"Starbursts blink from streetlights like they're sharing a secret as I wake to find myself slumped in a cab, without any recollection of how I got the"Starbursts blink from streetlights like they're sharing a secret as I wake to find myself slumped in a cab, without any recollection of how I got there, or where I'm going."
Being a fan of Goldin's The Night Swim, I was offered the opportunity to review this book. I have to say it did not disappoint.
Liv Reese wakes up in a taxi with no recollection of how she got there or where she was going. Her last memory is of her, sitting in her office and taking a call. Unbeknownst to Reese, this memory is from more than two years before. But when a man is found murdered in his sleep, Liv becomes the prime suspect.
This is a story with a lot of intrigue and emotional panache in which the protagonist loses her memory every time she falls asleep and is consequently sent into a spiral of fear and terror every time she wakes up. I have to say that not many thrillers manage to be intriguing. Mostly they are peppered with red herrings and loose ends. But here I felt myself being just as distrustful as amnesiac Liv. I feared for her because what she was going through felt real. Some might say that the plot was a bit repetitive regarding Liv's habits and discoveries, but to me it made it real that this person actually loses her memory and comes to the same ideas and conclusions again as if for the first time. It was engrossing.
I even liked the detectives, which is a rarity for me. They felt uncharacteristically realistic and sincere. For me, in other books, they were almost always the overbearing element in the story.
My few scruples with the book were that, firstly, it wrapped up a bit too neatly for my taste. I kind of believe more in looser ends and, not exactly messy, but just not as neat. But hey, that's on me. Secondly, the perpetrator was kind of easy to guess despite the attempt of throwing us off with a red herring or two.
Looking forward to whatever Goldin has next in store!
Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book....more
It took me a while to put together this review because I've had such mixed feelings about the book that I wasn't really sure how to rate it. I don't kIt took me a while to put together this review because I've had such mixed feelings about the book that I wasn't really sure how to rate it. I don't know if it's me or if it's the Cliff House, but apparently I mostly stopped being thrilled a long time ago. Only on occasion do I get the adrenaline rush when the plot is actually nail-bitingly good. The Cliff House has its merits but it isn't really what I look for in a thriller.
So, what's this book about?
A hen weekend on an isolated Scottish Island turns into a nightmare. The bride-to-be and six guests of honor, one of whom is taken hostage by someone called the Reaper, race against time to save their 'friend' as well as themselves.
There's the first half of the book which was my least favourite part: The backlog, a swamp of backstories of seven characters to wade through while the women hiked around the island's terrain to look for their missing friend or an escape route. Brookmyre seems to have had a specific island in mind. The location and timeframe of the book (the whole plot is concentrated over one day) is supposed to give us a fast paced, claustrophobic feel. But the anecdotes and backstories that the characters threw around dissipated that feel for me. The weirdest part of the plot is that only three of the seven women knew one another from before. They were largely strangers. The formation of these characters into a tight knot of friends was a bit unconvincing. Jen, the bride-to-be, is the only connection between the women, albeit loosely so. This is Jen's second marriage. She's a domestic abuse survivor and doesn't stop looking over her shoulders after escaping her first marriage by the skin of her teeth.
"You could disguise anything in a crowd. Jen knew that better than most. The true nature of a relationship is starker when it's just the two of you."
And then there's the second half, the story that moves forward where we get to see some action and explore some dynamics between the characters. This is the part I read faster. And I'm glad that I stuck around. Because usually I don't. I ruthlessly DNF books. I guess I'm just not so much into it as I hoped I'd be.
Many thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book....more
"I had dreams once, but never for anything as extravagant as happiness."
This one is a 3.5 stars from me.
Lindy and auntie Bell are outcast
"I had dreams once, but never for anything as extravagant as happiness."
This one is a 3.5 stars from me.
Lindy and auntie Bell are outcast to the furthest outskirts of Granda Morris's beloved Southfork estate. Lindy, now in her fifties, had a life once. Once upon a time, she managed to be like her mother and grab life by its horns for a chance to escape the Morrises toxic family dynamics. But Lindy returns to Ballyglen, Ireland, after what happened in London and remained ever since until the past came down calling. For so many reasons, Lindy was always the Wrong Child. She was the wrong sex and came from the wrong father and Granda Morris never let her forget that. She wasn't allowed to live like an ordinary child. She wasn't even allowed to grieve for her dead mother. So she carried on, a bundle of grief and shame.
