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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
This book was sweet but predictable. There was so much promise but not enough follow through. It was enjoyable to read but not one that's going to leave me wanting more.
While not sure what to make of it during the beginning chapters...it left me in tears at the end. A story of dealing with sadness and grief in our own ways and being reminded that sometimes the end isn't the end.
I loved this book. Definitely some heavier things in here, but such an important message. I also love the concept of this book club and the fact that books can shape our lives or very vividly remind us of certain important times in our lives. I’ve always felt that way, and I’d totally be into a book club showcasing the books that matter most.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
The advance publicity made this sound like a feel-good book, focusing on an older woman whose twenty-five year marriage suddenly goes on the rocks when she discovers her husband Jim is having an affair. When she says she wants to work it out, Jim insists he says he loves the woman who puts knitted covers over public monuments of various types, graffito style.
The book is not told strictly from Ava's POV; we also get her daughter Maggie, who is in Europe on a serious downward spiral, and later on Ava's mother back in 1970 when Ava was a child and her little sister died tragically. We also get a few other POVs toward the superficially feel-good, but somewhat unbelievable end.
We never see Jim's POV, which I wish we had, considering how much adultery is going on in the rest of the novel. Ava's son is also only heard from through e-mail. But this is a book aimed at the female reader.
The plot centers around a book club that only has ten members, which has been meeting for decades, at the local library where Ava's loyal best friend Cate is librarian. Cate slips Ava in, hoping that after a year of mourning the split-up of her marriage, the book club will give Ava some new direction in her life.
The members are to choose a book that mattered most to them, and they discuss each book over the ensuing months, as Ava's life continues with tremendous ups and downs, and Maggie's dives down into the depths.
The first book to be discussed was Pride and Prejudice--and I looked forward to some delicious insights about all the right and wrong reasons people marry. When Ava only reads the first sentence, pouts, then watches the movie (the Kiera Knightley one, too!) I should have taken heed.
That's not to say there weren't some very fine scenes. Maggie in Paris is particularly vivid and harrowing, and the way she begins to deal with the wreckage of her life was very satisfying.
Ava carries on with a younger man, tries fumblingly to make friends at the club, and then finally begins reading the books--though the discussions never really get past superficial. Mostly, though, the novel is about badly handled adultery, made worse by a lot of drinking, and drugs.
The last half presents a mystery concerning the book that Ava picked for her choice. Speaking impulsively, she promises to bring the author of her book, without any idea if said author is still alive. This is where the novel strayed into improbable coincidences and hand-waving of serious betrayals, at least for me.
Mercy and understanding seem to be unevenly applied, and never do they address truth or trust; the message seems to be that life is short, and water flows under the bridge. And Prodigal Daughters of whatever age are wonderful, so the book can end with tears, smiles, and hugs all around.
Copy received from NetGalley
The book is not told strictly from Ava's POV; we also get her daughter Maggie, who is in Europe on a serious downward spiral, and later on Ava's mother back in 1970 when Ava was a child and her little sister died tragically. We also get a few other POVs
Spoiler
mostly the older generation, all of whom were secret, or not-so-secret, adulterersWe never see Jim's POV, which I wish we had, considering how much adultery is going on in the rest of the novel. Ava's son is also only heard from through e-mail. But this is a book aimed at the female reader.
The plot centers around a book club that only has ten members, which has been meeting for decades, at the local library where Ava's loyal best friend Cate is librarian. Cate slips Ava in, hoping that after a year of mourning the split-up of her marriage, the book club will give Ava some new direction in her life.
The members are to choose a book that mattered most to them, and they discuss each book over the ensuing months, as Ava's life continues with tremendous ups and downs, and Maggie's dives down into the depths.
The first book to be discussed was Pride and Prejudice--and I looked forward to some delicious insights about all the right and wrong reasons people marry. When Ava only reads the first sentence, pouts, then watches the movie (the Kiera Knightley one, too!) I should have taken heed.
That's not to say there weren't some very fine scenes. Maggie in Paris is particularly vivid and harrowing, and the way she begins to deal with the wreckage of her life was very satisfying
Spoiler
even before she gets a highly coincidental endingAva carries on with a younger man, tries fumblingly to make friends at the club, and then finally begins reading the books--though the discussions never really get past superficial. Mostly, though, the novel is about badly handled adultery, made worse by a lot of drinking, and drugs.
