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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
Once again Elizabeth Strout proves to be a masterful storyteller. Her sense of place and character is so profound, and she has a unique ability to intertwine characters and stories to reveal deep truths about human suffering. The constant themes of alienation and loneliness permeate these stories, yet always there is a glimmer of hope, of spiritual break through, of other worldliness in the mundane lives of these characters. This book was hard to put down.
Hmmm... It seems to me that there are a lot of loose ends at the conclusion. Is it that the reader is supposed to think "Well... Anything is Possible from this point. Let me conjure up the rest of the story!"??
Did I miss something?
Did I miss something?
Life is messy, dysfunction and unhappiness abound, gossip and jealousy are real. Sometime husbands have affairs, children are abused, wives leave their husbands, etc. This is the second book in Elizabeth Strout’s Amgash Series. Each chapter tells the story of an inhabitant of the town where Lucy Barton grew up, who was acquainted with her in some way. In this manner It vaguely continues her story, although it is mostly concerned with telling the stories of the lives of these other inhabitants of Amgash. Some of the characters include: Tommy Guptill, who was the janitor in the school Lucy attended; Patty Nicely, who was in school with Lucy; Linda Nicely, Patty’s older sister; Charlie Macauley, who lives in Amgash; Lucy’s brother, Pete and her sister, Vicky, and Lucy’s second cousins, Abel and Dottie. Through it all Strout seems to be telling us that the human condition is painful, and we should count ourselves as extremely lucky if our relationships with our spouse, children, parents and siblings are intact.
Every now and again I was longing for a bit more narrative but really this is a set of character studies. The story of Mississippi Mary and her daughter stands out; it was poignant and so well observed. I loved the darkness of Cracked which was needed amongst quite a lot of sentimentality. It helps if you have read Lucy Barton but you could read it is a stand-alone book.
This is a 3.5 while the other two are 4.5, so here we are, all with 4 stars
Interesting concept, how the characters in the short stories carry from one to the next.
However, I found many of them to be depressing and just not an enjoyable read.
However, I found many of them to be depressing and just not an enjoyable read.
dark
emotional
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Elizabeth Strout shows a different America to the outsider.
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No