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dottiemi's review against another edition
4.0
The last page brought the whole book together, I really enjoyed it.
beefmaster's review against another edition
4.0
Was worried it would be all about hippies and i hate hippies, or at least how they're depicted in fiction. insufferable annoying wankers. luckily, Hadley is interested in the same old thing (infidelity and its fallout). Shocking that there isn't more than one description of clouds in this novel. She's lost her way!
piper_berlin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
pinaybibliophile's review against another edition
4.5
Free Love is a novel that is complex but nuanced. For me, Phyllis's affair with a younger man is not the main point of the book but rather her self-discovery that led to her liberation. The plot twist was cleverly done.
kathieboucher's review against another edition
4.0
Well-written swinging sixties tale of a settled married lady of a certain age who shakes up her life in a gigantic way. I love a book set in 1967. Thanks to the great Backlisted podcast for leading me to this one.
catriona90's review against another edition
3.0
I struggled to get excited by this book. I just didn’t relate to any of the characters and found next to no thrill in any of the sexual exploits. It wasn’t bad, I was just a bit bored of it and keen to finish it.
jacki_f's review
4.0
It's 1967. Phyllis is 40, married to Roger and they have two children aged 15 and 9. They live an idyllic life in a gorgeous home on the outskirts of London. But everything is turned upside down when Phyllis commences an affair with Nicky, whose parents are old friends of Roger's.
I thought this would be a novel about the affair and that's how it starts, but it spins into other directions as it provides the spur for Phyllis to make some drastic life changes which in turn influence the other three members of her family. There's a great plot twist, one that I didn't see coming, which transforms the plot into a "situation as fatally twisted as a Greek drama".
Hadley's great strength as a writer is how perceptive she is about people's behaviour. The characters are all interesting and each member of the family changes and evolves over the course of the novel. I found this a very satisfying book to read.
I thought this would be a novel about the affair and that's how it starts, but it spins into other directions as it provides the spur for Phyllis to make some drastic life changes which in turn influence the other three members of her family. There's a great plot twist, one that I didn't see coming, which transforms the plot into a "situation as fatally twisted as a Greek drama".
Hadley's great strength as a writer is how perceptive she is about people's behaviour. The characters are all interesting and each member of the family changes and evolves over the course of the novel. I found this a very satisfying book to read.
klohrentz's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
esthervbatt's review against another edition
3.0
At first I hated the super long chapters but the story made it up to me!! Very moving novel about change and pushing limits.