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snoopydoo77's review
2.0
This is one of those books that sounded really good and I wanted to like.
I really did, but I ended up having a hard time finishing.
There is no real plot point to the story and it seems like it is all over the place, which for me was hard to focus on. Not only that there was no real story to it really. This book was not plot driven at all.
I did however enjoy the characters, they were enjoyable and did actually show some growth throughout the book.
The writing was good if you don’t mind a book that is not necessary has a set plot line.
Overall I wish I would have enjoyed the book more buy I’m sure there are plenty of people who will love this book.
I rate it 2 ★
patchworkbunny's review against another edition
4.0
Parts of the story could easily fit amongst the tales of Diving Belles. For those who are fans of her writing style, Weathering is definitely worth a read. It has maybe lost a little of the magic of the short stories but her writing is beautiful. Evocative of the landscape, the river, the slow decay of the house and, as the title suggests, an awful lot of weather. It's a tale of belonging.
The house is central to the story, a character in itself and one that starts off being a burden and slowly becomes loved. Life in a remote rural location is quiet in pace but full of its own particular challenges, as Ada and Pepper soon learn. I’m guessing it’s in Devon, where Lucy Wood lives. The landscape definitely fits for anyone that knows the woods and moorland.
As someone who has had a stray cat decide to live with them, I loved Captain. His behaviour is spot on, right down to the grudging acceptance of a young child. Pepper’s disappointment in finding a pet but not one that wanted to be petted reminded me of the whirling dervish of our cat when he first came to live with us.
The grandmother’s story is probably the part that most reflects the tales in Diving Belles. She doesn’t know how she got in to the river, we assume she fell, but slowly the link between her and the place and her family become clearer. I loved the ending, it made me smile in the same way her short stories did.
Review copy provided by publisher.
The house is central to the story, a character in itself and one that starts off being a burden and slowly becomes loved. Life in a remote rural location is quiet in pace but full of its own particular challenges, as Ada and Pepper soon learn. I’m guessing it’s in Devon, where Lucy Wood lives. The landscape definitely fits for anyone that knows the woods and moorland.
As someone who has had a stray cat decide to live with them, I loved Captain. His behaviour is spot on, right down to the grudging acceptance of a young child. Pepper’s disappointment in finding a pet but not one that wanted to be petted reminded me of the whirling dervish of our cat when he first came to live with us.
The grandmother’s story is probably the part that most reflects the tales in Diving Belles. She doesn’t know how she got in to the river, we assume she fell, but slowly the link between her and the place and her family become clearer. I loved the ending, it made me smile in the same way her short stories did.
Review copy provided by publisher.
cseibs's review against another edition
3.0
Odd but with well-drawn characters and just the right amount of magical realism so that it is interesting without being outlandish.
l1nds's review against another edition
5.0
A simple story, beautifully told. The joy of this book is all in the writing and the journey of the characters over the course of the book - not very much happens admittedly, but it happens gorgeously! As another reviewer has said, I'll be very surprised and disappointed if this book doesn't at least get nominated for any awards.
And as the daughter of a single mother the relationships in this book are almost painfully accurate.
And as the daughter of a single mother the relationships in this book are almost painfully accurate.
wanderaven's review against another edition
3.0
I fell in love with Alice Hoffman's magical realism rich writing more than twenty years ago. But I just haven't been able to get into her couple most recent adult novels and I haven't been entirely sure why.
Reading Lucy Wood's debut novel reminded me of what I used to love about Hoffman's work (and I wonder, now, whether Hoffman's style might have changed in the last few years... or perhaps I just haven't been in the right head space when starting her recent novels).
"A dog barked. She knocked again. The dog barked louder and then ran out from the back. Ada stood rigid as it skidded around her legs. 'Good dog,' she said. 'Bugger off.' Dogs were like the worst drunks - lunging at crotches then pissing over other people's shoes."
"There were notes stuck to the fridge. She squinted at the one closest to her. Blue with orange, blue with orange. What did it say? She knew it started with a 'b' at least. But words were devious; they twisted and played tricks so that you ended up writing, 'I have brown hare' and everyone laughing. What you had to do was look at the out of the corner of your eye until they turned blurry and almost disappeared, and then you didn't have to worry about them any more. It was the same with cracks in pavements and clocks with heavy, swinging pendulums."
Weathering is about the dead as much as it is about the living, about the animals and the the natural world as much as it is about the humans. The river and the house are central to the story; emotions and actions and spirits are rooted in the constant turbulence of the river and the creaking stairs of the house.
Weathering may not have high-stakes, life-or-death action. But it is scarred with emotions, rich with imagery and a haunting. No one is terribly surprised at the haunting (which is quite typical of magical realism), treating the specter almost as if her presence is expected, natural.
I have a couple of qualms about Weathering. There are long, somewhat florid descriptions regarding the environment, particularly the river, and particularly near the end of the novel. I was impressed by the heavy, exciting atmosphere she creates, often using words in unique and interesting ways, but ultimately it felt like there was too much of it all, that it could have been edited down at least a bit so that I didn't start skimming near the end. Please note that my copy of this novel was provided for review by Bloomsbury USA, and there could have been some editing changes made before publication (January 19, 2015 in the US). I do also wish there had been some level of place setting at the beginning - it didn't even have to be all that specific... even just England could have helped. For some reason, I spent at least the first third of the book imagining somewhere in New England, but when British phrases and colloquialisms started creeping in, I looked it up and saw that Wood lives in Devon, and I imagined that it was intended to be set in England. I sort of struggled with these two differing places in my mind for the rest of the book, which didn't make sense for a novel that was weighted so heavily in a particular sort of place.