"Grief is a room. Someone helpful told me that at the Clinic. we think we can escape it. We've locked it and walked away a hundred times, a thousand times, but the slightest nudge will have the door springing open and try as we might we still have to walk through it, The dark inside it beckons. Its ceilings are high and the walls are miles apart and the feel of it never changes. Its detail never fades, the edges only ever get sharper, the air thicker and harder to breathe."
To be honest I had a hard time getting into the book at the beginning. It was an unforgiving introduction to life in rural Ireland. Maybe this was done on purpose. But the emphasis on the dysfunctional family atmosphere instead of the characters made it difficult for me as a reader. In the first twenty pages or so I had to do a lot of guesswork about Lindy since I was swamped with minutiae of her life. There was a huge lump of literature before the narrative moved to 18-year-old Lindy and the story started to take shape. The chapters became mostly shorter and the time shifts were better paced.
To the author's credit, this book reminded me a lot of Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller, a book I very much loved. Despite being a literary fiction, the writing wasn't in any way pretentious. The wording befits a woman in rural Ireland trying to make the days goes by with minimal friction with the belligerent family patriarch. Here's a gem of writing (if you've been following my reviews enough, you'd know how much I love to share these lines that strike my insides):
"How does a woman who gives up a baby look? Just like a woman but with a chunk missing, a wound that no one can see, a wound that never heals but rots and leaves its poison in every corner you turn your face to."
So you see, the language isn't lofty, but practical. I just wished the plot was just as practical and didn't hang onto as many descriptive passages as it did.
Many thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone, Hutchinson Heinemann and NetGalley for my eARC....more
Confession: I haven't been so eager to get back to the book I'm reading for a long while. It was that gripping.
CW: Domestic violence, coercive behavioConfession: I haven't been so eager to get back to the book I'm reading for a long while. It was that gripping.
CW: Domestic violence, coercive behaviour, abuse.
Two educated women from the upper-middle class, married to two successful men, find themselves victims of their husbands' controlling nature. Soon the husbands' control turns into violence and leaving is no more an option.
"The only thing more humiliating, more onerous than staying was leaving."
When one of them steps up to take action, a chain of reactions unravels. Still, the women do not admit to their husbands' violence.
"Because that's what I'd been. It was difficult to put that label on my situation. I'd been in denial for so long. I'd been paralysed. Right or wrong, it was an embarrassing label to have. It came with a measure of shame and assumption of fault and weakness. Unfairly. But I felt it nevertheless."
Stylistically, the book is all facts and no purple prose whatsoever. It is what you expect from a claustrophobic thriller. It was so reminiscent of B.A. Paris's Behind Closed Doors. Murphy built her story around the principle that just because a woman is pretty and educated doesn't mean she is safe from domestic abuse, but rather the kind of abuse she is subjected to takes a more sinister form. And because of her education and status, it is even harder to admit. It is true that you never know what goes on behind closed doors; however, the more upscale those doors are, the worse it can get.
Many thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for my eARC....more
This is another one of those instances in which I would have liked to like the book more than I did. This is also my first read by Foley and the hype This is another one of those instances in which I would have liked to like the book more than I did. This is also my first read by Foley and the hype surrounding her first two books was incentive enough for me to request the Paris Apartment.
This is one of those locked-room whodunnits. One sinister apartment building in Paris houses so many secrets and when one of its inhabitants, Ben Daniels, disappears, it falls to Ben's sister to unlock the mystery of her brother's whereabouts.
The story is told from multiple PoVs. All the residents of the building get to share a part of their story/history as the main plot unfolds. The good thing is that I read on, despite the fact that for the most part nothing actually happened save for the scattering of clues here and there. I read on mainly to know if I had guessed right. If I liked the book any less I would have DNF'd it, which is something I shamelessly do.
