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4.5 stars rounded up to 5
This is not the book I expected from Allen but still a stellar book. Allen's books are sweet and wonderful. Her books are atmospheric, transporting the reader the a romantic world where bad things happen but they turn out ok and have beautiful journeys. Lost Lake was very difficult, not the heart warming, feel good book of the year but one that reflected the struggles of Allen's life and the fight she put against breast cancer.
Every Allen book has a bit of sadness mixed into make things sweeter but this time the sadness floats off the pages and clings to the reader. It's not an over powering emotion, more of a gentle reminder of the rough things in life. Kate, one of the protagonists, is a widow waking up after a year of mourning. The death of my husband is something that scares me more than almost anything else. It's something I've tried to work through by writing and had to stop because it upset me so much. Maybe that's why this book hit me so hard.
Despite the less than cheerful characters I'm used to filling the pages of Allen's books, these characters are kind and wonderful - they have Allen's magic touch. The primary focus is on Kate, the woman in her twenties but she is surrounded by women who are older and who are in finishing places, places where their lives are slowing. I'm not sure if this is a reaction from reading so many articles on the craft of writing or what, but I enjoyed Allen's info-dump background stories less than normal. They didn't feel as tight and flowing as her last books but, as I said, it could just be me.
Despite some "flaws" this is a beautiful book and my love of Allen is as strong as ever. So strong I might have to write her an admirer note with the special stationary my sister-in-law made for me.
This is not the book I expected from Allen but still a stellar book. Allen's books are sweet and wonderful. Her books are atmospheric, transporting the reader the a romantic world where bad things happen but they turn out ok and have beautiful journeys. Lost Lake was very difficult, not the heart warming, feel good book of the year but one that reflected the struggles of Allen's life and the fight she put against breast cancer.
Every Allen book has a bit of sadness mixed into make things sweeter but this time the sadness floats off the pages and clings to the reader. It's not an over powering emotion, more of a gentle reminder of the rough things in life. Kate, one of the protagonists, is a widow waking up after a year of mourning. The death of my husband is something that scares me more than almost anything else. It's something I've tried to work through by writing and had to stop because it upset me so much. Maybe that's why this book hit me so hard.
Despite the less than cheerful characters I'm used to filling the pages of Allen's books, these characters are kind and wonderful - they have Allen's magic touch. The primary focus is on Kate, the woman in her twenties but she is surrounded by women who are older and who are in finishing places, places where their lives are slowing. I'm not sure if this is a reaction from reading so many articles on the craft of writing or what, but I enjoyed Allen's info-dump background stories less than normal. They didn't feel as tight and flowing as her last books but, as I said, it could just be me.
Despite some "flaws" this is a beautiful book and my love of Allen is as strong as ever. So strong I might have to write her an admirer note with the special stationary my sister-in-law made for me.