The last half presents a mystery concerning the book that Ava picked for her choice. Speaking impulsively, she promises to bring the author of her book, without any idea if said author is still alive. This is where the novel strayed into improbable coincidences and hand-waving of serious betrayals, at least for me
Spoiler
the three older adulterers get happy endings, though they seriously screwed up everyone's lives earlier. Especially Ava's mother, who abandoned her kids by suicide, or so they believed until the last ten pagesMercy and understanding seem to be unevenly applied, and never do they address truth or trust; the message seems to be that life is short, and water flows under the bridge. And Prodigal Daughters of whatever age are wonderful, so the book can end with tears, smiles, and hugs all around.
Spoiler
Except for Jim. And Ava's Dad,who faithfully lived out his joyless life after his faithless wife dumped him and ran off leaving him to raise Ava alone while thinking she was dead, and now exists lonely in assisted living with Alzheimer's.Copy received from NetGalley
Super quick read and perfect for a wannabe writer and lover of books! I loved how it spanned several generations and wrapped up nicely. Maybe a little too nicely.
The book club discussions throughout the book were my favorite and as a result, I miss being in a book club. I plan to re-read some of the classics showcased.
The book club discussions throughout the book were my favorite and as a result, I miss being in a book club. I plan to re-read some of the classics showcased.
This book what I imagined it to be - what a thought would be just about a lady, and her experiences in a book club turned into a story of growth, love and tragedy.
Really enjoyable but I felt the ending was really abrupt and undeveloped.
Really enjoyable but I felt the ending was really abrupt and undeveloped.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ANOTHER WINNER❣️❣️❣️
Ann Hood weaves together the lives of three women—a mother, daughter and granddaughter—to create an unforgettable and gripping story that evolves out of a book club in which each of the 12 participants choose a book that matters most to them. The book that Ava, the daughter, chose, is the book that helped her deal with the untimely death of her sister and her mother. Much to Ava’s dismay, the book that mattered most to her is no longer in print and the author cannot be found. Ava’s pursuit of the book and the author forces her to wrestle with a tangle of unanswered questions about her past. All I can say is this is my first Ann Hood, and it will not be my last! The ending is nothing short of brilliant!
Ann Hood weaves together the lives of three women—a mother, daughter and granddaughter—to create an unforgettable and gripping story that evolves out of a book club in which each of the 12 participants choose a book that matters most to them. The book that Ava, the daughter, chose, is the book that helped her deal with the untimely death of her sister and her mother. Much to Ava’s dismay, the book that mattered most to her is no longer in print and the author cannot be found. Ava’s pursuit of the book and the author forces her to wrestle with a tangle of unanswered questions about her past. All I can say is this is my first Ann Hood, and it will not be my last! The ending is nothing short of brilliant!
There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we spent with a favorite book.
The first great novel to teach us that the search for self is as surely undertaken while making small talk in the drawing room asit is while pursuing a great white whale. (Pride & Prejudice)
She managed to leave drunk and disappointed, but not inspired.
Everyone has left tonight so we can have the world to our selves, perhaps?
December 1921 - 1st night Hemingway & Hadley spent in Paris.
I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine. P&P
Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure.
You see I usually find myself among strangers because I drift here and there trying to forget the sad things that happened to me. The Great Gatsby
Daisy - All the bright precious things fade so fast...and they don't come back.
A classic is a book everyone's heard of but no one reads - Mark Twain
A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say - Italo Calvino
Nick - It eluded us then, but that's no matter-tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.
Gatsby - Her voice is full of money.
Fitzgerald once said that you don't write because you want to say something. You write because you have something to say.
Find out what you already know and you will see the way to fly.
And the noise of her life didn't make her tense or angry or depressed like it did without the pills. Instead, there was a low hum somewhere deep in her brain and her limbs felt loose and rubbery.
As soon as I ate the oysters, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and make plans.
All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow. Anna Karenina
All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. AK
Respect was invented to cover the empty place where love should be.
He liked the feel of the wood of a well-worn bar. The smell of beer from the tap, of whiskey, of night.
Just as the doctor predicted, she died, swiftly and horribly.
But standing there, the air that peculiar blend of warm and cold at the same time, she thought perhaps it would be better to be outside, to get fresh air and feel the sun.
