Take a photo of a barcode or cover
emotional
funny
reflective
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
I love books that take their time to sit with their characters and let them be on their own terms.
This is not a novel for people looking for plot as stuff-that-happens. Everything great about this novel remains in the interior life of its protagonist, which is much more lively than her family gives her credit and much richer than she gives herself credit for.
To me, however, one of its highlights was when we catch a glimpse of the ever-present but always self-effacing Genoux, Lady Sloane's undefeatable maid. It comes when you least expect it and packs a lot of punch.
This is not a novel for people looking for plot as stuff-that-happens. Everything great about this novel remains in the interior life of its protagonist, which is much more lively than her family gives her credit and much richer than she gives herself credit for.
To me, however, one of its highlights was when we catch a glimpse of the ever-present but always self-effacing Genoux, Lady Sloane's undefeatable maid. It comes when you least expect it and packs a lot of punch.
As heartbreaking as this novel is, it also makes me less afraid of growing old. Watching the world alternately fade and sharpen through the eyes of 88-year-old Lady Slane—even as she dwells on her regrets and missed opportunities—had a strangely calming effect on me. I felt the "dreamworld" of achievement and enterprise, action and compromise, fall away from me as it did from her. This is a magnificent examination of how contemplation (spiritual action, external inaction) is sometimes the only thing that can brush away those inner cobwebs—revealing truer selves and realities the moment we stop, settle a chair in the grass, and listen.
Just beautiful.
Just beautiful.
This books makes me feel ready to retire in style-- but, more importantly, live a life true to myself and my values. Altogether funny, charming, and uplifting.
fast-paced
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
reflective
emotional
reflective
funny
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No