Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
Since I finished the book in about 3 days, I would have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. The author wrote the story from the POV of four different women from the same family. Personally, I think this is tricky writing to pull off successfully, but Ms. Sullivan did an outstanding job of moving the story along, at just the right pace, with just enough flashback to the past, to keep the reader wanting more with each chapter. One note is that if you are looking for a happy ending tied up in a neat little bow, then this is not the book for you. Well done - highly recommend.
Technically, this should be on my abandoned shelf. The library wanted it back, and I returned it without finishing it. It sort of appeals to me because angry, dysfunctional families, especially Irish Catholic ones, remind me of the community where I grew up. But I had a lot of trouble finding a sympathetic character here. Add that to the snail's pace at which the action moved, and I just stopped caring. I hated Commencement too; I should have known better.
All of the women in this story are annoyingly frustrating! Nearly all these characters have next to zero redeeming qualities. This book is a heartbreak look of hate, guilt, jealousy and anger...within multiple generations of a family.
And the end?! Don't get me started. There will be lots to discuss when we get to this one!
And the end?! Don't get me started. There will be lots to discuss when we get to this one!
For six months I eagerly anticipated reading this book thinking it would be the quintessential read of the summer but walked away disappointed.
When I first started the book I felt the style and character development were reminiscent of early books by Anne Rivers Siddons (COLONY and OUTER BANKS are favorites) but as the novel progressed it didn’t really seem to go anywhere except to explain why these characters developed into such disagreeable people and why the family dynamics were so dysfunctional. From the start the matriarch, Alice, was totally unlikeable and I kept thinking that perhaps her ornery demeanor would go the route of Olive Kitteridge and by the end I would start to feel a smidgen of compassion for her, but I never did even though the reason for her crankiness was revealed.
So that all being said, it was a well-written book and the character development was excellent, I just didn’t like the characters that well (so maybe Maggie was OK) and I left the book with a feeling of frustration.
When I first started the book I felt the style and character development were reminiscent of early books by Anne Rivers Siddons (COLONY and OUTER BANKS are favorites) but as the novel progressed it didn’t really seem to go anywhere except to explain why these characters developed into such disagreeable people and why the family dynamics were so dysfunctional. From the start the matriarch, Alice, was totally unlikeable and I kept thinking that perhaps her ornery demeanor would go the route of Olive Kitteridge and by the end I would start to feel a smidgen of compassion for her, but I never did even though the reason for her crankiness was revealed.
So that all being said, it was a well-written book and the character development was excellent, I just didn’t like the characters that well (so maybe Maggie was OK) and I left the book with a feeling of frustration.
I never give up on books, but I just can't stick with this one. I'm 100 pages in (which took forever), and there's no plot yet. I dislike every single character, and I don't care what happens to them. I found myself wishing that they'd just all stop whining about themselves and hating each other out loud, and then I remembered that if I shut the book, they would. Back to the library - unfinished - it goes!
Should be 2.5 stars but since Goodreads doesn’t allow half stars… this book was fine enough but every single character was terrible????? It was hard to root for any of them. I wish the author had included the viewpoint of the second daughter Claire - that would have made more sense. Overall, not really worth the time.
I wanted to get through this but I just couldn't give a shit about any of the characters.
Omg! If you relate to any of these awful characters, please go see a therapist. Three generations of nasty, bratty drunks marinade in shitty behavior while ruminating in backstories that go on and on and on. I did like Kathleen’s story, but Maggie and Anne Marie are silly doormats and Alice is straight-up cruel and terrible. Additionally, every male character is a douche bag. Yuck. The only reason I wanted to finish the book was to see if Alice got her comeuppance. The writing must have been good if I had such a response to the characters, but in the end, they all just angered me. Eat gravel, hags.
The characters were complicated and I really liked that. Every time I'd start to like one of them, they'd do something awful to make me hate them. To me this is good writing and makes for more real characters. However the fact that the majority of the book is told in backstory drove me up a wall. If we could have spent more time at the beach and less in the characters heads, I would have enjoyed it much more.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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