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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
This book was really heavy. The writing was stunning and the story was intriguing but I had to keep taking breaks because it was emotionally draining.
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Hear me out. Sure the challenges faced by this billionaire and her “poor little rich kid” adult children are completely unrelatable. “How unfair I only get my trust fund bonus if I keep the Shastri last name”. And there is not really a single likable character in the book. Yet, I really found this story compelling and couldn’t put it down. I have no idea why I loved it, but I did.
I really liked the overarching story: rich, spoiled, successful Dava controls it all to the very end. I particularly loved how the author wove in the Peace Corps backstory. However, for me, nearly all of the characters were truly horrible people. I was not interested or invested in a one. So the side stories and background were not a build up to Dava’s actual last day but a slow, detailed happening.
Eta: after some thought I’m changing my rating bc this is a good book. The lead character frustrated me but that doesn’t make this book any less interesting or entertaining.
Interesting read. I really wanted to like one (any) of these characters but couldn’t and as a result I found it difficult to invest emotionally with any of the experiences these characters where having. In addition the one story I may have been interested in hearing at the end (Chaitanya?) was absent.
Also, the fact that Dava died without leaving anything for her made me more than indifferent to her, it made me dislike her.
Interesting read. I really wanted to like one (any) of these characters but couldn’t and as a result I found it difficult to invest emotionally with any of the experiences these characters where having. In addition the one story I may have been interested in hearing at the end (Chaitanya?) was absent.
Also, the fact that Dava died without leaving anything for her made me more than indifferent to her, it made me dislike her.
Did not finish. Read up to about 57%.
Wasn’t engaging, the characters were not likeable. It had an interesting premise but was so boring.
Wasn’t engaging, the characters were not likeable. It had an interesting premise but was so boring.
Great little beach read that reminds me
A bit of Celeste Ng in that it’s about a parent who overcorrects in their love for their children. And it’s consequences. It’s about how parents start their children on a journey but have very little do with their final paths and destinations. It’s also about the dark side of selfish wisdom in some ways.
A bit of Celeste Ng in that it’s about a parent who overcorrects in their love for their children. And it’s consequences. It’s about how parents start their children on a journey but have very little do with their final paths and destinations. It’s also about the dark side of selfish wisdom in some ways.
It’s not a bad book, but it also makes me question book clubs. It’s one of those books with an unlikeable main character that you find out more about as you go, their history, their loves and losses, their motivations. I just cared less and less the more I found out about Dava, and her family. I’m sick of the trope I keep reading and watching on tv that a successful, driven woman must be a bad mom or emotionally unavailable to loved ones. Just because a parent (mom or dad) misses time with their kids for work doesn’t automatically mean that they don’t have good quality time. But Dava goes out of her way to treat her family like extensions of herself.
I love complicated characters and especially women (Olive Kittridge is the perfect example) but Dava and her story is not all that unique or complicated. The author lost me when a young Dava was reading the biography of Rockefeller and said out loud I want to be the next Rockefeller, I want my name to be a legend, and my legacy to be carried on by children I didn’t particularly want to have.
I love complicated characters and especially women (Olive Kittridge is the perfect example) but Dava and her story is not all that unique or complicated. The author lost me when a young Dava was reading the biography of Rockefeller and said out loud I want to be the next Rockefeller, I want my name to be a legend, and my legacy to be carried on by children I didn’t particularly want to have.