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chidseyca's review against another edition
4.0
Great first novel from a recent graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop.
simsarah79's review
4.0
This book has the elements I like: a somewhat self-deprecating protagonist, some divorce, some parenting issues, some drug use, some disappointments and an unpredictable ending.
I liked that Anders left his wife and then realizes that he shouldn't have done that. But instead of appreciating the other facets of the story like the children who suffered the consequences of parents wanting the best for them despite what they want, i focused on whether the two would make amends. I won't spoil the ending but even though I like unhappy endings as much as happy ones this one was a little depressing.
I enjoyed the book and hope Thompson is writing a follow up or another novel. He's talented.
I liked that Anders left his wife and then realizes that he shouldn't have done that. But instead of appreciating the other facets of the story like the children who suffered the consequences of parents wanting the best for them despite what they want, i focused on whether the two would make amends. I won't spoil the ending but even though I like unhappy endings as much as happy ones this one was a little depressing.
I enjoyed the book and hope Thompson is writing a follow up or another novel. He's talented.
nikz's review
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
kawai's review
4.0
The setting and major subject matter of this novel--affluent northeastern suburbs, the disintegrations of families living within them--is a well-worn topic, and one I'm not particularly interested in as a rule. However, whatever might be unappealing about the subject in broad strokes, Thompson more than makes up for it with excellent storytelling. As a writer, Thompson's narrative control, empathy, insight, and prose take what would otherwise be a book I'd have no interest in and turn it into something special.
The characters are living an upper-class life, commuting into NYC or prowling among the estates of Connecticut, flunking their way through prep schools. Doing drugs, of course, and engaging in justified infidelity. There aren't many happy moments in this book, lots to be sad about, lots of pain and loss and longing. And yet, somehow, perhaps because of the tone Thompson often strikes, you can't help but feel for everyone involved, however broken and flawed and incomplete they might be. And it's that empathy that left this reader somehow feeling lighter, when the book came to an end. It's quite an accomplishment.
The characters are living an upper-class life, commuting into NYC or prowling among the estates of Connecticut, flunking their way through prep schools. Doing drugs, of course, and engaging in justified infidelity. There aren't many happy moments in this book, lots to be sad about, lots of pain and loss and longing. And yet, somehow, perhaps because of the tone Thompson often strikes, you can't help but feel for everyone involved, however broken and flawed and incomplete they might be. And it's that empathy that left this reader somehow feeling lighter, when the book came to an end. It's quite an accomplishment.
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