Reviews - Geweldig groots mooi leven

28.6k reviews for:

Geweldig groots mooi leven

Emily Henry

4.08 AVERAGE

alicarty's review against another edition

4.5

emotional lighthearted 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

mommabear322's review against another edition

3.25

emotional fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

tarahann's review against another edition

4.0

hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

ktagai's review against another edition

4.0

challenging funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The negatives for me:
There were almost too many characters to follow and I sometimes got lost in the older generations- between Gerald, Fred, their wives etc.

I couldn’t connect with the broody main male character until we started to see him through the eyes of the female main character.

I was hoping that Margaret and Jodi were lovers and that plot wasn’t realized to my disappointment. There were only ever hetero love stories featured.

I never clearly understood the MC’s relationship with her sister, who was only ever off page and who wasn’t necessary to the story moving forward

Things I loved:

The dual unfolding stories where we see the history unfolding alongside the present as it is told. This was woven in clearly and with a linear timeline that was easy to follow.

The exploration of inside vs outside a story- what we know, what we observe and what we are told and how the press and others play into that understanding (or lack of it).

The main character’s mother and her relationship with her.

The fact that the book and narrative arcs didn’t flinch from death, grief and its aftermath.

The last page- just from personal experience half of it was pretty trite and half of it resonated on such a personal level it wouldn’t really apply to anyone else or their enjoyment of the book.