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A review by liesthemoontells
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
**I originally gave this 3 stars, but after discussing with my book club and realising the weaknesses in pacing, structure, character development and language in this book, I revise my rating to 2 stars**
Saying that you wish a book had been a different book/that a story had been told differently feels like a cop-out in a review. An author chooses the story they want to tell, and that is the story the reader receives. Amanda Peters wanted to tell the story of two siblings who were torn apart by an awful act, and how the trauma of that act was mirrored throughout their lives into adulthood and middle age.
The problems with this are that a) the drama of the book lags in the middle as the two characters move away from their traumatic childhood, before the reckoning of mortality brings them back to it in middle age, and b) the story of Joe is ultimately not as strong or believable as that of Norma's. I think this would have been a better book had it concentrated only on Ruthie's disappearance, orthe revelation of Norma's kidnapping and reunion with her family.
Similarly, I think a multiplicity of viewpoints, such as the other siblings, or the parents, or the Ellises who owned the berry farm, would have made the story stronger.
The highlight of this book for me was the way Peters wrote the complicated, twisted, guilt-ridden love between Norma and her mother. It was painful, heartwrenching, and rang utterly true.
Saying that you wish a book had been a different book/that a story had been told differently feels like a cop-out in a review. An author chooses the story they want to tell, and that is the story the reader receives. Amanda Peters wanted to tell the story of two siblings who were torn apart by an awful act, and how the trauma of that act was mirrored throughout their lives into adulthood and middle age.
The problems with this are that a) the drama of the book lags in the middle as the two characters move away from their traumatic childhood, before the reckoning of mortality brings them back to it in middle age, and b) the story of Joe is ultimately not as strong or believable as that of Norma's. I think this would have been a better book had it concentrated only on Ruthie's disappearance, or
Similarly, I think a multiplicity of viewpoints, such as the other siblings, or the parents, or the Ellises who owned the berry farm, would have made the story stronger.
The highlight of this book for me was the way Peters wrote the complicated, twisted, guilt-ridden love between Norma and her mother. It was painful, heartwrenching, and rang utterly true.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Genocide