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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
This novel tells the story of the down-and-out Fermoyle faily. Living in Vermont in the 1960s, Marie Fermoyle and her three children live in poverty and desperation, for more money, more security, and more affection. Marie Fermoyle, a hardened cynic, is so desperate for all of the above that she falls victim to the wiles of a con man. The Fermoyle children are blatantly aware that their mother is being fleeced, but the emotional distance of all the family members makes it difficult for any of them to communicate or to trust one another. As Marie falls deeper under her now-boyfriend's spell it is the Fermoyle children who feel this lack of communication most acutely. The most difficult character in this book is Marie Fermoyle: cold, cynical, and emotionally abusive towards her children, Marie is clearly a woman who has been deeply wounded and is now striking back, albeit at the wrong people. In this book Morris has crafted a deeply complex narrative with fantastic chracter development. Truly, she has created a whole world in this Vermont town. The characters' lives are richly interwoven with one another, and actions by one reverberate to affect the whole. This is a deeply moving and engaging novel.
Really well written but super depressing. Took me a long time to finish but it was like watching a train wreck and I couldn't stop.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not super exciting just kind of a story about a small town in 1960. Gritty and hard to read at times. Also really long, but all in all, didn't hate it.
The editor should be beaten about the head and shoulders for not cutting this book down to about half of its length. There were too many characters all of whose relationships were intertwined in such a way that I couldn't keep most of them straight. The author must have had a terrible childhood because none of the adult characters had any redeeming qualities, especially the men. I rarely give a book 2 stars, but this one deserves it.
It's a pretty depressing story, so it's hard for me to explain exactly why I liked it. But I did.
I remember reading this way back when it was first announced in Oprah's book club. I remember hating the mother and her weakness and spending most of the time reading it pissed off. That's about all I remember.
Slow but pretty good. I became really invested in some of the characters by the book's conclusion.
I learned that if I complain a lot I will sound like Marie and that would scare the crap out of me. She was not a happy woman and I don't want to end up like her!
I'm waffling on how many stars to give this book. While it was beautifully written, it is quite possibly the most depressing work of fiction I've ever read. Every character is seriously flawed- the perversity and disaster in this morose little town is enough to make one want to slit one's wrists. Keep the funny papers on hand if you decide to read this one, you're gonna need 'em to remind yourself that the world ain't as bad as this author makes it out to be.