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siobhanward's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
NYT Notable Books 2023: 19/100
I used to LOVE character-driven books where not a whole lot happened, but evidently that's changed, since I really struggled with this one. I felt like there was no plot but also little to no character development outside of Lara. I knew nothing about any of her daughters, and even less about her husband, all of whom were relevant to the story. Even major events just kind of came and went with a brief mention which made me keep flipping back to make sure I'd actually read what I thought I'd read. I read an essay collection by Patchett a few years ago and it was ok, but maybe her writing style isn't for me.
I used to LOVE character-driven books where not a whole lot happened, but evidently that's changed, since I really struggled with this one. I felt like there was no plot but also little to no character development outside of Lara. I knew nothing about any of her daughters, and even less about her husband, all of whom were relevant to the story. Even major events just kind of came and went with a brief mention which made me keep flipping back to make sure I'd actually read what I thought I'd read. I read an essay collection by Patchett a few years ago and it was ok, but maybe her writing style isn't for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Infidelity, and Sexual content
Minor: Abortion
alores's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
natalielynnsmith'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
5.0
kristyreads's review against another edition
DNF at 30%. I aggressively do not care about any of the characters or the plot of this book.
ezbaxz's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
danilanglie's review against another edition
3.75
This was a lovely quick read! I wavered between three and four stars here but ultimately I think the rhythm and imagery of the text was good enough to bump it into that four star realm for sure.
If I had a real complaint it would be that sometimes the story verged riiiiight on the edge of being a bit too cloying and sentimental? I am an adult with two adult sisters, and we spend time in the house with our married and in love parents sometimes for holidays or whatever, and it's... not like it was portrayed here. The girls always holding onto each other, the two younger ones voluntarily continuing to share a room, it was just maybe a little too idyllic? And the things that were supposed to make it not idyllic weren't actually rendered particularly troublesome. Whenever the edge of a fight would peak up, it was quieted down so quickly. In particular, the refrain about how happy Lara was to have her family all home together on the farm, even in the midst of the tragedy of the pandemic, got a little hard to read after the third or fourth time it was repeated.
But for the most part, I feel like the story straddled the line between actually tender and lovely and sweet, and too sugary. The imagery of the cherry farm and of Tom Lake and of the daisies at the graveyard, all of these settings were so lovingly described that I felt like I too was existing in this nostalgia-soaked place just out of reach.
And I liked the narrative device, it felt like the book was short enough and the pacing was snappy enough that I was still with Lara and her kids during the flashback parts, like I was in the room being told the story alongside them, so there was this neat feeling of being included in the story, while also a sense of excitement that I was getting choice details that Emily, Maisie, and Nell were not being told.
And the slowly unfolding reveals that Joe is the director, Nelson, or that Duke has died... those were so wonderfully unfurled that I didn't see them coming and yet they fell so naturally into place when they did come. Then the last scene of Duke, that horrible, ugly, shameful visit in the bathroom, then running into Sebastian later...
This is a story that made me think about lots of different versions of love, you've got the romantic loves and the sexual passions but also the love that bonds people through tragedy and through the intensive process of creating art together. Theatre kids are so fucking extra and mostly I can't stand them, but being inside that kind of closeness is rather intoxicating, I must say. The love between parents and children, the love for family legacy, for generations of people on the same land doing the same thing for decades and decades. I think I was probably most moved by Sebastian's love for his brother. I think I was a little in love with the better Duke brother by the end, too!
So yeah, I'm glad I read this - not the kind of book I'd naturally gravitate towards, maybe, but an excuse to think more about Our Town never hurt anybody. Maybe I'll try and see a production of it somewhere soon...
If I had a real complaint it would be that sometimes the story verged riiiiight on the edge of being a bit too cloying and sentimental? I am an adult with two adult sisters, and we spend time in the house with our married and in love parents sometimes for holidays or whatever, and it's... not like it was portrayed here. The girls always holding onto each other, the two younger ones voluntarily continuing to share a room, it was just maybe a little too idyllic? And the things that were supposed to make it not idyllic weren't actually rendered particularly troublesome. Whenever the edge of a fight would peak up, it was quieted down so quickly. In particular, the refrain about how happy Lara was to have her family all home together on the farm, even in the midst of the tragedy of the pandemic, got a little hard to read after the third or fourth time it was repeated.
But for the most part, I feel like the story straddled the line between actually tender and lovely and sweet, and too sugary. The imagery of the cherry farm and of Tom Lake and of the daisies at the graveyard, all of these settings were so lovingly described that I felt like I too was existing in this nostalgia-soaked place just out of reach.
And I liked the narrative device, it felt like the book was short enough and the pacing was snappy enough that I was still with Lara and her kids during the flashback parts, like I was in the room being told the story alongside them, so there was this neat feeling of being included in the story, while also a sense of excitement that I was getting choice details that Emily, Maisie, and Nell were not being told.
And the slowly unfolding reveals that Joe is the director, Nelson, or that Duke has died... those were so wonderfully unfurled that I didn't see them coming and yet they fell so naturally into place when they did come. Then the last scene of Duke, that horrible, ugly, shameful visit in the bathroom, then running into Sebastian later...
This is a story that made me think about lots of different versions of love, you've got the romantic loves and the sexual passions but also the love that bonds people through tragedy and through the intensive process of creating art together. Theatre kids are so fucking extra and mostly I can't stand them, but being inside that kind of closeness is rather intoxicating, I must say. The love between parents and children, the love for family legacy, for generations of people on the same land doing the same thing for decades and decades. I think I was probably most moved by Sebastian's love for his brother. I think I was a little in love with the better Duke brother by the end, too!
So yeah, I'm glad I read this - not the kind of book I'd naturally gravitate towards, maybe, but an excuse to think more about Our Town never hurt anybody. Maybe I'll try and see a production of it somewhere soon...
kel_belle90's review against another edition
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.5
jjjmother03's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0