Scan barcode
urban_mermaid's review
3.0
3.5 Stars. A series of interconnected stories following a family. I wish there had been a slightly stronger thread through them.
li3an1na4's review
4.0
This book isn't so much interconnected short stories as it is following a family through the years and getting various snapshots of their lives at certain times. It's divided into 3 sections, the first when the children are young, the second when they're teenagers, and the third when they're adults. But the five people in the family only get 2 stories each so sometimes a character is just mentioned in passing and decades go by in their lives before you see them again. It's a strange way to feel both intimately connected with characters but at the same time giving them space to grow and change as people naturally do.
I guess it's a sign of getting old, because I felt that the chapters from the parents were the ones that really resonated with me. Even when things shifted and I was closer in age with the children, aside from the last chapter with the eldest sister it was the parents I connected with.
What the book really allows you to see are the family dynamics at play. The older daughter's stories were always disconnected from the rest of the family and she sees herself almost as apart from them. But when she's mentioned or shows up in other people's stories, you can see how they hold her in high regard and the pride they have for her even if she can't really recognize it herself. There's the dynamic of the mother doting on her only son, but him being so spoiled and self absorbed that he doesn't notice any of it. There's little bits and interactions gives a lot of insight, but because we're only getting short snippets from various points of time, you never really get to know them as well as if it were a novel. And you never get a follow up of what happens in each story because of the shifting narratives and time jumps. There are certain chapters with more consequential events on the family (I'm thinking of the son's second chapter which was also his last chapter) and then instead of dealing with the after effects, it just sort of ends and moves on.
As a reader who prefers in depth character studies, it was a little disappointing because I am the person who wants more. But at the same time, there was something about the hints and brief mentions forcing me as a reader to get into the character's minds that was appealing. There's something almost voyeuristic about it. And what makes this work is that no story is really "too" anything emotionally. You really are just peaking into this family 10 times over several decades.
I can see how some people might complain about this book being empty emotionally because of the lack of big events/meltdowns/etc... But there is something easily relatable in every story and I did enjoy spending time with this family.
I guess it's a sign of getting old, because I felt that the chapters from the parents were the ones that really resonated with me. Even when things shifted and I was closer in age with the children, aside from the last chapter with the eldest sister it was the parents I connected with.
What the book really allows you to see are the family dynamics at play. The older daughter's stories were always disconnected from the rest of the family and she sees herself almost as apart from them. But when she's mentioned or shows up in other people's stories, you can see how they hold her in high regard and the pride they have for her even if she can't really recognize it herself. There's the dynamic of the mother doting on her only son, but him being so spoiled and self absorbed that he doesn't notice any of it. There's little bits and interactions gives a lot of insight, but because we're only getting short snippets from various points of time, you never really get to know them as well as if it were a novel. And you never get a follow up of what happens in each story because of the shifting narratives and time jumps. There are certain chapters with more consequential events on the family (I'm thinking of the son's second chapter which was also his last chapter) and then instead of dealing with the after effects, it just sort of ends and moves on.
As a reader who prefers in depth character studies, it was a little disappointing because I am the person who wants more. But at the same time, there was something about the hints and brief mentions forcing me as a reader to get into the character's minds that was appealing. There's something almost voyeuristic about it. And what makes this work is that no story is really "too" anything emotionally. You really are just peaking into this family 10 times over several decades.
I can see how some people might complain about this book being empty emotionally because of the lack of big events/meltdowns/etc... But there is something easily relatable in every story and I did enjoy spending time with this family.
More...