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rebeccajoreads's review against another edition
Didn't hold my attention. Want to read another book
rachelkreadsbookz's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
gurbindertakhar's review against another edition
reflective
fast-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? Yes
5.0
hannahemparman's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
michelleloretta's review against another edition
3.0
This was fun. I picked it up because I adored Rowley’s other book, Guncle. This was delightful too. But, not as cohesive. I felt some gaps in the mother-son relationship. The mother wasn’t well-defined as a character and I spent much of the book trying to understand why their relationship was so fragmented. Really loved the “Jackie O” character, the imagining of her life as an editor.
sarahareinhard's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Interesting premise and fun read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
novelvisits's review against another edition
3.0
{My Thoughts}
What Worked For Me
Dysfunctional Family Relationships – The buzz surrounding The Editor focuses on the fact that author James Smale finds himself in that startling position of having his debut edited Jackie Kennedy Onassis. That’s exactly where the story begins, but it quickly moves into the heart of the autobiographical novel that James has written: a story about the very dysfunctional relationship between a mother and her gay son. Jackie wants more from the relationship in the story. She want’s James to dig deeper. James is terrified. He loves his mother very much, but doesn’t understand her or the choices she’s made. What if by digging deeper, he loses her completely?
A Perfectly Rendered Thanksgiving Weekend – What would a dysfunctional family story be without one of “those” Thanksgivings? From the tensions leading up to the day right through the bombshell dropped at the dinner table, Rowley did it perfectly in The Editor. The dinner scene blew me away and had me giving Rowley a mental high five!
“I can feel a hand reach around my heart and squeeze, and the result is not so much pain as it is fear. Because the next thing that happens is I can’t fill my lungs, I can’t force air into them, I can’t get them to expand. My weight grows in my chair, as if suddenly it were rooted to the floor of a house on another planet with a mass infinitely greater than earth’s a planet where my weight would be double or triple what it is.”
The Ending – I thought the way Rowley resolved this mother-son story was fantastic and I especially loved the very end of their journey together.
What Didn’t
The Parts With Mrs. Onassis – For some reason, I found myself not really caring for the parts that involved Jackie. To me they felt a little disingenuous and I had a really difficult time buying into them. They were a little too fangirl, a little too cloying. Each time The Editor came back to Jackie, I grew restless with Rowley’s story.
Dull First Half – For nearly half of the book I really didn’t care much about any of the secondary characters, and the true action was slow to develop. Until the mother-son relationship story took off, I found myself growing weary and as a result did a little skimming.
{The Final Assessment}
For me, The Editor was a very up and down story. I liked the mother-son story very, very much, but it was slow to develop, and the parts in between tended to be a little dull. If you read and loved Lily and the Octopus, be aware that this is a much different story, lacking the wit and humor Lily delivered. However, like Lily, The Editor packs a welcome emotional punch in the end. I remain a fan of Rowley and will definitely be in line to read whatever he writes next. Grade: B-
Note: I received a copy of this book from G.P. Putnam’s Sons in exchange for my honest review.
For more reviews and bookish news: https://novelvisits.com/
What Worked For Me
Dysfunctional Family Relationships – The buzz surrounding The Editor focuses on the fact that author James Smale finds himself in that startling position of having his debut edited Jackie Kennedy Onassis. That’s exactly where the story begins, but it quickly moves into the heart of the autobiographical novel that James has written: a story about the very dysfunctional relationship between a mother and her gay son. Jackie wants more from the relationship in the story. She want’s James to dig deeper. James is terrified. He loves his mother very much, but doesn’t understand her or the choices she’s made. What if by digging deeper, he loses her completely?
A Perfectly Rendered Thanksgiving Weekend – What would a dysfunctional family story be without one of “those” Thanksgivings? From the tensions leading up to the day right through the bombshell dropped at the dinner table, Rowley did it perfectly in The Editor. The dinner scene blew me away and had me giving Rowley a mental high five!
“I can feel a hand reach around my heart and squeeze, and the result is not so much pain as it is fear. Because the next thing that happens is I can’t fill my lungs, I can’t force air into them, I can’t get them to expand. My weight grows in my chair, as if suddenly it were rooted to the floor of a house on another planet with a mass infinitely greater than earth’s a planet where my weight would be double or triple what it is.”
The Ending – I thought the way Rowley resolved this mother-son story was fantastic and I especially loved the very end of their journey together.
What Didn’t
The Parts With Mrs. Onassis – For some reason, I found myself not really caring for the parts that involved Jackie. To me they felt a little disingenuous and I had a really difficult time buying into them. They were a little too fangirl, a little too cloying. Each time The Editor came back to Jackie, I grew restless with Rowley’s story.
Dull First Half – For nearly half of the book I really didn’t care much about any of the secondary characters, and the true action was slow to develop. Until the mother-son relationship story took off, I found myself growing weary and as a result did a little skimming.
{The Final Assessment}
For me, The Editor was a very up and down story. I liked the mother-son story very, very much, but it was slow to develop, and the parts in between tended to be a little dull. If you read and loved Lily and the Octopus, be aware that this is a much different story, lacking the wit and humor Lily delivered. However, like Lily, The Editor packs a welcome emotional punch in the end. I remain a fan of Rowley and will definitely be in line to read whatever he writes next. Grade: B-
Note: I received a copy of this book from G.P. Putnam’s Sons in exchange for my honest review.
For more reviews and bookish news: https://novelvisits.com/
violalover32086's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
aangelwilliamss's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5