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bhunsberger's review against another edition
3.0
I received an advanced copy of this book in return for a review.
Eliza finds herself back in her hometown to help her sick father, and in the time in her childhood home, she encounters a past love, reflects on the death of her mother when she was much younger, and attempts to provide as much assistance to her father as possible. Meanwhile, her husband Rob is back home taking care of their two daughters while trying to get his new architecture business to flourish.
This book touches on multiple topics which aren't ever fully developed in the story. Business success, past loves, potential affairs, teenage pregnancy, death of a parent are all some of the topics that are touched on, but none were ever fully developed or followed through much. The characters are developed fairly well, but as a reader I didn't feel any closeness to a character in particular. The book read at an easy pace and I enjoyed learning a little more about the lobster trapping business.
Eliza finds herself back in her hometown to help her sick father, and in the time in her childhood home, she encounters a past love, reflects on the death of her mother when she was much younger, and attempts to provide as much assistance to her father as possible. Meanwhile, her husband Rob is back home taking care of their two daughters while trying to get his new architecture business to flourish.
This book touches on multiple topics which aren't ever fully developed in the story. Business success, past loves, potential affairs, teenage pregnancy, death of a parent are all some of the topics that are touched on, but none were ever fully developed or followed through much. The characters are developed fairly well, but as a reader I didn't feel any closeness to a character in particular. The book read at an easy pace and I enjoyed learning a little more about the lobster trapping business.
mindfullibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you to Doubleday Books for providing me with a finished copy of this book for review - all opinions are my own.
THE CAPTAIN'S DAUGHTER is an exquisite story about motherhood, marriage, grief and being true to your roots, with much of the book being set in a gorgeous Maine fishing town. If you don't at least THINK about crying while reading this book, I'm fairly certain we can't be friends. It has ALL the feelings.
Moore has touched on the very deepest thoughts in a mother's and daughter's heart and combined them to expose just how complex modern womanhood can be. Eliza is just so incredibly real, with achingly beautiful moments and also moments in which she is fairly unlikable - just like the rest of us. As she struggles to mother her daughters while also coming to terms with her father's failing health and her marital issues, Eliza manages to maintain grace and kindness in her interactions with her new young friend Mary as Mary becomes in desperate need of a mother figure. I loved reading about their heartfelt feelings about parenthood and childhood and was able to relate to them so so closely. Everything involving Eliza's father Charlie made me love him so much and wish I knew him - he just jumps off the pages and is one of the most realistically written characters I have read in a long, long time.
This is a tearjerker with bright moments of humor and insight that needs to be on your bookshelf - it is a book of the ages and one that will stay with me for a long time to come.
THE CAPTAIN'S DAUGHTER is an exquisite story about motherhood, marriage, grief and being true to your roots, with much of the book being set in a gorgeous Maine fishing town. If you don't at least THINK about crying while reading this book, I'm fairly certain we can't be friends. It has ALL the feelings.
Moore has touched on the very deepest thoughts in a mother's and daughter's heart and combined them to expose just how complex modern womanhood can be. Eliza is just so incredibly real, with achingly beautiful moments and also moments in which she is fairly unlikable - just like the rest of us. As she struggles to mother her daughters while also coming to terms with her father's failing health and her marital issues, Eliza manages to maintain grace and kindness in her interactions with her new young friend Mary as Mary becomes in desperate need of a mother figure. I loved reading about their heartfelt feelings about parenthood and childhood and was able to relate to them so so closely. Everything involving Eliza's father Charlie made me love him so much and wish I knew him - he just jumps off the pages and is one of the most realistically written characters I have read in a long, long time.
This is a tearjerker with bright moments of humor and insight that needs to be on your bookshelf - it is a book of the ages and one that will stay with me for a long time to come.
bf54life's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
relaxing
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
1.5
man this was a bummer experience to read. i loved vacationland but this book fell completely flat. so many of the characters did things that lacked motivation and the story dripped by at some points and sped through in others. i truly do not recommend this book. really not well written at all i’m sorry to say
meghow644's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
brealoadion's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
There’s a reason why this book took me almost an ENTIRE YEAR to finish. It’s because it’s pretty boring for the majority of the book. There were teeny tiny moments where I thought things would pick up and then they just didn’t. I will say that there was one (and I literally mean one) page where I bawled like I little baby but then it went right back to being boring again. I was sad that this book wasn’t as good as I was hoping because I’ve read other books by this author that were good, but it was just blah.
read_plan_laundry's review against another edition
3.0
Read this for a buddy read. It wasn't horrible but there was nothing great about it. All the issues were touched on pretty superficially. Just nothing significant.
levininja's review against another edition
4.0
I had a funny experience reading this. I intended to pick up the Captain's Daughter by Pushkin, and only when I got home from the library and started reading this did I stop and think--wait--for what reason did I put this in my queue? Upon realizing my mistake, I decided to go with it anyway and see what what random book that Lady Luck had chanced to give me.