The writing is easy enough, nothing stylistic or exceptional about it. A huge pet peeve was the peppering of French adages and proverbs to make the characters sound more French. To be honest, I find it a bit awkward when the plot is based in a different culture than that of the author's. Another thing is that the plot itself wasn't elaborate enough as befits a mystery. Coincidences play a huge part. Not to mention that all the characters were, of course, flawed but not in a way that makes you sympathize with any of them.
I think I'd like to read the Guest List by the author since it was the most praised of her work.
Many thanks to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for my eARC!...more
Are you up for a heartwarming read about death, grief, and a quirky group of ghosts housed in an equally quirky teashop?
If yes, then this book is exacAre you up for a heartwarming read about death, grief, and a quirky group of ghosts housed in an equally quirky teashop?
If yes, then this book is exactly what you need. And maybe you'll need a cup of Oolong tea to go along with it. You know Oolong is a transitional tea, between green and black, and I think it matches perfectly the story of this book.
Meet our protagonist, Wallace Price. Wallace Price is/was an a$$hole.
"Wallace Price had been accused of many things in his life, but being selfless was not one of them. He gave little thought to those around him, unless they stood in his way. And God help them if they did."
But now Wallace is dead, and as he transitions towards the great unknown, he has a few lessons to learn. Well, more than a few really. Now Wallace joins other ghosts who are still not ready to make the transition in an odd teashop run by the charismatic and empathetic to a fault Hugo Freeman. As Wallace watches the daily activities and struggles of his fellow ghosts and Hugo's "duties", acrimonious Wallace is profoundly changed.
The story settles in inside you just like a hot cup of tea on a difficult day. The book plays out in your mind exactly like a movie. Even better, a Pixar movie (cause I'm fond of those, and of course the adorable cover helps me imagine it as such). Themes of grief, death, anxiety and loneliness turn into contentment, life, joy, and friendship. The most important thing about the book was the realization that this moment is never the end although it could be. Oxymoronic, I know. But you'll get my meaning if you read the book. I really hope you do.
"It's never enough, is it? Time. We always think we have so much of it, but when it really counts, we don't have enough at all. "
Extremely grateful to Tor Books and NetGalley for my eGalley....more
First of all, Hala Alyan is a true wordsmith. There is no arguing the excellence in her craft, the vividness of her imagery and her acute perception ofFirst of all, Hala Alyan is a true wordsmith. There is no arguing the excellence in her craft, the vividness of her imagery and her acute perception of human nature. I simply wanted to swoon over her words. I cracked a smile every time she nailed the description of the Arab disposition whether she meant a person or a nation (I probably should note that I'm an Arab who lived most of her life in what is universally dubbed as the Middle East).
Nevertheless, the book left me at a loss. It opened magnificently with a scene from a refugees camp of a man being dragged out of camp and beaten to death for an act he has committed. That scene ended there and then without explanation and I couldn't relate the rest of the story to that gripping beginning.
The story shifts to three long chapters comprising Part I. The three children of the Nasr Family, Palestinian-Syrian immigrants, are leading different lives. Ava, the eldest, is a biologist by day and upper class burnt out wife by night. Marwan, the middle child, is an ageing artist, who couldn't make it big on the music scene. Naj is an uprising musical phenomenon who struggles with her sexuality. One day their father decides to sell their house in Beirut, the only property they still held onto on Arab soil before immigrating to the States. The family makes the trip back to Beirut. Because each chapter was so long, it felt like a collection of novellas.
The story shifts again to Mazna's, their mother, childhood and early youth. in a period marked by political upheavals during the Lebanese Civil War and the Syrian Occupation of Lebanon.
After a huge lump of narrative, we find ourselves back again into the children's lives as they make the trip to the summer house in Beirut. and the cycle, laboriously, repeats itself.
I understand that the shifting timelines between the children's individual stories and that of their mother were meant as a juxtaposition, but the huge chunks of storylines paired with elaborating on the minutest details of the sex life of each character instead of alternating between timelines at a more accelerating pace completely defeated the purpose.
The story spiralled into ZWARIB (alleyways and deadends), to borrow Ava's description of her mother's conversations.
