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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
lighthearted
It took a while for me to get into this and I was wondering where the story was going for at least the first half of the book. The story is told as a series of flashbacks/retellings by a mother to her three adult daughters in the present day (at a cherry farm, during covid). The present day scenes felt necessary to give context and weight to the story but also were a bit boring. In the second half of the book the pieces of the story clicked together and I remembered why I like Ann Patchett's writing so much.
This story really evoked a strong sense of nostalgia and what-if wistfulness. There were certain scenes that I could picture so vividly, down to the movements and mannerisms of minor characters. Peter Duke's character jumped off the page and had such strong magnetism (which he was supposed to have, so that worked). I could really understand the main character's decisions and perspective by the end, and I liked how complicated she was and that her decisions, while not always being "right", were easy to understand. Similar to [b:The Dutch House|44318414|The Dutch House|Ann Patchett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552334367l/44318414._SY75_.jpg|68864841], after I was finished with the book I spent a good amount of time still thinking about the characters.
This story really evoked a strong sense of nostalgia and what-if wistfulness. There were certain scenes that I could picture so vividly, down to the movements and mannerisms of minor characters. Peter Duke's character jumped off the page and had such strong magnetism (which he was supposed to have, so that worked). I could really understand the main character's decisions and perspective by the end, and I liked how complicated she was and that her decisions, while not always being "right", were easy to understand. Similar to [b:The Dutch House|44318414|The Dutch House|Ann Patchett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552334367l/44318414._SY75_.jpg|68864841], after I was finished with the book I spent a good amount of time still thinking about the characters.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Eh… not really my jam. I was bored for probably 80% of the book. I don’t think anything was really new or life-altering. And I didn’t get any sense of nostalgia or warmth like I intended. It felt like it was supposed to be more excited than it was. The daughters’ shock and awe at their mother’s former life felt like I was missing something at every story. But really… it just was slow, uneventful and eh.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
just a delightful summer read. Read at camp and loved it
emotional
reflective
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
If you love the theater, actors and actresses, Our Town, and listening to older folks reminisce about their glory days in their young adulthood, this is the book for you.
It was not the book for me. I found the majority of the characters unlikable. The actors came off as shallow and self-obsessed. There was the implied “struggle” of being an actor, but I felt that the struggles were of their own creation. Partying, drinking, smoking, drugs, abortion oh woe is me life is hard as an actor. I can’t help but think, no, you did it to yourself.
“Did actors destroy everything they touched?” Talking about mending clothes, but a good commentary on the egos of those involved. The only valid struggle (again, glossed over) was of her understudy from a racial perspective.
The farm and its fate were the most interesting pieces. It’s weird how the farm work is viewed as a reprieve after acting, as if the farm is the easier work. It There is always a child in the family that follows in the parent’s footsteps and one that diverges from that path in most families and different variations thereof in families with multiple children. The discussion of evolving the farm to survive and that the farm was their priority and not children was interesting to me but not developed. Just like real life, the parents are old fashioned and only think of their own wants for grandchildren and not the children’s desires. But this whole book is a longing for another time. These are probably the only parts in the present piece of the story that were interesting. The adults are preachy andthe adult children super childish and one dimensional.
The back and forth between the two timeframes is a bit weird in the audiobook at first, but Meryl Streep’s narration helps. She makes and apt age appropriate narrator and her narration adds to the interest.
The fascination with Duke is very annoying. He seems undeserving of all the attention and lacking character, but they fawn over him because he is famous. I am not particularly into pop culture and hate self-obsessed people with large egos so this may be my hangup. The piece about paternity was the most interesting part of the Duke story but pittered out. Their father is a much better man and actually deserves this affection. I am unsure how Joe tolerated this whole ode to an ex in front of him. In the prior narrative it is acknowledged Sebastian was the better person. So was Ripley albeit he was a bit controlling. Good men are highly undervalued while dysfunctional egomaniacs are glorified. I guess we do a lot of this in our youth but it does not seem the narrator learned her lesson.
Synopsis - lots of hams and no dinner. Struggled a bit to finish this one, but read it for a book club.
It was not the book for me. I found the majority of the characters unlikable. The actors came off as shallow and self-obsessed. There was the implied “struggle” of being an actor, but I felt that the struggles were of their own creation. Partying, drinking, smoking, drugs, abortion oh woe is me life is hard as an actor. I can’t help but think, no, you did it to yourself.
“Did actors destroy everything they touched?” Talking about mending clothes, but a good commentary on the egos of those involved. The only valid struggle (again, glossed over) was of her understudy from a racial perspective.
The farm and its fate were the most interesting pieces. It’s weird how the farm work is viewed as a reprieve after acting, as if the farm is the easier work. It There is always a child in the family that follows in the parent’s footsteps and one that diverges from that path in most families and different variations thereof in families with multiple children. The discussion of evolving the farm to survive and that the farm was their priority and not children was interesting to me but not developed. Just like real life, the parents are old fashioned and only think of their own wants for grandchildren and not the children’s desires. But this whole book is a longing for another time. These are probably the only parts in the present piece of the story that were interesting. The adults are preachy andthe adult children super childish and one dimensional.
The back and forth between the two timeframes is a bit weird in the audiobook at first, but Meryl Streep’s narration helps. She makes and apt age appropriate narrator and her narration adds to the interest.
The fascination with Duke is very annoying. He seems undeserving of all the attention and lacking character, but they fawn over him because he is famous. I am not particularly into pop culture and hate self-obsessed people with large egos so this may be my hangup. The piece about paternity was the most interesting part of the Duke story but pittered out. Their father is a much better man and actually deserves this affection. I am unsure how Joe tolerated this whole ode to an ex in front of him. In the prior narrative it is acknowledged Sebastian was the better person. So was Ripley albeit he was a bit controlling. Good men are highly undervalued while dysfunctional egomaniacs are glorified. I guess we do a lot of this in our youth but it does not seem the narrator learned her lesson.
Synopsis - lots of hams and no dinner. Struggled a bit to finish this one, but read it for a book club.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Waited to decide how I felt about this. Listening to the audio book by Meryl Streep was beautiful but I think I just don’t enjoy slow “vibey” books as an audio book. I need drama lol. If I stopped listening for a sec I missed an important part so I was left confused but that’s my fault tbh. Still a good book about life and love and loss.