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A review by clockless
Maggie-Now by Betty Smith
4.0
This is a better book than A Tree... in both plot and craft. The main story takes a little while to figure itself out, and I'm still not sure what the point of the whole thing was (both things that the aforementioned Tree had established very well, despite other flaws), but the characters (outside of the protagonist) are deep, varied, and interesting. Maggie-Now herself is a little bland, too much like Francie for her own good despite a few pointed descriptions made to show a distinction between them.
It's a nice story, but I'm trying to imagine recommending to someone that they read this, and I can't think of what kind of person or in what circumstances it would be a good choice. The book doesn't accomplish much, and doesn't seem to know what it was trying to do. It's a lot like Maggie-Now herself, I guess, which has the potential to be staggeringly depressing if you think too much about it.
It's a nice story, but I'm trying to imagine recommending to someone that they read this, and I can't think of what kind of person or in what circumstances it would be a good choice. The book doesn't accomplish much, and doesn't seem to know what it was trying to do. It's a lot like Maggie-Now herself, I guess, which has the potential to be staggeringly depressing if you think too much about it.