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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed this ‘slice of life’ story! Love, and twining of relationships, in our modern world. If only all divorces could resolve as everyone becoming extended family.
Overall, I would label this book as a major let-down. When I read the synopsis, I thought the novel was going to be so exciting and action-packed. A husband dies and the wife finds out a whole bunch of secrets he was hiding! However, it wasn't like that at all.
It almost bored me to tears. I had to force myself to read nearly every single page. It turned out to be a story about a widow grieving, which is nothing new. It's been done a thousand times, and there was no new or interesting twist. As I was reading I kept thinking "oh, it's going to get interesting soon" or "oh, it must pick up soon," but it never did. It was just one long, boring story from start to finish.
The other main issue with this book is the writing style. I'm not sure if the author was going for something sexy or mature, but it just came across as cringe-worthy. Something sexual was mentioned every couple of pages in the most unflattering manner possible. Rarely do I ever have a physical reaction when reading. However, I felt myself grimace at how forced and awkward everything felt. One line would say something along the lines of "Annie liked Graham's beard," and then the next line would be about how she liked how it felt against her crotch. Or, out of nowhere, the paragraph would just completely derail and focus on unnecessary details about someone's penis. It was impressive that the author managed to make sex sound so unappealing and ugly.
TLDR- Don't bother reading. Boring and written in bad taste. One of my least favorite books.
It almost bored me to tears. I had to force myself to read nearly every single page. It turned out to be a story about a widow grieving, which is nothing new. It's been done a thousand times, and there was no new or interesting twist. As I was reading I kept thinking "oh, it's going to get interesting soon" or "oh, it must pick up soon," but it never did. It was just one long, boring story from start to finish.
The other main issue with this book is the writing style. I'm not sure if the author was going for something sexy or mature, but it just came across as cringe-worthy. Something sexual was mentioned every couple of pages in the most unflattering manner possible. Rarely do I ever have a physical reaction when reading. However, I felt myself grimace at how forced and awkward everything felt. One line would say something along the lines of "Annie liked Graham's beard," and then the next line would be about how she liked how it felt against her crotch. Or, out of nowhere, the paragraph would just completely derail and focus on unnecessary details about someone's penis. It was impressive that the author managed to make sex sound so unappealing and ugly.
TLDR- Don't bother reading. Boring and written in bad taste. One of my least favorite books.
I was looking forward to reading this, bud sadly I have to agree with other readers and give a low rating. In the end, I just didn't care about the characters, the nonexistent plot, none of it.
It was an interesting read about an unconventional family, grief, and the consequences of adultery. I just found the ending unsatisfying.
A strong family story that explores ideas of love, trust, sex, freedom, fidelity, and more. I enjoyed the different characters' perspectives, how they learn and develop, the things they can only admit to themselves vs. what they confess to each other - the things that are swept under the rug and never discussed - the trickery of memory and self-righteousness. I found it quite thought-provoking in a variety of ways.
How do you define cheating? What characteristics must good, loving parents possess? How about good, loving partners? What is the appropriate scope of involvement for a former-spouse to have in the subsequent second marriage? Is the jealousy of half-siblings based in reality? This barely scratches the surface of the things you will ponder after the last page is turned.
The only miss for me, and the reason for 4 stars, is one of the character's out-of-nowhere flashback to a childhood incident. I think the point was something about the rediscovery of lost childhood memories, the secrets we don't mention to our families, how we assume what motivates the reactions of others without considering their experiences. (And this is pertinent to all the other characters and subplots on some level too?) I'm not exactly sure but it seemed incongruous with the rest of the writing to me.
Still very much recommend.
How do you define cheating? What characteristics must good, loving parents possess? How about good, loving partners? What is the appropriate scope of involvement for a former-spouse to have in the subsequent second marriage? Is the jealousy of half-siblings based in reality? This barely scratches the surface of the things you will ponder after the last page is turned.
The only miss for me, and the reason for 4 stars, is one of the character's out-of-nowhere flashback to a childhood incident. I think the point was something about the rediscovery of lost childhood memories, the secrets we don't mention to our families, how we assume what motivates the reactions of others without considering their experiences. (And this is pertinent to all the other characters and subplots on some level too?) I'm not exactly sure but it seemed incongruous with the rest of the writing to me.
Still very much recommend.
Quiet and simple - a book about a small group of people in Boston at an unspecified time when there were still landlines. But it dug deep into the complexity of their relationships and their feelings about these relationships. I liked that it touched each of the main characters in the family and what their experience was, and that they each had these memories that became another small story. Ultimately it really was about monogamy and some of the different forms it can take depending on your place in a marriage. It had this total nostalgic feel that I enjoyed, too.
As I read the first chapter I thought to myself what a fabulous writer Sue Miller is and anticipated a great read. Miller knows how to tell a story and I was enjoying the Cambridge references. By chapter 5 nothing had happened in this book. A lot of internal angst, and very detailed descriptions of art exhibits and bookstores, but just slow nothingness sprinkled with despair and deceptiveness; a perfect metaphor for a dead marriage. I hoped and expect so much more.
I thought this was a strange book, it held my interest until about halfway through, then it got really boring. I'm not sure about the focus on the minor characters. I just wanted it to be over.