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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
mysterious
sad
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:
Yes
dark
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
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
4.5 rounded up: well-woven plot with characters and settings that rang true.
challenging
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Things I Liked:
- The theme, as the title might suggest, of “homecoming” was well-done I thought. Even in very small, symbolic ways like whenPolly literally met Kurt by the watering hole where she disappeared from all those years ago.
- Nora was by far the most interesting character because I didn’t anticipate her having a complex character when she was presented and introduced at the beginning of the book as almost “paragon” in nature. Self-confident, inspiring, assured. SO IMAGINE THE WAY I SAT UP when Morton began to tease thatshe was a fucking gaslighting bitch. Like the emotional manipulation she spun for her own selfish gain!! Wack!! Like, I UNDERSTAND why she was that way she was, because of how the unimaginable tragedies of that Christmas Eve in 1959 that she endured, but MAN. That made her such a complex and flawed antagonistic force in the book that I did NOT expect.
Things I Didn’t Like:
- The “book within a book” trope… it made this book slog on for most of it. It didn’t start getting REAL interesting and irresistible to read until like, 70% of the way through. I really enjoyed that last 30%, but can’t deny that most of the book was just. So slow. Because of the book within a book.
- Sometimes, immediately after we finished reading a section from the Daniel Miller book, Morton would take the time to, literally in the narration itself, rehash what we JUST read… which I think also was part of what made it slog on for me.
- There was just. A big lack of diversity. Especially for a book that largely takes place in and tries to make a “home” of an area that Morton herself notes is the ancestral home of the Peramangk people. Like… this is the pot calling the kettle black of course, but. Could’ve been more diverse.
Anyway, the book was so slow for most of it that for a while I debated if I should finish it. But I pushed through and I’m glad I did because the resolution to the mystery and everything felt satisfying. Still. This book could’ve also been a LOT shorter and just as good/satisfying.
- The theme, as the title might suggest, of “homecoming” was well-done I thought. Even in very small, symbolic ways like when
- Nora was by far the most interesting character because I didn’t anticipate her having a complex character when she was presented and introduced at the beginning of the book as almost “paragon” in nature. Self-confident, inspiring, assured. SO IMAGINE THE WAY I SAT UP when Morton began to tease that
Things I Didn’t Like:
- The “book within a book” trope… it made this book slog on for most of it. It didn’t start getting REAL interesting and irresistible to read until like, 70% of the way through. I really enjoyed that last 30%, but can’t deny that most of the book was just. So slow. Because of the book within a book.
- Sometimes, immediately after we finished reading a section from the Daniel Miller book, Morton would take the time to, literally in the narration itself, rehash what we JUST read… which I think also was part of what made it slog on for me.
- There was just. A big lack of diversity. Especially for a book that largely takes place in and tries to make a “home” of an area that Morton herself notes is the ancestral home of the Peramangk people. Like… this is the pot calling the kettle black of course, but. Could’ve been more diverse.
Anyway, the book was so slow for most of it that for a while I debated if I should finish it. But I pushed through and I’m glad I did because the resolution to the mystery and everything felt satisfying. Still. This book could’ve also been a LOT shorter and just as good/satisfying.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Murder, Gaslighting
It was a book that sparked my curiosity. I think I likened it to puzzle to be solved and at 630+ pages it was a puzzle with lots of pieces but no cheerful 'finished result' picture on the front. There were a number of times I kept asking myself 'where is she going with this?'
The book is divided into parts, each with a number of chapters. Each of these time travel between 1959, 1980s, and 'present' day. A technique Kate Morton is very good at. I likened it to a many piece jigsaw puzzle. As you assembly a jigsaw you find yourself piecing together specific parts of the puzzle revealing parts of the picture- a tree, flower, clouds etc, then you can't find the rest of the pieces you need for that section, so you move to another part of the puzzle. With more and more parts of the puzzle revealed you think you know what the picture will be but there are still too many gaps. So it was with this book, jumping from Halycyon (SA) circa Christmas 1969 to Darling House (NSW) December 2018, each section revealed a little more about what happened to Isabel Turner and her children and also contributing to the picture was the relationship of Nora Turner-Bridges and her daughter Polly and granddaughter Jess. As more and more information was revealed, for me it often raised more questions inviting the reader to read on.
The ending revealed the completed puzzle nicely. For me the opening Prologue of the book started with two basic questions - who was the man who made the delivery before the 1959 New Years Day Party and what was in the parcel he delivered? Questions I felt were relevant to the tale. Both were satisfactorily answered by the end of the book in a plot twist that seemed join the begining with the end in a complete circle. The final couple of jigsaw pieces as it were.
The local library has categorized this as an Australian mystery, I certainly enjoyed the intellectual challenge of the who done it but also enjoyed the settings where it takes place.
The book is divided into parts, each with a number of chapters. Each of these time travel between 1959, 1980s, and 'present' day. A technique Kate Morton is very good at. I likened it to a many piece jigsaw puzzle. As you assembly a jigsaw you find yourself piecing together specific parts of the puzzle revealing parts of the picture- a tree, flower, clouds etc, then you can't find the rest of the pieces you need for that section, so you move to another part of the puzzle. With more and more parts of the puzzle revealed you think you know what the picture will be but there are still too many gaps. So it was with this book, jumping from Halycyon (SA) circa Christmas 1969 to Darling House (NSW) December 2018, each section revealed a little more about what happened to Isabel Turner and her children and also contributing to the picture was the relationship of Nora Turner-Bridges and her daughter Polly and granddaughter Jess. As more and more information was revealed, for me it often raised more questions inviting the reader to read on.
The ending revealed the completed puzzle nicely. For me the opening Prologue of the book started with two basic questions - who was the man who made the delivery before the 1959 New Years Day Party and what was in the parcel he delivered? Questions I felt were relevant to the tale. Both were satisfactorily answered by the end of the book in a plot twist that seemed join the begining with the end in a complete circle. The final couple of jigsaw pieces as it were.
The local library has categorized this as an Australian mystery, I certainly enjoyed the intellectual challenge of the who done it but also enjoyed the settings where it takes place.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
This book was much too long. First half or so was a bit of a slog - lots of repetition and somewhat convoluted. Was a bit bored by it but felt a commitment to see it through to the end. Last 1/4 of book was good and read at a better pace. Fairly predictable although a few surprises. Tied up a bit too neatly in the end.