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meloches's review against another edition
4.0
We All Love the Beautiful Girls, by Joanne Proulx, is a very different story from what I normally read and what I am attracted to. However, the synopsis intrigued me and, given the fact that she is a Canadian author, I added it to the top of my TBR pile. I am so glad I did. From Proulx’s strong prose to the different narrative voices that are portrayed, I found myself hanging on to every word.
The novel opens and builds slowly with the introduction of several different characters that all have a point of view within the story. Mia (the family matriarch) Michael (her husband who has just been cheated by his business partner) and Finn (their teenaged son, who is in love with a girl he cannot have). After an evening with a terrible accident and some personal revelations, they find their relationships tested and their boundaries pushed as each character deals with the loss in a different way.
One of the main things that drew me into the story, pretty much immediately, was how real, dark and raw Proulx’s story telling is. There is no sugar coating or dramatic flourish within these pages. There is heartache, there is loss and there is the undeniable feeling that this could potentially happen to anyone. As their family unit unravels, I felt emotionally compelled to continue reading. I have read other reviews that state this story is too slow, I, however, felt the complete opposite. I felt like I settled into this story easily and was completely entranced throughout. I couldn’t put it down.
One of my favourite features of the book was the setting. Obviously, any book that takes place in Canada, I find myself incredibly biased towards. I love being able to read a story and understand the setting. At the first mention of Silver City (a movie theatre chain in Canada), I was hooked.
Overall, this book reminded me a little bit of Beartown by Fredrik Backman. It starts with a tragedy and then the reader gets to see how each character is personally affected. They had a very similar vibe.
Readers of contemporary drama will find this one completely compelling.
The novel opens and builds slowly with the introduction of several different characters that all have a point of view within the story. Mia (the family matriarch) Michael (her husband who has just been cheated by his business partner) and Finn (their teenaged son, who is in love with a girl he cannot have). After an evening with a terrible accident and some personal revelations, they find their relationships tested and their boundaries pushed as each character deals with the loss in a different way.
One of the main things that drew me into the story, pretty much immediately, was how real, dark and raw Proulx’s story telling is. There is no sugar coating or dramatic flourish within these pages. There is heartache, there is loss and there is the undeniable feeling that this could potentially happen to anyone. As their family unit unravels, I felt emotionally compelled to continue reading. I have read other reviews that state this story is too slow, I, however, felt the complete opposite. I felt like I settled into this story easily and was completely entranced throughout. I couldn’t put it down.
One of my favourite features of the book was the setting. Obviously, any book that takes place in Canada, I find myself incredibly biased towards. I love being able to read a story and understand the setting. At the first mention of Silver City (a movie theatre chain in Canada), I was hooked.
Overall, this book reminded me a little bit of Beartown by Fredrik Backman. It starts with a tragedy and then the reader gets to see how each character is personally affected. They had a very similar vibe.
Readers of contemporary drama will find this one completely compelling.
r00017a's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
reviewsbylola's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
robinlovesreading's review against another edition
3.0
Well. I feel cheated - both during the time it took to read the book, which, admittedly was less than a day, but especially after finishing it. Let me try and explain why. As a reviewer, I try never to read reviews until after I wrote mine, and maybe not even then. In the case of We All Love the Beautiful Girls, I didn't read a single review. What I did read was the effusive quotes on the back cover of the hardcover book. There were seven quotes. Effusive. Made me wonder why I let the ARC of this book sit on my shelves for several months. Oh, I read a lot. Every day However, there is only so much time.
Well, I picked up the book - along with a reviewer friend - for review this weekend. I was really excited after reading the quotes from other authors and a couple of publications. To say the last, the quotes and the hype in no way measured up to my take on the book.
Let me start with a summary and then I will write up my actual review thoughts.
It is a very, very bad time for Mia and Michael Slate. While they are reeling from the lost of Michael's company and their life savings, they discover that after their seventeen-year-old son went to a party, while high, he fell and passed out in the snow. This was a devastating event that toppled the already crumbling lives of their family. Sadly, more than the Slate family were affected by what happened to their son Finn.
