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runnerjules 's review for:
According to Yes
by Dawn French
In "According to Yes", we meet 38-year old Rosie from the UK who escapes from love, family, life and everything else by getting on the first plane to NY city to start life anew. In the big apple, she starts working with a chaotic disrupted upperclass American family, ruled and reigned by "grandma Glenn" who does not in any way seem to tolerate anything that even remotely resembles "fun". She terrorises her husband, her son, her 3 grandsons and maid Iva, and pretty soon also Rosie, who works as a nanny for the young twin boys. Much to Glenn's despair does Rosie develop a really nice relationship, first with the twins, then with all the people in the household and she disrupts the order that used to be and brings - oh no - love in the household. Everything goes well, until some unexpected event turns everything upside down and the fragile balance collapses.
"According to Yes" is a difficult book to rate. You can love it or hate it. I do both.
I totally love the book for the way it describes a dysfunctional family in which all members drive each other crazy yet need and love one another; the way relationships, how fragile they may be, are described. I love the book for the way Rosie, as a total chaotic outsider, manages to steal the hearts of all family members, one by one and how she often gives society a "fuck you" whenever necessary. I love the humor used in the book and the wonderful passages that can be found throughout it, like the one below:
"... How did they slide into this joyless way? It must have been a slow creep, he can't recall a particular moment, a landmark of despair or depression that would have been a clear indicator. Nothing actually happened. It just became this way. And it's not so terrible that he feels the need to get out. She is who she is and he is who he is, just ... sort of less than they were. Tracing paper versions of their vibrant former selves. Less colourful, less lit, less everything ...."
I HATE the book because it is so typical American predictable. All's well that ends well, and you feel it coming from the moment the bubble bursts. I hate the book for the wrong put emphases, boring details that come up over and over again, while other more interesting topics (like : hey, your dad is gay, by the way) are mentioned as if they were of none importance at all. But most importantly, I hate the book for the way Rosie let me down, as character by doing what she did (which I cannot say without spoiling the plot).
Yet overal, a nice read that I enjoyed.
"According to Yes" is a difficult book to rate. You can love it or hate it. I do both.
I totally love the book for the way it describes a dysfunctional family in which all members drive each other crazy yet need and love one another; the way relationships, how fragile they may be, are described. I love the book for the way Rosie, as a total chaotic outsider, manages to steal the hearts of all family members, one by one and how she often gives society a "fuck you" whenever necessary. I love the humor used in the book and the wonderful passages that can be found throughout it, like the one below:
"... How did they slide into this joyless way? It must have been a slow creep, he can't recall a particular moment, a landmark of despair or depression that would have been a clear indicator. Nothing actually happened. It just became this way. And it's not so terrible that he feels the need to get out. She is who she is and he is who he is, just ... sort of less than they were. Tracing paper versions of their vibrant former selves. Less colourful, less lit, less everything ...."
I HATE the book because it is so typical American predictable. All's well that ends well, and you feel it coming from the moment the bubble bursts. I hate the book for the wrong put emphases, boring details that come up over and over again, while other more interesting topics (like : hey, your dad is gay, by the way) are mentioned as if they were of none importance at all. But most importantly, I hate the book for the way Rosie let me down, as character by doing what she did (which I cannot say without spoiling the plot).
Yet overal, a nice read that I enjoyed.