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3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
Wayward piqued my interest for several reasons. It's the story of Sam Raymond, a woman who feels unmoored and incredibly angry after the 2016 election. Her mother is ill, her daughter is growing more distant every day, she is aging and finds herself being treated differently by those around her (if they notice her at all), she needs and wants change, and she lives in Syracuse. I've experienced all of these (except I have sons), and I distinctly remember my own anger, that awful knot in my stomach after the election, and the feeling that everything was going haywire. I've resented that there have been times I've had to act like a crazy person to get people to listen to me at all. Sam's change involves walking away from her husband and buying a dilapidated house to rehab, but I did neither of these.
I didn't find Sam a very likable character, but that's not something I require in a good book. She's impetuous, at times uncommunicative, pushes people away that she wants to feel close to, and is unable to see what may be right in front of her. She is able to write a check for the house and fix it up mainly because of her husband's money. But she's messy and human. Wayward is a story about aging, facing your own mortality, determining what being a mother means when your children are grown, and breaking points (your own and those of society in general). Despite some questionable side plots, I particularly enjoyed Spiotta's recognition and appreciation of the architecture and history of Syracuse. Wayward is a book that spoke to me in many ways, so I rounded up my 3.5 star rating.
I didn't find Sam a very likable character, but that's not something I require in a good book. She's impetuous, at times uncommunicative, pushes people away that she wants to feel close to, and is unable to see what may be right in front of her. She is able to write a check for the house and fix it up mainly because of her husband's money. But she's messy and human. Wayward is a story about aging, facing your own mortality, determining what being a mother means when your children are grown, and breaking points (your own and those of society in general). Despite some questionable side plots, I particularly enjoyed Spiotta's recognition and appreciation of the architecture and history of Syracuse. Wayward is a book that spoke to me in many ways, so I rounded up my 3.5 star rating.
OK. Here's the thing. This is a post-2016 election book. The author wrote what everyone in suburbia likely wanted to do (at least those who were horrified by the election results): she wrote about a woman who has had it with her suburban life (read: husband, neighborhood, kid), and made a move closer into the city in a run down house. I loved the perspective of her trying to make a new life while battling with her decision to leave the other one behind, but I felt like the author tried to throw in a BLM situation that did not necessarily play out in a way that made sense with the book. It almost came across as an afterthought. Had it been the main focus, then it may have worked, but it detracted from the main focus: a woman trying to find herself in a sea of regret.
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
I enjoyed this book, as it is a very "female" book - as a mother, as a daughter and as a wife all at the same time! The difficulty the poignant has encountered has a lot of similarities for most of middle-aged women.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
This book had a few passages about motherhood that I thought were particularly well done (and would have made for a good short story collection). Unfortunately, the rest of the book just wasn't for me. It's ambitious in that it tries to tackle a lot of big issues, but it didn't really work for me nor did the issues get the respect they deserved. Maybe this was the point of the book? I'm not sure.
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
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
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes