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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
The book was a quick read. I really liked it. Set in a small New England town, on the North Shore of Boston, Wendover is an eclectic mixture of townies and transplants from Boston. Most newbies are looking to experience the small town life, but in a desirable locale. There’s old money, new money and of course, no money. The undercurrents of the modern day caste sytem were very interesting.
This is a story of Hildy, a grandmother with a serious drinking problem, and her town. Being from New England and having some family members who’ve had problems with alcohol, I related to many aspects of the book. It was both fascinating and sad. Hildy Good is a complicated heroine, who I found obnoxious, arrogant, insightful and funny, even as I pitied her.
The writing was fabulous and the characters and setting mixed to form a bewitching plot. My only complaint is that Hildy’s alcoholism was so realistically and brutally portrayed, that it was sometimes hard to read.
This is a story of Hildy, a grandmother with a serious drinking problem, and her town. Being from New England and having some family members who’ve had problems with alcohol, I related to many aspects of the book. It was both fascinating and sad. Hildy Good is a complicated heroine, who I found obnoxious, arrogant, insightful and funny, even as I pitied her.
The writing was fabulous and the characters and setting mixed to form a bewitching plot. My only complaint is that Hildy’s alcoholism was so realistically and brutally portrayed, that it was sometimes hard to read.
I love me an unreliable narrator. This narrator's unreliability is revealed bit by bit in a fascinating way. I particularly liked the way her mood (or interpretation of something) could shift so quickly, just heightening the unreliability angle. The ending did get suspenseful, but there were a lot of red herrings that ended up as loose ends. Still, overall an enjoyable reading experience.
Sometimes it is very hard to read a book where characters are plummeting towards ruin, and I found that to be true with this book. The story started out slowly and improved slightly over the course of the book. However, the march towards ruination was painful to experience and I wanted at least two (because there is one) characters to turn out as decent folks.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Many times I complain that books are under edited. In this case, I feel that the book was given a hatchet job. There are story lines that just completely stop, never to be mentioned again. It's very disjointed.
I don't know why, for some reason I enjoyed this book. Nothing really happened at all in this book. I think I just really liked the character Hildy.
My review is here.
"I hate rich people. Well, I'm doing all right myself these days, but I hate all the other rich people."
"I hate rich people. Well, I'm doing all right myself these days, but I hate all the other rich people."
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Summer read ~ not of great literary quality. But I really enjoyed reading this book. It takes place on the North Shore of Massachusetts. Throughout the book are references to towns, buildings, water, life .... that I grew up with.