Michael and Mia led a fairly charmed life. They both had exceptional jobs, had been married 19 years and had a relatively happy family. Things changed overnight. They lost everything, nearly lost Finn due to his trauma, and their family fell apart. Michael lost his company when his best friend Peter cheated him out of everything due to embezzlement. What Finn lost during that snowstorm was very tragic. He lost his hand, but truly, he lost himself. To complicate matters, Peter's daughter Frankie, at 23, is in love with Finn, but there is a young man Eli in love with her. Then Michael's wife Mia lost it all when she wondered about the stability of her marriage.
The overwhelming sense of drama after losing their livelihood quickly took second place and Finn's loss of his hand left Mia trying to keep things together, while Michael completely lost his way. Michael spent about 98% of the time during this book feeling sorry for himself. Yes, Mia did as well, but for different reasons. While Michael spent his time away from Mia and Finn, Mia used this time to play around with a fantasy. Giving in to said fantasy would no doubt completely erode any chance the family had of recovering.
When I read a book, admittedly I like to latch on to at least one character, preferably several. In this book, I was not afforded the opportunity. There is Michael, Mia, Finn and Frankie. NONE of them were likable. They were all broken and I could only hope through the pages of this book that at least one of them would be redeemed. Had that been the case, then my rating would have climbed up just a bit.
So, think. Imagine. You are on a train barreling downhill with no breaks. On the wrong track! Yep, that is what this book was. As I rapidly approached the epilogue I was so very hopeful that something, even one thing, would turn around. It never did.
Despite my overwhelming negative feelings towards this read, I will say that Joanne Proulx is a good storyteller, her writing was cohesive and I was initially drawn to the characters, especially Finn. What he dealt with I couldn't imagine my own children suffering through.
Many thanks to Grand Central Publishing for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.
Well, I picked up the book - along with a reviewer friend - for review this weekend. I was really excited after reading the quotes from other authors and a couple of publications. To say the last, the quotes and the hype in no way measured up to my take on the book.
Let me start with a summary and then I will write up my actual review thoughts.
It is a very, very bad time for Mia and Michael Slate. While they are reeling from the lost of Michael's company and their life savings, they discover that after their seventeen-year-old son went to a party, while high, he fell and passed out in the snow. This was a devastating event that toppled the already crumbling lives of their family. Sadly, more than the Slate family were affected by what happened to their son Finn.
Michael and Mia led a fairly charmed life. They both had exceptional jobs, had been married 19 years and had a relatively happy family. Things changed overnight. They lost everything, nearly lost Finn due to his trauma, and their family fell apart. Michael lost his company when his best friend Peter cheated him out of everything due to embezzlement. What Finn lost during that snowstorm was very tragic. He lost his hand, but truly, he lost himself. To complicate matters, Peter's daughter Frankie, at 23, is in love with Finn, but there is a young man Eli in love with her. Then Michael's wife Mia lost it all when she wondered about the stability of her marriage.
The overwhelming sense of drama after losing their livelihood quickly took second place and Finn's loss of his hand left Mia trying to keep things together, while Michael completely lost his way. Michael spent about 98% of the time during this book feeling sorry for himself. Yes, Mia did as well, but for different reasons. While Michael spent his time away from Mia and Finn, Mia used this time to play around with a fantasy. Giving in to said fantasy would no doubt completely erode any chance the family had of recovering.
When I read a book, admittedly I like to latch on to at least one character, preferably several. In this book, I was not afforded the opportunity. There is Michael, Mia, Finn and Frankie. NONE of them were likable. They were all broken and I could only hope through the pages of this book that at least one of them would be redeemed. Had that been the case, then my rating would have climbed up just a bit.
So, think. Imagine. You are on a train barreling downhill with no breaks. On the wrong track! Yep, that is what this book was. As I rapidly approached the epilogue I was so very hopeful that something, even one thing, would turn around. It never did.
