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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
With the end of her life drawing near, Dava Shastri gathers her family together one last time and has cleverly arranged for news of her death to break early, so she can read through the obituaries. But things do not go quite as planned and two major secrets are revealed.
I enjoyed this fresh take on what defines a life and one’s impact. There are also thought-provoking moments around altruism and the potentially self-centered reasons behind acts of philanthropy and giving back. Overall, this is a great reflection on what makes a legacy, the importance and role of family in one’s life, and the complexities of love and ambition.
I enjoyed this fresh take on what defines a life and one’s impact. There are also thought-provoking moments around altruism and the potentially self-centered reasons behind acts of philanthropy and giving back. Overall, this is a great reflection on what makes a legacy, the importance and role of family in one’s life, and the complexities of love and ambition.
The concept behind this book is really interesting and intriguing. While overall I enjoyed it, I feel like its premise had SO MUCH potential for me to enjoy it even more than I did, that it didn’t quite reach.
As a music lover (an understatement,) I was so excited about the use of music in this, but that honestly fell flat for me. I still don’t even understand what Dava’s company even was before she sold it? In general, I think there was a good amount of information included that felt irrelevant and I found myself wishing I could swap it for other, more interesting parts of the story that I wanted more background on.
I also struggled with emotionally connecting with Dava. I found her character compelling and interesting and I didn’t dislike her, but I just don’t think there was enough heart to the writing of her character for me to feel like I really got to know “her,” beyond her motivations and achievements. Because of that, I just couldn’t get myself to care about the flashbacks and mostly skimmed through them. The secret daughter trope also feels very very tired at this point. I wanted juicer!
The younger children were more interesting to me than the older, especially Kali—personally I found her more compelling and interesting and relatable than Dava at times simply because of her untraditional paths and directions in life. (This is a part of the story I would’ve really enjoyed more background on!)
Although I had kind of a meandering hot and cold journey while reading this, by the end of the book, I was more invested—I think this is where the story shines. I really enjoyed (and teared up at) the parts with Dava speaking with her grandchildren and Sandi. It was thoughtful and beautiful and felt very special to read—I’ll definitely remember the ending. And I’m stealing the term and concept of “free happiness,” which might have been my favorite part of the entire story.
As a music lover (an understatement,) I was so excited about the use of music in this, but that honestly fell flat for me. I still don’t even understand what Dava’s company even was before she sold it? In general, I think there was a good amount of information included that felt irrelevant and I found myself wishing I could swap it for other, more interesting parts of the story that I wanted more background on.
I also struggled with emotionally connecting with Dava. I found her character compelling and interesting and I didn’t dislike her, but I just don’t think there was enough heart to the writing of her character for me to feel like I really got to know “her,” beyond her motivations and achievements. Because of that, I just couldn’t get myself to care about the flashbacks and mostly skimmed through them. The secret daughter trope also feels very very tired at this point. I wanted juicer!
The younger children were more interesting to me than the older, especially Kali—personally I found her more compelling and interesting and relatable than Dava at times simply because of her untraditional paths and directions in life. (This is a part of the story I would’ve really enjoyed more background on!)
Although I had kind of a meandering hot and cold journey while reading this, by the end of the book, I was more invested—I think this is where the story shines. I really enjoyed (and teared up at) the parts with Dava speaking with her grandchildren and Sandi. It was thoughtful and beautiful and felt very special to read—I’ll definitely remember the ending. And I’m stealing the term and concept of “free happiness,” which might have been my favorite part of the entire story.
I really liked the premise of the storyline, i just didn't care about the characters at all.
This was a very interesting family story about legacy and life.
At some pints I felt like there was too much reputation of the frustrations felt by the children; though I also understand how the situation could lead to a jumble of thoughts/feelings.
I enjoyed how the story flipped between present day and flashbacks to Dana’s earlier life.
At some pints I felt like there was too much reputation of the frustrations felt by the children; though I also understand how the situation could lead to a jumble of thoughts/feelings.
I enjoyed how the story flipped between present day and flashbacks to Dana’s earlier life.
The beginning and ending were good. The middle felt like it lost is focus. There were so many tangents/flashbacks. The 1 day this book covered felt like a week.
*2.5
To be honest, I had a hard time finishing this book. While fairly well written, I found it very difficult to connect with the main character, Dava.
I understand she is supposed to be a complex woman, but it was very hard to read such a self-absorbed point of view. Throughout the book, we are told she is a great woman instead of being shown that she is. The main reason for her greatness lies on her ability to generate wealth and share it, even though we never see her business savvy, nor do we spend time on the people she helped. Instead, we read about her disregarding the people around her, and being annoyed by her family as they deal with the sudden news of her impending death. Dava’s last day consists of her absorbed in her own legacy as her family bickers amongst themselves outside of her room.
I would’ve thought this was intentional, unreliable narrator and all, but when her oldest son brings up valid concerns, he is hastily dismissed and humiliated for not acknowledging how great his mother is. The narrative itself never holds Dava accountable for the callous actions she takes, even excusing them. It was frustrating to see her describe cheating on her ever-loving husband as “self-care”, and then have that affair defended or ignored by most of her children.
However, the scene with the grandchildren and Sandi was very touching. It was one of the rare moments where no one had contempt for each other, which allowed the characters to genuinely connect and reflect. From here until she died, the book gained a bit of heart which was sorely needed.
All in all, an ok read. With the last few chapters as good as they were, I’d be curious to read more from the author.
To be honest, I had a hard time finishing this book. While fairly well written, I found it very difficult to connect with the main character, Dava.
I understand she is supposed to be a complex woman, but it was very hard to read such a self-absorbed point of view. Throughout the book, we are told she is a great woman instead of being shown that she is. The main reason for her greatness lies on her ability to generate wealth and share it, even though we never see her business savvy, nor do we spend time on the people she helped. Instead, we read about her disregarding the people around her, and being annoyed by her family as they deal with the sudden news of her impending death. Dava’s last day consists of her absorbed in her own legacy as her family bickers amongst themselves outside of her room.
I would’ve thought this was intentional, unreliable narrator and all, but when her oldest son brings up valid concerns, he is hastily dismissed and humiliated for not acknowledging how great his mother is. The narrative itself never holds Dava accountable for the callous actions she takes, even excusing them. It was frustrating to see her describe cheating on her ever-loving husband as “self-care”, and then have that affair defended or ignored by most of her children.
However, the scene with the grandchildren and Sandi was very touching. It was one of the rare moments where no one had contempt for each other, which allowed the characters to genuinely connect and reflect. From here until she died, the book gained a bit of heart which was sorely needed.
All in all, an ok read. With the last few chapters as good as they were, I’d be curious to read more from the author.
I was really interested in the premise, but the pacing was just..so...slow. It took me a while to get through this because I would lose interested and put it down for weeks at a time. Frankly I didn't really like any of the characters that much. What was the saving grace of this book was her interaction with her grandchild towards the end, but other than that, this one will probably be forgettable for me.
3.5 stars. I was leaning towards four stars until the end which felt a little anti-climatic, maybe that was the point. Interesting story idea with a complex main character and complicated family dynamics. Isn’t that real life?
It’s hard for me to sympathize with extremely rich people and bad moms.
This book had the potential to be a hard-hitting, emotional, examination of family and legacy. Instead, I did not feel connected to the multitude of characters, felt that the time jumps were awkward, and was longing to be done by the time I hit the halfway mark.
Thanks to Edelweiss and the Publisher for the ARC, but this just was not my cup of tea.
Thanks to Edelweiss and the Publisher for the ARC, but this just was not my cup of tea.