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A review by priyastoric
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
emotional
sad
medium-paced
4.0
I picked up this book largely based on a recommendation from a friend, and did not expect to see so much of myself in the broad strokes of the novel. Centered on the relationship of four sisters (I am the middle of three) I saw familiar lines of connection that reflected my own life.
While the particulars of the story are where my life and the story of the Padavano sisters and William Waters diverge, there is a resonance about sibling relationships and how we can both love and be frustrated with someone at the same time. How we can be comforted and crowded. In the case of Waters we can see what it feels like to be an outsider looking in on something you want so badly for yourself you don't know how to hold onto it with both hands.
It is a lovely (and yes at times sad and traumatizing) story, with some seriously great writing.
"We’re not separated from the world by our own edges.” Charlie set down his beer glass, empty now, and rubbed his hand up and down his arm, as an example of one of his edges. “We’re part of the sky, and the rocks in your mother’s garden, and that old man who sleeps by the train station. We’re all interconnected, and when you see that, you see how beautiful life is. Your mother and sisters don’t have that awareness. Not yet, anyway."
While the particulars of the story are where my life and the story of the Padavano sisters and William Waters diverge, there is a resonance about sibling relationships and how we can both love and be frustrated with someone at the same time. How we can be comforted and crowded. In the case of Waters we can see what it feels like to be an outsider looking in on something you want so badly for yourself you don't know how to hold onto it with both hands.
It is a lovely (and yes at times sad and traumatizing) story, with some seriously great writing.
"We’re not separated from the world by our own edges.” Charlie set down his beer glass, empty now, and rubbed his hand up and down his arm, as an example of one of his edges. “We’re part of the sky, and the rocks in your mother’s garden, and that old man who sleeps by the train station. We’re all interconnected, and when you see that, you see how beautiful life is. Your mother and sisters don’t have that awareness. Not yet, anyway."