My first impression was that the writing was pretty good, the character's voices were strong, but I didn't see why I should care about all these rich people. The opening scene was three moms sitting around while their kids played in the pool--definitely not the best way to start a compelling story. But the writing was good, so I decided to go a little further.
This isn't much of a spoiler, since this happens very soon at the beginning of the novel, but the precipitating event is that the protagonist's father, an old lonely lobsterman, is diagnosed with brain cancer. He's going to die soon.
As the book progressed, it became apparent that the main theme was really about someone feeling juxtaposed between two contrasting worlds: one of her childhood, one of adulthood. One rustic and working with her hands, the other pampered and surrounded by pretentious people. In both worlds she feels alternately like an insider or an outsider, like a native or a fake. That's pretty interesting.
There are also suplots all over the place with other characters and they're all fairly interesting. One of the strongest other subplots is a teenage girl who has gotten herself into trouble with a not-so-great boyfriend, and who ends up confiding in a stranger (the protagonist, Eliza) and getting help.
The style of this author is to constantly intersperse real-time events with memories and backstory. This could be annoying to some, but I was pretty comfortable with it in this book.
By the time I got halfway through the book, it actually became better and better--I didn't want to put it down at all. It became less about rich-people-problems and more about everyone-problems. And discovering some key insights into her parents and other people was also pretty riveting. Things click, and it all makes sense.
The ending was mixed for me--some parts of it were great, some parts put a bad taste in my mouth. It reverted back to the rich-people-problems thing for a little bit.
Overall, though, this was a very solid book, a nice blend, a well-mixed drink. I would easily recommend this to many people. It's definitely more oriented towards women, as most of the main characters are women. But personally I didn't feel turned off by that. Her dad is a character I really savored. Also, now I need to go eat some lobster. A lot of lobster. I remember how when I was in Maine, the McDonalds' had lobster mcMuffin. But I digress. This was a good read.
My first impression was that the writing was pretty good, the character's voices were strong, but I didn't see why I should care about all these rich people. The opening scene was three moms sitting around while their kids played in the pool--definitely not the best way to start a compelling story. But the writing was good, so I decided to go a little further.
This isn't much of a spoiler, since this happens very soon at the beginning of the novel, but the precipitating event is that the protagonist's father, an old lonely lobsterman, is diagnosed with brain cancer. He's going to die soon.
As the book progressed, it became apparent that the main theme was really about someone feeling juxtaposed between two contrasting worlds: one of her childhood, one of adulthood. One rustic and working with her hands, the other pampered and surrounded by pretentious people. In both worlds she feels alternately like an insider or an outsider, like a native or a fake. That's pretty interesting.
There are also suplots all over the place with other characters and they're all fairly interesting. One of the strongest other subplots is a teenage girl who has gotten herself into trouble with a not-so-great boyfriend, and who ends up confiding in a stranger (the protagonist, Eliza) and getting help.
The style of this author is to constantly intersperse real-time events with memories and backstory. This could be annoying to some, but I was pretty comfortable with it in this book.
By the time I got halfway through the book, it actually became better and better--I didn't want to put it down at all. It became less about rich-people-problems and more about everyone-problems. And discovering some key insights into her parents and other people was also pretty riveting. Things click, and it all makes sense.
The ending was mixed for me--some parts of it were great, some parts put a bad taste in my mouth. It reverted back to the rich-people-problems thing for a little bit.
Overall, though, this was a very solid book, a nice blend, a well-mixed drink. I would easily recommend this to many people. It's definitely more oriented towards women, as most of the main characters are women. But personally I didn't feel turned off by that. Her dad is a character I really savored. Also, now I need to go eat some lobster. A lot of lobster. I remember how when I was in Maine, the McDonalds' had lobster mcMuffin. But I digress. This was a good read.
katiemcc13's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
nessaf's review against another edition
4.0
I love how the author showed the perspective of multiple different characters as it highlighted the development and growth of the characters. I would enjoy reading more books by this author.
krismarley's review against another edition
4.0
Many thanks to my friend Ashley for (re)introducing me to Meg Mitchell Moore. I plan to fill in titles that I haven't read.
Second book I've read this year about lobstermen in Maine. Also the second book I've read this year that talks about Finsta accounts. I work mostly in elementary ed and don't have kids. Forgive me for not knowing!
Second book I've read this year about lobstermen in Maine. Also the second book I've read this year that talks about Finsta accounts. I work mostly in elementary ed and don't have kids. Forgive me for not knowing!