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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
I feel a little conflicted about this story. There are things that I really loved like the letters that Roy wrote to Celestial during his incarceration. The story shows how quickly a life can come crumbling down with one hard shake. It also shows the complex relationships between parents and children, between lovers and between friends. No relationship is perfect, and I think the author did a stellar job showing that.
But there were also things that I didn’t like so much. Like Celestial herself.
She was never strong in her convictions. She gave up Roy as soon as a little pressure was put on her. I always understood the motivation behind Roy and Andre’s actions but never felt that way about Celestial.
I know Roy’s incarceration was just the catalyst to steer the story in the direction the author wanted it to go but it still bothered me a bit that no information about his incarceration and early release was offered.
BUT I have to give credit to the audio narrator. He has this deep gravelly voice that makes you think of smoky jazz rooms and dark chocolate. He did an amazing job!
This is the kind of book that I admired more than adored.
But there were also things that I didn’t like so much. Like Celestial herself.
She was never strong in her convictions. She gave up Roy as soon as a little pressure was put on her. I always understood the motivation behind Roy and Andre’s actions but never felt that way about Celestial.
I know Roy’s incarceration was just the catalyst to steer the story in the direction the author wanted it to go but it still bothered me a bit that no information about his incarceration and early release was offered.
BUT I have to give credit to the audio narrator. He has this deep gravelly voice that makes you think of smoky jazz rooms and dark chocolate. He did an amazing job!
This is the kind of book that I admired more than adored.
Great, until it neared the end. I was hoping for more, but the premise of the story was thought provoking and intense.
“What happens to you doesn’t belong to you”
Wow. I loved these characters and this story so much. I was rooting for certain folks, cursing others, and hoping for a storybook ending. The ending may not have been my first choice, but it was the appropriate choice. Tayari Jones is a BEAUTIFUL writer. She deserves her flowers for masterfully articulating the complexities of marriage, love, and loss.
Wow. I loved these characters and this story so much. I was rooting for certain folks, cursing others, and hoping for a storybook ending. The ending may not have been my first choice, but it was the appropriate choice. Tayari Jones is a BEAUTIFUL writer. She deserves her flowers for masterfully articulating the complexities of marriage, love, and loss.
I would’ve enjoyed a stronger narrative arc for any one character, as the novel doesn’t quite work as an ensemble study for me. But there’s a great sense of setting here, and something about the language feels sweet in its romance without unnecessary trappings.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Pros:
- I liked the writing- I really bought in to what each character was saying and rooted for them (meaning that I constantly switched sides as we went back and forth between different perspectives).
- The chapter of letters was my favorite!!! Truly blew me away, what a powerful way to show us the dynamic of the relationship
- I loved the relationship between Roy and his father <3 and also just loved exploring the different complex relationships throughout the book
- Importantly, while this is a novel about the complexity of marriage, love, and human relationships, it’s also about the flaws in the justice system, and I thought this was a phenomenal way to deliver that message without hitting us over the head with it
Cons:
- the best part of the book is the long epistolary chapter in the first half, so in some ways I felt a teensy bit let down by the second half in that it wasn’t quite as engaging
- The epilogue was a little odd to me in relation to what else we knew about the characters and I would have liked to see more character development to get us there (spoiler:
Roy just up and married someone new? ? )
Recommendation: I recommend for readers who appreciate good prose (don’t worry; it’s not flowery!!) and complex characters. This is a character-based novel at its core, and a good one at that. I think your enjoyment of the book will depend on whether you like books with complex and often unlikeable characters (if no, skip it) and whether you need a driving plot (if yes, skip it). If you can get behind those, then I think this book will be a thought-provoking win for you!
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
As I read this book it played out so vividly in my head. A book is compelling when even the side characters make me curious to get to know them off the pages and that is exactly what this book did. Oprah needs to help this author make this into a series! Incredible story!
I definitely felt like I wasn't the intended audience for this?
This book felt like a person who didn't know anything about relationships had them described by a person who only watches like Paternity Court shows. The pacing was all over the place, more happens in the first 20% of the book than most people have happen in their entire lives. Then it kind of goes nowhere, while randomly throwing out fake 'woke-isms' (i.e., 6 or 12, 6 to bury you or 12 to convict you if you're a Black man). With so much happening in the beginning, I thought there was going to be way more that happened to the two characters in the back half... but no.
Just an attack on a symbolic (I guess?) tree.
I was REALLY expecting there to be a twist where he actually did rape that woman. At one point it really seemed to be leading there and I was like, no fucking way. But it didn't go there. It didn't really go... anywhere for me. I don't understand why it has such high ratings by everyone.
This book felt like a person who didn't know anything about relationships had them described by a person who only watches like Paternity Court shows. The pacing was all over the place, more happens in the first 20% of the book than most people have happen in their entire lives. Then it kind of goes nowhere, while randomly throwing out fake 'woke-isms' (i.e., 6 or 12, 6 to bury you or 12 to convict you if you're a Black man). With so much happening in the beginning, I thought there was going to be way more that happened to the two characters in the back half... but no.
Spoiler
Just an attack on a symbolic (I guess?) tree.
I was REALLY expecting there to be a twist where he actually did rape that woman. At one point it really seemed to be leading there and I was like, no fucking way. But it didn't go there. It didn't really go... anywhere for me. I don't understand why it has such high ratings by everyone.