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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-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
I absolutely loved this book and can understand why it was recommended by several INDY bookstores in our area. This is one of those rare books where I got so lost in the writing that I could almost swear I interacted with the characters in real life. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future!
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
This book was a bit too much (or actually a bit too little) for me. Basically it was a book about a guy writing the book you are reading. Follow? And I should have known better when one character reminds the main character that a book doesn't need to have an actual plot. Time passing can be considered a plot. No, not it can't. I don't like books like that. Between those two things, this was not a book I enjoyed reading. I get it that some people are fine with this but I'm not.
So boring!!! Do not want more descriptions of landscape tasks alternating with conversation that doesn’t accomplish anything.
challenging
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to Lee Cole, Knopf Publishing Group, and Goodreads Giveaways for the free copy of Groundskeeping!
Groundskeeping by Lee Cole is a novel about Owen, a man who seems lost and is meandering through life. Owen meets Alma, a writer doing a fellowship at the college he works at. Despite coming from two entirely different backgrounds, they are drawn to each other. The story loosely follows their relationship, but it goes much deeper than that.
If there were a checklist, Groundskeeping would check all of the right boxes. The characters are well-developed, the relationships feel realistic, and the writing in the story is excellent. The book is not plot-driven, it is driven almost entirely by Owen's internal monologue. He is a complex character that is intriguing to read about. That being said, I was never able to click with any of the characters and as a result, it was difficult to sympathize with them, especially Owen. The more likable characters were characters that we saw little of. I also didn't like the absence of quotation marks in the dialogue, but that's a personal preference.
Overall, I enjoyed Groundskeeping. I probably won't read it again, but it was good to read once.
Groundskeeping by Lee Cole is a novel about Owen, a man who seems lost and is meandering through life. Owen meets Alma, a writer doing a fellowship at the college he works at. Despite coming from two entirely different backgrounds, they are drawn to each other. The story loosely follows their relationship, but it goes much deeper than that.
If there were a checklist, Groundskeeping would check all of the right boxes. The characters are well-developed, the relationships feel realistic, and the writing in the story is excellent. The book is not plot-driven, it is driven almost entirely by Owen's internal monologue. He is a complex character that is intriguing to read about. That being said, I was never able to click with any of the characters and as a result, it was difficult to sympathize with them, especially Owen. The more likable characters were characters that we saw little of. I also didn't like the absence of quotation marks in the dialogue, but that's a personal preference.
Overall, I enjoyed Groundskeeping. I probably won't read it again, but it was good to read once.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
It was like the sensation one has reading a good book. The sensation of being propelled towards the end and at the same time wishing to linger.
Groundskeeping
Lee Cole
•
Exactly my feelings as I read Groundskeeping, a book with so much to say, but it is said in some very unstated, exceptional prose. This is the type of writing that wowed me in it’s subtlety.
•
I began this as an audiobook and the narrator's voice screams "coming of age" novel - something about the way he delivered Owen Callahan’s story felt perfect. But, I knew I wanted a physical copy because the actual book itself is stunning (minus the sticker on the front cover). But, that’s another issue.
•
Groundskeeping is about home and place and how they become intertwined with who we are and who we want to be. Cole captures the pull, safety and allegiance we feel with our hometowns (and our families) while at the same time wrestling with our need to branch out on our own. The book opens with “I've always had the same predicament. When I'm home, in Kentucky, all I want is to leave. When I'm away, I'm homesick for a place that never was." As someone who has moved all the way across the country to a very different place than where I lived most of my life, I felt as though Cole looked into my soul with this simple sentence. I often miss my former home, and yet when I am there I cannot wait to get back to Texas - it never fails.
•
The relationship between the main character, Owen, and his love interest, Alma, was such a smart portrayal of the importance of respecting everyone's life experience, no matter where we hail from - whether it be Kentucky or Bosnia (in the case of this story). I thought it was brilliant.
•
I also loved that this was a "bookish book" - both Owen and Alma are writers and their conversations often center around books and reading which always connects me to characters on a deeper level.
•
Again, this is a quiet read but it packs a punch. I found myself stopping, marking quotes, making notes, and really thinking about how astute Cole's observations about self and place really are.
•
A multi-layered winner.
Groundskeeping
Lee Cole
•
Exactly my feelings as I read Groundskeeping, a book with so much to say, but it is said in some very unstated, exceptional prose. This is the type of writing that wowed me in it’s subtlety.
•
I began this as an audiobook and the narrator's voice screams "coming of age" novel - something about the way he delivered Owen Callahan’s story felt perfect. But, I knew I wanted a physical copy because the actual book itself is stunning (minus the sticker on the front cover). But, that’s another issue.
•
Groundskeeping is about home and place and how they become intertwined with who we are and who we want to be. Cole captures the pull, safety and allegiance we feel with our hometowns (and our families) while at the same time wrestling with our need to branch out on our own. The book opens with “I've always had the same predicament. When I'm home, in Kentucky, all I want is to leave. When I'm away, I'm homesick for a place that never was." As someone who has moved all the way across the country to a very different place than where I lived most of my life, I felt as though Cole looked into my soul with this simple sentence. I often miss my former home, and yet when I am there I cannot wait to get back to Texas - it never fails.
•
The relationship between the main character, Owen, and his love interest, Alma, was such a smart portrayal of the importance of respecting everyone's life experience, no matter where we hail from - whether it be Kentucky or Bosnia (in the case of this story). I thought it was brilliant.
•
I also loved that this was a "bookish book" - both Owen and Alma are writers and their conversations often center around books and reading which always connects me to characters on a deeper level.
•
Again, this is a quiet read but it packs a punch. I found myself stopping, marking quotes, making notes, and really thinking about how astute Cole's observations about self and place really are.
•
A multi-layered winner.
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:
Complicated
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes