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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book narrates the story of how the Beckett’s stagnant marriage reaches the beginning of either reformation or the end. Set in the late 1950s, in the aftermath of WWII and on the day the Russians launched “Laika” into space, Kathleen Beckett wakes up, knowing that was the day everything would change. After two phone calls that announce the point of no return, she puts on her red bathing suit she hadn’t used since college, and spends hours in her apartment complex pool, pondering about who she was before getting married and where her marriage has lead to.
The pool serves as a place she escapes her traditional routine as a wife and mother, and as a place of reflection. Here we discover the complexities of both parties’ actions as people that love each other, but are also resentful, regretful, nostalgic and indiscrete.
I mostly enjoyed reading this novel, almost in one sitting, but, after reading the ending, I was instantly unsure of whether I liked the story as a whole or not. The narration interestingly switches from character to character, and from the past to the present, and back to the past again, until the point of no return. The mystery and the tension-building keeps one locked in until the very end, but I can’t help feeling the ending was too open, completely cutting the readers from a climax. And even accepting its openness, the ending felt disconnected from all that was narrated.
The pool serves as a place she escapes her traditional routine as a wife and mother, and as a place of reflection. Here we discover the complexities of both parties’ actions as people that love each other, but are also resentful, regretful, nostalgic and indiscrete.
I mostly enjoyed reading this novel, almost in one sitting, but, after reading the ending, I was instantly unsure of whether I liked the story as a whole or not. The narration interestingly switches from character to character, and from the past to the present, and back to the past again, until the point of no return. The mystery and the tension-building keeps one locked in until the very end, but I can’t help feeling the ending was too open, completely cutting the readers from a climax. And even accepting its openness, the ending felt disconnected from all that was narrated.
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
reflective
tense
medium-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
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
not what i expected but honestly enjoyed the ride
reflective
medium-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