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A review by cobblestones
We All Love the Beautiful Girls by Joanne Proulx
3.0
Just finished this one this morning in bed and I don't really know what I think of it.
It's a slow burner, the kind that keeps your toes steadily warm but never uncomfortably hot; you settle into their marriage, Finn's love troubles, all the goings-on in this leafy Canadian town.
There are happenings and there are consequences, and if some stories are paced like a runaway horse and buggy, this one is stretching out on a king sized bed atop a rich, thick velvet comforter, but with the occasional balled-up piece of clothing underneath that creates a bump in the road.
Something fascinating: I've read more than one review that said this book seemed imbued with sadness; that it left them with a heavy feeling or depression as they read it. I am so intrigued by this - I had the opposite. Yes, things are definitely NOT going well for folks throughout the story, but it still seemed slightly warmed by optimism; plants bloomed, old trees spread roots 200 years deep into the ground, seasons cycle and life continues. What separates those readers from readers like myself? How does the same story exhale polar emotions upon different people?
I guess I sort of liked it, but I'm still not quite sure. Maybe once I've had my coffee I'll be certain.
It's a slow burner, the kind that keeps your toes steadily warm but never uncomfortably hot; you settle into their marriage, Finn's love troubles, all the goings-on in this leafy Canadian town.
There are happenings and there are consequences, and if some stories are paced like a runaway horse and buggy, this one is stretching out on a king sized bed atop a rich, thick velvet comforter, but with the occasional balled-up piece of clothing underneath that creates a bump in the road.
Something fascinating: I've read more than one review that said this book seemed imbued with sadness; that it left them with a heavy feeling or depression as they read it. I am so intrigued by this - I had the opposite. Yes, things are definitely NOT going well for folks throughout the story, but it still seemed slightly warmed by optimism; plants bloomed, old trees spread roots 200 years deep into the ground, seasons cycle and life continues. What separates those readers from readers like myself? How does the same story exhale polar emotions upon different people?
I guess I sort of liked it, but I'm still not quite sure. Maybe once I've had my coffee I'll be certain.