A review by purpl_pages
The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The beauty of this book for me lay in how Heller intertwines the protagonist’s past and her family’s past with the choices she faces today. Perspective is important and provides a lot of depth to her present-day narrative. Despite some responses, I think the main question is less the ending’s ambiguity and more whether the ending is a happy or sad one… as with many real-life choices, I think the answer is both, although to me,  I believe choosing change over the same pattern of unfulfilling marriages her mother experienced seems the more positive option. That perhaps reflects more on the reader's views on marriage, relationships and dreams for life than anything else… 
The pacing did start off a bit slow and the moments of revelation fall slightly short of satisfying so wouldn’t give a higher rating, but I really enjoyed the book overall. 
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