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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
I wanted this to be something it wasn't. When I read a description that includes small-towns and long-lasting friendships, I want small-towns and friendships and some conflict...real conflict.
In this book you have several different perspectives that all sounded the same. A lot of the characters sounded the same and I'm not interested in the problems of people that don't really have problems. The characters just weren't that interesting and the drama wasn't all that dramatic. I ended up skipping huge sections of one of the many times a character went off on some barely-connected-to-THIS-story tangent.
But the cover is really good...too bad it doesn't really tell me anything about this book.
(I discovered the Bon Iver connection after finishing the book...knowing it beforehand wouldn't have made much of a difference: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/industry-deals/article/54049-buzzed-about-novel-with-tie-to-bon-iver-sells-in-major-deal.html)
In this book you have several different perspectives that all sounded the same. A lot of the characters sounded the same and I'm not interested in the problems of people that don't really have problems. The characters just weren't that interesting and the drama wasn't all that dramatic. I ended up skipping huge sections of one of the many times a character went off on some barely-connected-to-THIS-story tangent.
But the cover is really good...too bad it doesn't really tell me anything about this book.
(I discovered the Bon Iver connection after finishing the book...knowing it beforehand wouldn't have made much of a difference: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/industry-deals/article/54049-buzzed-about-novel-with-tie-to-bon-iver-sells-in-major-deal.html)
3.5 stars. There were many parts of this book that rang true for me (having grown up in a small town in Michigan, just one state over, and having a sister who has lived in the Eau Claire area for 30 years), but then there would be places where things didn't work so well. This would be a good one for book club discussion.
As a disclaimer - I'm a sucker for books set in Wisconsin (and for that matter Minnesota, Illinois and Maryland) because I was born and partially raised there, and the majority of my family still lives there.
This is the story of a group of high school friends and how their relationships have changed since one of them has become a famous musician. The narrator changed from chapter to chapter which was an effective way to show how the musician's view of his hometown had changed as well as how his friends' impressions of him have changed. It helped to flesh out the characters to both see how they view themselves and how they view each other.
Overall it is difficult to review this book because while it was an ok read, I kept putting it down to start a new book or listen to an audiobook. If it wasn't a first read copy I might have called it quits after a few chapters because it wasn't very engaging. When I first finished it, I gave it 3 stars (a goodreads "I liked it") but now sitting and writing this review I'm changing to 2 stars ("it was ok") because that's what it was - ok.
This is the story of a group of high school friends and how their relationships have changed since one of them has become a famous musician. The narrator changed from chapter to chapter which was an effective way to show how the musician's view of his hometown had changed as well as how his friends' impressions of him have changed. It helped to flesh out the characters to both see how they view themselves and how they view each other.
Overall it is difficult to review this book because while it was an ok read, I kept putting it down to start a new book or listen to an audiobook. If it wasn't a first read copy I might have called it quits after a few chapters because it wasn't very engaging. When I first finished it, I gave it 3 stars (a goodreads "I liked it") but now sitting and writing this review I'm changing to 2 stars ("it was ok") because that's what it was - ok.
Firstly, thank you to the publishers for sending me a copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I took nearly a week after reading this book to mull over how I felt about it. It is a very lovely story, told with a great narrative style which enabled the author to switch between different character perspectives and stretch over quite a period of time, including flashbacks, without feeling rushed or overly drawn-out. I really liked the characters and I really liked the world that the author created in this small town. So on all of those fronts, I recommend this book.
Unfortunately, I just didn't feel the story took me anywhere that interesting by the end. I must say that this is quite a common issue for me with many of the books that I read, so please keep this in mind when reading this review. I really wanted to love this story and be able to give it five stars by the end, but felt it was more of a ‘I liked it’ three star read once it was over. I really like the writers voice though, and would definitely read more of their work.
I took nearly a week after reading this book to mull over how I felt about it. It is a very lovely story, told with a great narrative style which enabled the author to switch between different character perspectives and stretch over quite a period of time, including flashbacks, without feeling rushed or overly drawn-out. I really liked the characters and I really liked the world that the author created in this small town. So on all of those fronts, I recommend this book.
Unfortunately, I just didn't feel the story took me anywhere that interesting by the end. I must say that this is quite a common issue for me with many of the books that I read, so please keep this in mind when reading this review. I really wanted to love this story and be able to give it five stars by the end, but felt it was more of a ‘I liked it’ three star read once it was over. I really like the writers voice though, and would definitely read more of their work.
Beautiful prose. It reminded me of Hemingway with 21st century sensibilities.
This book is about four friends and their relationships. That said, it struck me how the sense of place was perhaps one of the most important elements of the book. Set in a town in rural Wisconsin, the topography, town folk and importance of agriculture and the land take center stage.
I quite liked this. Great characters, good use of shifting POVs, really strong sense of place. I just felt a bit unsatisfied by how Lee was treated at the end, so that's why I'm not giving this 5 stars.
Butler's debut novel is a lovingly rendered portrait of rural Wisconsin. As a native Badger myself, I recognized the depictions of people and place; Butler's narrative is rich with detail unique to the area, successfully capturing the small town atmosphere. Its rife with unspoken questions about loyalty, home, and belonging. Occasionally overwritten, and without enough distinction between characters' voices.