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slichto3's review against another edition
5.0
This is an absolutely lovely book that I very much enjoyed. Every character was just so easy to relate to, despite being terribly flawed. It was so easy to be emotionally engaged and affected by this. The usual description of the book is a bit of a mislead, however. It claims that the story is about the famous author Harriet Wolf and the search for her seventh book. In the world of this book, Harriet Wolf wrote a series of books that were enormously popular. What's cool about these book is that the style changes with each one. The first book is meant for children, the second book teens, then things take a darker, more realistic turn. It's almost as if the books were meant to be read as you grow up. But when the book starts, Harriet Wolf is dead. Six books were released, but there are rumors of the seventh. Will it be found?
While this is certainly a plot line that exists in the book, it's not nearly as important as the family dynamics of the Wolf family. If you're expecting an adventure story and mystery, you'll probably be disappointed. Rather, the book describes Harriet's painful yet love-filled life leading up to her writing her books. Then it talks about the life of Harriet's daughter, Eleanor, an overprotective mother and shut-in. It also talks about her daughters, Ruth and Tilton, and the struggles that they have/had: Ruth as a teenage runaway and Tilton as a latchkey child. These relationships are where the loveliness of Harriet Wolf's Seventh Book of Wonders shines. These people are far from perfect. If you met them in real life, you'd probably be freaked out. But they're so human. and they're so easy to care about. The book shows why the Wolfs are the way they are, and it just feels so tragic. Absolutely touching.
Meanwhile, the writing is terrific. The author does a great job of creating a different feeling and style for each of the characters. This is the sort of book that I wish I could write (this review should prove that that will never happen...). The descriptions are terrific without being obviously so. The writing doesn't seem like it's trying to impress you, it's just naturally beautiful.
Anyway, I loved this book. I'm so glad I read it. After I got over a brief disappointment that the plot isn't how I expected it to be, I was able to enjoy it for what it really is. I'm excited to read more from Julianna Baggott!
While this is certainly a plot line that exists in the book, it's not nearly as important as the family dynamics of the Wolf family. If you're expecting an adventure story and mystery, you'll probably be disappointed. Rather, the book describes Harriet's painful yet love-filled life leading up to her writing her books. Then it talks about the life of Harriet's daughter, Eleanor, an overprotective mother and shut-in. It also talks about her daughters, Ruth and Tilton, and the struggles that they have/had: Ruth as a teenage runaway and Tilton as a latchkey child. These relationships are where the loveliness of Harriet Wolf's Seventh Book of Wonders shines. These people are far from perfect. If you met them in real life, you'd probably be freaked out. But they're so human. and they're so easy to care about. The book shows why the Wolfs are the way they are, and it just feels so tragic. Absolutely touching.
Meanwhile, the writing is terrific. The author does a great job of creating a different feeling and style for each of the characters. This is the sort of book that I wish I could write (this review should prove that that will never happen...). The descriptions are terrific without being obviously so. The writing doesn't seem like it's trying to impress you, it's just naturally beautiful.
Anyway, I loved this book. I'm so glad I read it. After I got over a brief disappointment that the plot isn't how I expected it to be, I was able to enjoy it for what it really is. I'm excited to read more from Julianna Baggott!
janewhitehurst's review against another edition
4.0
Harriet Wolf's Seventh Book of Wonders started out slowly for me but momentum quickly grew and grew until I was completely wrapped up in its plot. The novel tells the story of 3 generation of women. There is Harriet, a novelist who wrote a series of 6 wildly popular books and has died, leaving the world hoping and hoping that a seventh book was hidden in the house she lived in as a recluse. Next is her daughter Eleanor, a deeply flawed mother, who seemed to have Munchausen by proxy syndrome as she won't let her daughter, Tilton leave the house for fear of sickness. Also contributing are Eleanor's daughters Tilton and Ruth. Tilton has a unique perspective as she is most likely on the autism spectrum, but is very intuitive and emotionally intelligent. Ruth left the family home at the age of 16 and has never looked back. Told in alternating chapters from each character, the reader learns how these complicated, messy, and very dysfunctional mother-daughter relationships have grown from generation to generation. Through Harriet's chapters, the reader is also reading the "seventh book," the last in the installment of Harriet Wolf's writing. The Seventh Book is Harriet's memoir and was my favorite element of the novel. It offered a fascinating look at the treatment of the mentally ill in our not so distant past. I found the novel magical, extremely well-written, and hard to put down. Highly recommend.
pekoegal's review against another edition
4.0
Lyrical descriptions, and I liked the slow unfolding of the backstory to this family.
lriopel's review against another edition
3.0
This book's style and structure remind me a lot of The Blind Assassin, in that there is a book (series) within a book, and that the books in Harriet Wolf's Wonder series both conceal from other characters in this book and reveal to the reader of this book the story Harriet Wolf ultimately wants to tell. I find that to be an interesting method for revealing information gradually over the course of the novel, but I don't think it was done quite as effectively here as in Blind Assassin because we only get the final non-fiction book of the series, where Harriet Wolf simply tells her own life story without the use of the characters from her novels. So it's obvious to us what happened. There isn't any big mystery revealed at the end, and the remaining plot res0lves in how the characters react to that truth once they learn it.
I was initially intrigued by the idea of the Wonder Series - that each succeeding novel was in a completely different genre - that seemed like a thing that should exist in the real world - I would be all over it, so I was a little disappointed that other than the one scene that is repeatedly referenced, we don't get any bits of Harriet Wolf's novels themselves. All complaints aside, this was actually a pleasant read, and I would read something else by this author in the future.
I was initially intrigued by the idea of the Wonder Series - that each succeeding novel was in a completely different genre - that seemed like a thing that should exist in the real world - I would be all over it, so I was a little disappointed that other than the one scene that is repeatedly referenced, we don't get any bits of Harriet Wolf's novels themselves. All complaints aside, this was actually a pleasant read, and I would read something else by this author in the future.
knynas1's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 ⭐
Told from the perspectives of four women, across three generations. Filled with family secrets, mental illness, and unbreakable pacts. This story had promise, but drug on at points. My favorite parts were told by Harriet in the past. For fans of slow burn, character-driven stories.
Told from the perspectives of four women, across three generations. Filled with family secrets, mental illness, and unbreakable pacts. This story had promise, but drug on at points. My favorite parts were told by Harriet in the past. For fans of slow burn, character-driven stories.
sleighhh's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
nicollej's review against another edition
5.0
Read this book.
It has all the elements I love in a book. Strong characters, relationship studies, fantastic writing, different perspectives, and enough of a message without being pedantic.
I'm not surprised that my Brilliant Books Monthly subscription sent this to me based on my list of favorites I provided them. They knocked it out of the park.
It has all the elements I love in a book. Strong characters, relationship studies, fantastic writing, different perspectives, and enough of a message without being pedantic.
I'm not surprised that my Brilliant Books Monthly subscription sent this to me based on my list of favorites I provided them. They knocked it out of the park.
arlena_priscilla's review against another edition
4.0
Really good mother/daughter saga with unique POV voices for each character. Loved the interlacing of historical events as well.
jenleah's review against another edition
5.0
Oh what a book! Just about as perfect a book as it could be, a literary masterpiece. This is one of the most well written books that maintains its readability. It is filled with so many gems, the turns of phrase, and the structure, told from four women's viewpoints-Harriet, an esteemed, reclusive author of a series of books known as the books of Wonder, her daughter, Eleanor, an overprotective divorcée, Ruthie, one of the granddaughters who ran away at age 16, and Tilton, possibly autistic and still living at home. I just love when a book like this comes along and blows me away with its amazingness.