Despite my overwhelming negative feelings towards this read, I will say that Joanne Proulx is a good storyteller, her writing was cohesive and I was initially drawn to the characters, especially Finn. What he dealt with I couldn't imagine my own children suffering through.
Many thanks to Grand Central Publishing for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.
cobblestones's review against another edition
3.0
Just finished this one this morning in bed and I don't really know what I think of it.
It's a slow burner, the kind that keeps your toes steadily warm but never uncomfortably hot; you settle into their marriage, Finn's love troubles, all the goings-on in this leafy Canadian town.
There are happenings and there are consequences, and if some stories are paced like a runaway horse and buggy, this one is stretching out on a king sized bed atop a rich, thick velvet comforter, but with the occasional balled-up piece of clothing underneath that creates a bump in the road.
Something fascinating: I've read more than one review that said this book seemed imbued with sadness; that it left them with a heavy feeling or depression as they read it. I am so intrigued by this - I had the opposite. Yes, things are definitely NOT going well for folks throughout the story, but it still seemed slightly warmed by optimism; plants bloomed, old trees spread roots 200 years deep into the ground, seasons cycle and life continues. What separates those readers from readers like myself? How does the same story exhale polar emotions upon different people?
I guess I sort of liked it, but I'm still not quite sure. Maybe once I've had my coffee I'll be certain.
It's a slow burner, the kind that keeps your toes steadily warm but never uncomfortably hot; you settle into their marriage, Finn's love troubles, all the goings-on in this leafy Canadian town.
There are happenings and there are consequences, and if some stories are paced like a runaway horse and buggy, this one is stretching out on a king sized bed atop a rich, thick velvet comforter, but with the occasional balled-up piece of clothing underneath that creates a bump in the road.
Something fascinating: I've read more than one review that said this book seemed imbued with sadness; that it left them with a heavy feeling or depression as they read it. I am so intrigued by this - I had the opposite. Yes, things are definitely NOT going well for folks throughout the story, but it still seemed slightly warmed by optimism; plants bloomed, old trees spread roots 200 years deep into the ground, seasons cycle and life continues. What separates those readers from readers like myself? How does the same story exhale polar emotions upon different people?
I guess I sort of liked it, but I'm still not quite sure. Maybe once I've had my coffee I'll be certain.
kateausten's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
greetingsfeline's review against another edition
3.0
This book is ok - it drew me in quickly but halfway through started to feel a bit monotonous and repetitive. Some of the plot points were not terribly believable and felt too heavy handed. Overall, interesting themes but felt like a bit of a slog by the end.
yetanothersusan's review against another edition
4.0
They always say that tragedy will either bring people closer together or tear them apart. Somehow this book does both. Reading it was simultaneously like watching a train wreck and story of redemption and hope. I don't know how else to put it. Michael and Mia deal with finding out they have been conned by their best friend while also dealing with a horrible accident that has permanently altered their son's future. Instead of coming together, they begin to lean on others and it is watching this ballet that is the heart of the story. One part of the story broke my heart. I guess it needed to be there to show how far out of control the damage got, but I felt it unnecessary, as though the author kicked the reader while they were down. However, I guess caring for characters this much is a sign of good writing.
A copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
A copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
frances_ab's review against another edition
4.0
This was an emotional roller-coaster of a book about how quickly a comfortably off, loving family can fall apart when things go wrong. (Set in Ottawa, there was the added enjoyment for me of seeing familiar places and trying to place other locations.) Told from the point of view of both parents and the teenaged son, it brilliantly chronicles the love and the hurt and the anger that can consume a marriage, a friendship, a family. At times I couldn't put it down, at other times I desperately needed to take a break from the story. It's one of those books that is hard to stop thinking about once it is finished.
macabrereadersam's review against another edition
5.0
A thought provoking read about our actions and the consequences they bring.