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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
I should be working right now.
But I just finished this novel during my lunch and I can't get it out of my mind. The ending, really.
At first, I thought there was something wrong with the Kindle edition. I was approaching the end and when I hit the next page (which turned out to be the last page), my Kindle gave an error that it could not open the page. I went back and forth, and then the page opened, but the sentence I was
on was misaligned to another on the new page. So I decreased the font so I could see the sentence all in one page, and all was well. Until I finished that page and the novel was abruptly over.
I spent the next half-hour or so scouring the Internet for mentions of the last line to see if it indeed was the last line of the novel, or if I had a corrupted version.
It turns out my version is fine and it is as it should be. Then I spent the next hour or so trying to reconcile myself with this ending.
(insert 20 minutes of work while still thinking...)
The more I think about it, the more I like it. Obviously I can't get into it here because I'd spoil things. But the reason I'm harping on it is that it's this aspect that is making me waver between a 4 and 5-star rating.
But enough about the ending. Let's talk about the trip there.
Some of my favourite movies/novels are those that centre around the drabness of middleclass suburbia and the interesting characters that wallow in it or seek an escape from the day to day regiment of work, home, and kids. Consider American Beauty, Short Cuts, Big Little Lies, or Happiness. Little Children brought to mind all the things I loved about stories like those. The beauty of stories like these are characters that are fully realized. We either know these people or we see ourselves in them.
Perrotta is brilliant at creating characters and following them through their midlife crises. Like Mrs. Fletcher, his novel reads like gangbusters.
There may have been a few passages where his prose rambled on, but these were rare instances, and were relieved by dialogue exchanges that made the pages rip by.
This is a story of small town suburbia. It focuses on a few parents linked by their kids, and story just happens by throwing these characters together.
This harmonizes into excellent storytelling even in the most mundane moments.
Perrotta is becoming one of my favourite authors. Of course I have to give this five stars because I can't get it out of my mind and, dammit, I have work to do.
But I just finished this novel during my lunch and I can't get it out of my mind. The ending, really.
At first, I thought there was something wrong with the Kindle edition. I was approaching the end and when I hit the next page (which turned out to be the last page), my Kindle gave an error that it could not open the page. I went back and forth, and then the page opened, but the sentence I was
on was misaligned to another on the new page. So I decreased the font so I could see the sentence all in one page, and all was well. Until I finished that page and the novel was abruptly over.
I spent the next half-hour or so scouring the Internet for mentions of the last line to see if it indeed was the last line of the novel, or if I had a corrupted version.
It turns out my version is fine and it is as it should be. Then I spent the next hour or so trying to reconcile myself with this ending.
(insert 20 minutes of work while still thinking...)
The more I think about it, the more I like it. Obviously I can't get into it here because I'd spoil things. But the reason I'm harping on it is that it's this aspect that is making me waver between a 4 and 5-star rating.
But enough about the ending. Let's talk about the trip there.
Some of my favourite movies/novels are those that centre around the drabness of middleclass suburbia and the interesting characters that wallow in it or seek an escape from the day to day regiment of work, home, and kids. Consider American Beauty, Short Cuts, Big Little Lies, or Happiness. Little Children brought to mind all the things I loved about stories like those. The beauty of stories like these are characters that are fully realized. We either know these people or we see ourselves in them.
Perrotta is brilliant at creating characters and following them through their midlife crises. Like Mrs. Fletcher, his novel reads like gangbusters.
There may have been a few passages where his prose rambled on, but these were rare instances, and were relieved by dialogue exchanges that made the pages rip by.
This is a story of small town suburbia. It focuses on a few parents linked by their kids, and story just happens by throwing these characters together.
This harmonizes into excellent storytelling even in the most mundane moments.
Perrotta is becoming one of my favourite authors. Of course I have to give this five stars because I can't get it out of my mind and, dammit, I have work to do.
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don't know where I got this book, but I wanted to read it before I donated it. It was a little engaging but overall just bad
One of my friends really likes Tom Perrotta. I can't decide how I feel about him. I want to like it, I feel like I should like it, but so far both of his books have left me feeling a little blechy.
In this case, I thought the stories of young parents would resonate with me. I have two small children in suburbia after all, but I just couldn't identify with any of the characters. I still found the book interesting, but I didn't find myself rooting for anybody in this book. They're all kind of terrible people with nothing very redeeming or even all that interesting about them, but it was written in such a way that I just had to keep reading in case that changed.
In this case, I thought the stories of young parents would resonate with me. I have two small children in suburbia after all, but I just couldn't identify with any of the characters. I still found the book interesting, but I didn't find myself rooting for anybody in this book. They're all kind of terrible people with nothing very redeeming or even all that interesting about them, but it was written in such a way that I just had to keep reading in case that changed.
Perrotta's novel manages to be sad, funny, and glib in a carousel of characters ranging from obnoxious soccer moms to a sarcastic and bitter child molester and suspected murderer. Little Children presents suburbia as a place as deeply depressing as it is layered, its characters all on a quest to find fulfillment in some form or another--more often than not leading to disastrous and darkly comic consequences.
While I liked the author's writing style, I didn't care for the story line here. This one just didn't do it for me.
It was okay. It's definitely well written, but it also just wasn't my kind of story. Unhappy straight white suburbanites having affairs, whoop-de-doo.
I’m embarrassed to even admit that I read this book, I thought it was going somewhere, but it was just horrible.
Loved the movie...will I love the book? Let's find out...!