. But then other times you would be reading about the wife, and the next paragraph - with no indication, you are suddenly reading about the husband, in a different location altogether.
I also have a habit of reading the synopsis off the back of the book AFTER I have finished reading - to judge how much it lines up, but also to not ruin what's between the pages right before or during the enjoyment of the book itself.
If I had have read the synopsis before I'd of been sorely disappointed. In short, within the book the family moves from England to Australia - and it's about what happens mainly when in Australia. However, the focus the synopsis had on Henry being ostrasized at work, I found that yes he did - but it was a VERY minor part of the tale. The same as the infidelity that happens - though I felt it did play a bigger part than the work stuff for Henry.
I also found that a few times the author would set you up for something to happen, set the scene, and then nothing. The scene would change, or just plain end. I found it odd.
The main story line however, I did enjoy. I felt that it was a good story, and a decent tale, if a bit poorly executed. I enjoyed looking at a tale of a family emigrating from England to Australia - and what it may have been like to do so in the 1960's. I enjoyed the slight look at racial issues with Indian-Anglo relations, though I felt like it could have touched on it a bit more, and in a different way - not quite so dry, or bland.
Also, I realize that while I have an advance copy to it's Sept. 2016 publishing (which I didn't receive till after the date listed), it was published previously in June of 2015, so while to me it seems like a lot of the "issues" I could have with it are editing, the previous publishing makes me thing that that isn't really the case.
The ending I enjoyed. I know I don't usually enjoy that type of cliffhanger, but in this situation I found it very, very fitting and enjoyable. It was set up well, and wonderfully executed.
plan2read's review
3.0
Something about this one felt a bit unhinged and traumatizing enough that it reads kind of like Gone Girl for motherhood, substituting slow building moods for fast-paced violence. "But home is never the same once you have left it for any length of time and come back. Home is a secret world that closes its doors in your absence and never lets you find it again."
lisadowdall's review against another edition
5.0
An absolutely stunning book that filled me with melancholy and still has me pondering place, home and identity.
ruthie_the_librarian's review against another edition
3.0
Although there were some parts of this book that were really well done, very poetic and beautiful and deftly captured moments, there were others where, honestly, I just wasn't really reading the story. I have been torn between whether to give this 1 or 2 stars, or 4...that's how widely my feelings seemed to swing. Part of the problem is one of the main characters, Charlotte. I do understand that she's suffering from depression for much of the novel but, honestly, I just didn't really like her very much, nor the man she chooses to have an affair with since he is one of the most insipid characters ever!
Charlotte's husband was more interesting, and I enjoyed his parts of the story.
It has its moments but, honestly, it could have been a lot better.
With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.
Charlotte's husband was more interesting, and I enjoyed his parts of the story.
It has its moments but, honestly, it could have been a lot better.
With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
‘One day I will wake up and I will be there, she says to herself, over and over.’
This novel, set in the 1960s, tells the story of Charlotte and Henry, a young English couple who emigrate to Australia. They have two young daughters, May and Lucie, and like so many other emigrants, they are searching for a better life. Henry, who was born in India, is sure that Australia will be a better place for his family. Charlotte, overwhelmed and exhausted by motherhood, has agreed to emigrate, but is reluctant.
But when Charlotte and Henry arrive in Perth, where Henry has an academic position, it becomes apparent to the reader that Henry is of mixed race. In England, the colour of Henry’s skin has been less of an issue. In Australia, where Henry had not anticipated a problem, it seems much worse. His work life suffers as a consequence. As an Australian, I cringe.
‘For the first time he understands that in her eyes he is, or could be, that thing: a person others would call coloured.’
Charlotte does not adjust well to life in Perth, and longs to return home. Henry returns to India to visit his mother on her deathbed, and realises how little he remembers of India. But it is clear to Henry that in trying to give his daughters a better life, he is doing just what his mother tried to do for him.
‘His family had always been English, even in India. Especially in India.’
In this novel, Ms Bishop raises many questions about belonging, choices, identity, love and relationships. Can Charlotte find happiness and her own space in the world without destroying her family? Can Henry find a place where he feels he belongs? And what about May and Lucie?
Ms Bishop raises a number of difficult issues in this novel, and the choices made by both Henry and Charlotte are often uncomfortable. I finished the novel wondering about what the future held for Henry and Charlotte, as well as for those many other emigrants disappointed in their search for a better life. Ms Bishop’s writing held my attention, and while I didn’t particularly care for either of the main characters, I felt great empathy for their situation. It is possible to leave home, but I don’t think it is possible, really, to ever return.
‘I thought I had come home, she writes in her diary. But home is never the same once you have left it for any length of time and come back.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
This novel, set in the 1960s, tells the story of Charlotte and Henry, a young English couple who emigrate to Australia. They have two young daughters, May and Lucie, and like so many other emigrants, they are searching for a better life. Henry, who was born in India, is sure that Australia will be a better place for his family. Charlotte, overwhelmed and exhausted by motherhood, has agreed to emigrate, but is reluctant.
But when Charlotte and Henry arrive in Perth, where Henry has an academic position, it becomes apparent to the reader that Henry is of mixed race. In England, the colour of Henry’s skin has been less of an issue. In Australia, where Henry had not anticipated a problem, it seems much worse. His work life suffers as a consequence. As an Australian, I cringe.
‘For the first time he understands that in her eyes he is, or could be, that thing: a person others would call coloured.’
Charlotte does not adjust well to life in Perth, and longs to return home. Henry returns to India to visit his mother on her deathbed, and realises how little he remembers of India. But it is clear to Henry that in trying to give his daughters a better life, he is doing just what his mother tried to do for him.
‘His family had always been English, even in India. Especially in India.’
In this novel, Ms Bishop raises many questions about belonging, choices, identity, love and relationships. Can Charlotte find happiness and her own space in the world without destroying her family? Can Henry find a place where he feels he belongs? And what about May and Lucie?
Ms Bishop raises a number of difficult issues in this novel, and the choices made by both Henry and Charlotte are often uncomfortable. I finished the novel wondering about what the future held for Henry and Charlotte, as well as for those many other emigrants disappointed in their search for a better life. Ms Bishop’s writing held my attention, and while I didn’t particularly care for either of the main characters, I felt great empathy for their situation. It is possible to leave home, but I don’t think it is possible, really, to ever return.
‘I thought I had come home, she writes in her diary. But home is never the same once you have left it for any length of time and come back.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith