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maariiike's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
villavillakula's review against another edition
4.0
Brought me to tears once unexpectedly, circled around things. Laurie Colwin has a way that makes me feel like even when the characters are unhappy or doing destabilising things that it is actually very stable underneath it all.
emmareadstoomuch's review against another edition
2.0
like a reverse irish exit?
anyway.
the important thing to know about this is it's a bad book written by a good writer. the characters: flimsy. their relationships: inexplicable. the plot: filled with years-long gaps to the point of being incomprehensible.
but the writing itself? the dialogue? the little jokes? excellent.
the other thing to know is that it is very weird. it's a white woman who was once a backup singer in a Black group and can't get over it. that's not much to carry us through 250 pages and it never feels any more normal.
maybe it was a different time.
bottom line: sometimes books are forgotten for a reason.
2.5
anyway.
the important thing to know about this is it's a bad book written by a good writer. the characters: flimsy. their relationships: inexplicable. the plot: filled with years-long gaps to the point of being incomprehensible.
but the writing itself? the dialogue? the little jokes? excellent.
the other thing to know is that it is very weird. it's a white woman who was once a backup singer in a Black group and can't get over it. that's not much to carry us through 250 pages and it never feels any more normal.
maybe it was a different time.
bottom line: sometimes books are forgotten for a reason.
2.5
nlk's review against another edition
3.0
Quirky book written in first person. Enjoyed the writing and point of view although nothing much really happened in the whole book. The ending was crap. Like the author ran out of things to write.
lennonhyphensimon's review against another edition
4.0
It is so odd how you can read a book for so long and it just doesn't make sense to you until one line says everything that was said before. I wrote the line down because it not only made her life make sense but my own as well. And isn't that just what books are for?
winemakerssister's review against another edition
4.0
Laurie Colwin is one of my favorite authors - both her fiction and her food writing - but it's been years since I've read anything of hers. I know I've read this but didn't remember much of it. I guess that's because there's not much plot - it meanders a bit... just like Geraldine's life. But that was part of Colwin's charm - she wrote stories that were snippets of life in modern (in her time) NYC.
purplezeeb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
missdaisy17's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
ledr0811's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lnbrittain's review against another edition
3.0
This book was so great, so insightful about motherhood, that I got lost in it.
I'm downgrading it because the ending flattened out radically. It needed to be as good at the end as it was elsewhere. But overall, this book was better and more subtle and interesting than many, many others. Might even be more interesting than better, more important books.
I'm downgrading it because the ending flattened out radically. It needed to be as good at the end as it was elsewhere. But overall, this book was better and more subtle and interesting than many, many others. Might even be more interesting than better, more important books.