"Things have a life of their own," the gypsy proclaimed with a harsh accent. "It's simply a matter of waking up their souls." - One Hundred Years of Solitude
"Jane," her mother said evenly, "you deserve to live a beautiful life. I deserve to give mine up."
"Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing." - To Kill a Mockingbird
With him, life was routine. Without him, life was unbearable.
We'll leave now, so that this moment will remain a perfect memory...let it be our song and think of me every time you hear it. - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
It Don't Mean A Thing If You Ain't Got That Swing - theme song for a funeral
Penny came up to me and gave me the firmest handshake. And a Manhattan. I fell in love with her immediately.
To look at everything always as though you were looking at it for the first or last time: Thus is your time on earth filled with glory. - ATGIB
You grieve because you didn't hold it tighter when you had it.
But when the strong were too weak to hurt the weak, the weak had to be strong enough to leave. - The Unbearable Lightness of Being
But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human. - Slaughterhouse-Five
Largest unsupported marble domes in the world - St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the Minnesota state capitol, the Taj Mahal and Providence statehouse.
It is so short and jumbled and jangled because there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre. - S-5
We learn from history that we learn nothing from history. - George Bernard Shaw
Unstuck in time - travels between different times and places in his life, and can't control which period he lands in. Every moment in time is in it (the fourth dimension) and keeps occurring and reoccurring simultaneously and endlessly.
The first great novel to teach us that the search for self is as surely undertaken while making small talk in the drawing room asit is while pursuing a great white whale. (Pride & Prejudice)
She managed to leave drunk and disappointed, but not inspired.
Everyone has left tonight so we can have the world to our selves, perhaps?
December 1921 - 1st night Hemingway & Hadley spent in Paris.
I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine. P&P
Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure.
You see I usually find myself among strangers because I drift here and there trying to forget the sad things that happened to me. The Great Gatsby
Daisy - All the bright precious things fade so fast...and they don't come back.
A classic is a book everyone's heard of but no one reads - Mark Twain
A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say - Italo Calvino
Nick - It eluded us then, but that's no matter-tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.
Gatsby - Her voice is full of money.
Fitzgerald once said that you don't write because you want to say something. You write because you have something to say.
Find out what you already know and you will see the way to fly.
And the noise of her life didn't make her tense or angry or depressed like it did without the pills. Instead, there was a low hum somewhere deep in her brain and her limbs felt loose and rubbery.
As soon as I ate the oysters, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and make plans.
All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow. Anna Karenina
All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. AK
Respect was invented to cover the empty place where love should be.
He liked the feel of the wood of a well-worn bar. The smell of beer from the tap, of whiskey, of night.
Just as the doctor predicted, she died, swiftly and horribly.
But standing there, the air that peculiar blend of warm and cold at the same time, she thought perhaps it would be better to be outside, to get fresh air and feel the sun.
"Things have a life of their own," the gypsy proclaimed with a harsh accent. "It's simply a matter of waking up their souls." - One Hundred Years of Solitude
"Jane," her mother said evenly, "you deserve to live a beautiful life. I deserve to give mine up."
"Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing." - To Kill a Mockingbird
With him, life was routine. Without him, life was unbearable.
We'll leave now, so that this moment will remain a perfect memory...let it be our song and think of me every time you hear it. - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
It Don't Mean A Thing If You Ain't Got That Swing - theme song for a funeral
Penny came up to me and gave me the firmest handshake. And a Manhattan. I fell in love with her immediately.
To look at everything always as though you were looking at it for the first or last time: Thus is your time on earth filled with glory. - ATGIB
You grieve because you didn't hold it tighter when you had it.
But when the strong were too weak to hurt the weak, the weak had to be strong enough to leave. - The Unbearable Lightness of Being
But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human. - Slaughterhouse-Five
Largest unsupported marble domes in the world - St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the Minnesota state capitol, the Taj Mahal and Providence statehouse.
It is so short and jumbled and jangled because there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre. - S-5
We learn from history that we learn nothing from history. - George Bernard Shaw
Unstuck in time - travels between different times and places in his life, and can't control which period he lands in. Every moment in time is in it (the fourth dimension) and keeps occurring and reoccurring simultaneously and endlessly.
I was going to give this book four stars, until I got to the end. It was one of those endings that's comprised of too many coincidences and things that are just too contrived. "I just can't" with endings like that!