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3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
I *mostly* really liked this book. I think Spiotta’s writing is smart and relatable and I enjoyed reading about Sam and Ally, the mother-and-daughter protagonists of this story. With the acknowledgement that this is a fictional story, I thought Sam’s journey following Trump’s election in 2016 seemed relatively believable - up to a point - but at a certain point, I think there were one or two too many “issues” that Spiotta tried to cover, and then it tipped over into unrealistic territory, which knocked it down a star for me. But overall, this was an enjoyable book. I hadn’t been familiar with Dana Spiotta before this, and plan to look into more of her work.
I did not finish but quit reading this book. It’s a bit like “And just like that” (the sex and the city reboot): we have a plus 50, financially stable, bored white woman try to tick every box of “wokeness” and “progressiveness” out there but it’s just pretentious and not very authentic - and problematic. Describing a woman as “exotic”, highlighting couples that are gay... And where’s the plot? The issue? I thought this book was about a woman becoming independent at last, breaking free and finding and struggling along her own path but instead it’s about her taking money from her husband to renovate a house in a wealthy town while being depressed about trump’s presidency and police brutality. Really, Karen?
I would have persisted longer and given it more pages to convince me there is more depth to it had the writing not been as flat and annoying as it is.
I would have persisted longer and given it more pages to convince me there is more depth to it had the writing not been as flat and annoying as it is.
Hmmm this book had some really interesting and compelling characters that drew me in- the middle aged white woman in menopause…but not as a joke (which seems like most cultural references of menopause take). But the it goes off the rails a bit and wanders and by the end I was over it.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Some really moving descriptions of aging, love, women, and community. It kind of didn't go anywhere (story wise), but I was still drawn into this book.
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of the strongest novels I've read so far this year (2023).
I loved the very strong opening when Sam -- with little explanation or context -- decides to leave her conventional suburban family life and buy a beautiful but broken down house in a sketchy part of Syracuse.
The reader eventually comes to understand that she's disgusted by her complicity in the kind of society that would elect Donald Trump, ruin the environment, etc. Instead she wants to ally herself to those working for radical change in the world -- despite the alienation this causes with her husband and daughter.
The desire to escape the sinful and complicit ordinary world also plays out in the life of her daughter and was part of the history of a (fictional) prominent 19th century Syracuse figure Clara Loomis, who ran away from her family to join the perfectionist and utopian society at Oneida.
I really enjoyed how the author connected the utopianist movement of 19th century upstate New York with the current times. The book is rich and insightful.
I loved the very strong opening when Sam -- with little explanation or context -- decides to leave her conventional suburban family life and buy a beautiful but broken down house in a sketchy part of Syracuse.
The reader eventually comes to understand that she's disgusted by her complicity in the kind of society that would elect Donald Trump, ruin the environment, etc. Instead she wants to ally herself to those working for radical change in the world -- despite the alienation this causes with her husband and daughter.
The desire to escape the sinful and complicit ordinary world also plays out in the life of her daughter and was part of the history of a (fictional) prominent 19th century Syracuse figure Clara Loomis, who ran away from her family to join the perfectionist and utopian society at Oneida.
I really enjoyed how the author connected the utopianist movement of 19th century upstate New York with the current times. The book is rich and insightful.
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes