mindsplinters 's review for:

The Second Life of Mirielle West by Amanda Skenandore

3.0

emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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It's a bit hard to explain my reaction to this book.  It didn't have anything in particular wrong with it - it was well written, clearly researched, compelling story set in a historically accurate situation... But I swung wildly between enjoying it/being weepy over it and rolling my eyes so hard that they nearly popped out of my head.  The bulk of it was due to the main character, Mirielle West/Pauline Marvin.  She was utterly spoiled and unsympathetic at the start, to the point that I had to keep reminding myself that she had lost a child, leprosy was awful, etc. in order to temper my gut-level loathing.  Then things turned and I started feeling honestly sorry for her.  Then she started trying to be better... Then she backslid again... Cue this horrible roller coaster ride of my emotions about this fictional woman for a good 2/3rds of the book.  Okay, yes, I get it.  There is a lot to unpack and she has been through a lot and we don't need inspiration porn here... but is it too much to cut through some of her raging narcisism more frequently and with fewer backslides?  Not that her darling husband was much better at times.  Honestly, the people around her were saints.  I liked them a lot.  Especially Irene (who broke my heart) and Frank (who is just a complete gem in all ways).

And she did end up learning and growing and the final moment of her character arc was sweet and deserved but yikes along the way.

So good book, amazing research, fantastic cast... and yet I won't be re-reading it.