Though, of course, it could also be argued that a concrete location would work against the overriding feeling of Weathering: it is dreamlike and surreal, with one scene bleeding into the next, creating a sometimes jarring realization that something different is happening now (in a good way!)
Reading Lucy Wood's debut novel reminded me of what I used to love about Hoffman's work (and I wonder, now, whether Hoffman's style might have changed in the last few years... or perhaps I just haven't been in the right head space when starting her recent novels).
"A dog barked. She knocked again. The dog barked louder and then ran out from the back. Ada stood rigid as it skidded around her legs. 'Good dog,' she said. 'Bugger off.' Dogs were like the worst drunks - lunging at crotches then pissing over other people's shoes."
"There were notes stuck to the fridge. She squinted at the one closest to her. Blue with orange, blue with orange. What did it say? She knew it started with a 'b' at least. But words were devious; they twisted and played tricks so that you ended up writing, 'I have brown hare' and everyone laughing. What you had to do was look at the out of the corner of your eye until they turned blurry and almost disappeared, and then you didn't have to worry about them any more. It was the same with cracks in pavements and clocks with heavy, swinging pendulums."
Weathering is about the dead as much as it is about the living, about the animals and the the natural world as much as it is about the humans. The river and the house are central to the story; emotions and actions and spirits are rooted in the constant turbulence of the river and the creaking stairs of the house.
Weathering may not have high-stakes, life-or-death action. But it is scarred with emotions, rich with imagery and a haunting. No one is terribly surprised at the haunting (which is quite typical of magical realism), treating the specter almost as if her presence is expected, natural.
I have a couple of qualms about Weathering. There are long, somewhat florid descriptions regarding the environment, particularly the river, and particularly near the end of the novel. I was impressed by the heavy, exciting atmosphere she creates, often using words in unique and interesting ways, but ultimately it felt like there was too much of it all, that it could have been edited down at least a bit so that I didn't start skimming near the end. Please note that my copy of this novel was provided for review by Bloomsbury USA, and there could have been some editing changes made before publication (January 19, 2015 in the US). I do also wish there had been some level of place setting at the beginning - it didn't even have to be all that specific... even just England could have helped. For some reason, I spent at least the first third of the book imagining somewhere in New England, but when British phrases and colloquialisms started creeping in, I looked it up and saw that Wood lives in Devon, and I imagined that it was intended to be set in England. I sort of struggled with these two differing places in my mind for the rest of the book, which didn't make sense for a novel that was weighted so heavily in a particular sort of place.
Though, of course, it could also be argued that a concrete location would work against the overriding feeling of Weathering: it is dreamlike and surreal, with one scene bleeding into the next, creating a sometimes jarring realization that something different is happening now (in a good way!)
funktious's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Quick and lovely read about mothers and daughters, escaping from home and finding your way back there again, against the backdrop of the river and the changing seasons. As someone who lit out from home as soon as possible, I identified hard with Ada. Beautiful setting and writing as well, should have saved it for later in the year.
mrspenningalovesbooks's review
4.0
This is an interesting read: where the setting and extended river metaphor trump characterization. It’s beautifully written, but moves really slow in plot. But, it showcases three women— mothers and daughters and how the dilapidated, isolated home that they live in, traps them and rescues them at the same time. Pepper’s issues in school and life show the hardships of change, and her love for photography connects her to her grandmother, Pearl. The book ends and begins with Pearl, and the closure she finds with the river and letting go. I also loved that the house continues to be “weathered” like we all are: watered down, hardened by Ice, and melted by hope and love. The descriptions of weather and the house are poetic, where those who live there are more mediocre and aware that the surroundings are challenging. Characterization is a weak point for me— more like a 2, but it’s structural, POV, setting, and figurative language were powerful. It’s a slow read, challenging for the first 100 pages,
But overall a reminder that we will always be weathered and those that will be there through it are the keepers in life.
“A messy cacophony of a river, all grunt and galumph and flinty rapids; wood and chemicals abs blood and bits of stone.”
“The snow restless as it melted — breaking up and spreading and letting go of itself.”
But overall a reminder that we will always be weathered and those that will be there through it are the keepers in life.
“A messy cacophony of a river, all grunt and galumph and flinty rapids; wood and chemicals abs blood and bits of stone.”
“The snow restless as it melted — breaking up and spreading and letting go of itself.”
cvp2264's review
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
daynpitseleh's review against another edition
3.0
I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
3 1/2 stars
Yes, the plot in this story doesn't go very far, as other reviewers have mentioned. However, Lucy Wood's writing is magical and poetic. I look forward to reading her other works.
3 1/2 stars
Yes, the plot in this story doesn't go very far, as other reviewers have mentioned. However, Lucy Wood's writing is magical and poetic. I look forward to reading her other works.