Although the Nasr family are described as "progressive", the book had many stereotypes: the queer rockstar, the burnt-out upper-crust wife. Another downside was the multitude of topics Alyan brushed over (Hezbollah Bombings, Syrian revolution, Lebanese Civil War, Syrian occupation of Lebanon, the refugees' crisis, the Lebanese civil war, immigration, sexual identities, adultery, siblings rivalry). It was dizzying.
This is a very ambitious book. The writing is beyond doubt beautiful. But I got lost in the midst of everything it attempted to accomplish....more
"Dead means something new when death has touched you."
This is a story about grief. Amelia parts with her best friend Jenna over a trip the
"Dead means something new when death has touched you."
This is a story about grief. Amelia parts with her best friend Jenna over a trip the latter takes to Ireland, only that Jenna comes back in a coffin after her car crashes on an Irish highway. What Amelia is left with is the masterplan Jenna had for both of them to achieve in their lives.
But does griefing, troubled Amelia want to go through with it?
Well...
"The dead can hold more sway than the living."
Both Jenna and Amelia were bibliophiles. They bonded over a fantasy series called the Orman chronicles. And when a mystery limited edition of the book is delivered to Amelia after Jenna's death, Amelia starts to wonder where it came from and who sent it. Amelia embarks on a trip to lake Michigan only to find a troubled boy griefing as much as she does and is in need of her help. But then Amelia has to choose between Jenna's masterplan and following her heart.
Overall, I loved the writing, the fantasy part and the moments captured in this story just about right. I love the notion of how people can bond over fiction, all sorts of people, old and young, rich and poor, can bond over all sorts of fiction. As I said I loved the partial world-building of the Orman chronicles. There were definitely more than a few five-stars chapters and five-stars passages, and even sentences that I fell in love with. Take this one for example :
"I feel old, a tattered sail on a boat that has barely weathered the storm."
Or this passage:
"Bathed in a yellow light I thought was only real in movies, I want to believe in stories again. I want to believe everything has a purpose, no matter how terrible. That the fairy tales were right, the stories were true, and at the end of all the muck and despair, light can be found."
However, for sensible, intuitive Amelia, and despite her grief, I expected more panache from her. Sometimes things got a bit too angsty for my taste, or for her character for that matter. It just did not add up and it could hardly be attributed to grief. Some situations were just added up to build conflict that wasn't there. She didn't ask the questions she came all the way to ask in the most opportune of moments. She takes roundabouts despite the road forward is just obvious. She's neither subtle nor direct and it was a bit frustrating.
Overall, I loved the story, enjoyed the ride, but I wanted to enjoy it even more.
Many thanks for NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my eGalley....more
“Life is often simple, but you don’t notice how simple it was until it gets incredibly complicated.�
Sweet and Cutesy!
I previously reviewed
“Life is often simple, but you don’t notice how simple it was until it gets incredibly complicated.�
Sweet and Cutesy!
I previously reviewed Beth O'Leary's more recent book The Switch (you can see my review here) and decided to try the audiobook for this one too, as it is more buzzed about.
Generally, I do not have any expectations when it comes to modern romance; the genre itself is a bit predictable. But I like to try books with a sense of humour. O'Leary's the Switch was a welcomed change from my usual darker taste.
The Flatshare, however, was fun with a touch of diluted drama. A nudge towards emotional abuse and closeted homosexuals, but neither was really explored with any depth, perhaps to keep the lighthearted tone of the book. but I couldn't help but feel a bit mangled skipping from one issue to another. The hero of the story isn't a hero at all, not that I'm seeking any testosterone-induced heroics. But Leon was too unsure and indecisive. Corresponding through sticky notes was fun though, some made me smile, some made me crack out with laughter. I like O'Leary's style and sense of humour. I just wanted more depth. I guess I wanted to cry too a la Eleanor Oliphant....more
"I committed the most cardinal of marital sins—I changed."
For a genre that increasingly started to have books that largely resembles one a
"I committed the most cardinal of marital sins—I changed."
For a genre that increasingly started to have books that largely resembles one another, I can see the appeal of this book. Each year, there is a theme that keeps repeating itself till exhaustion in the Mystery/thriller category. Last year it was the mother/daughter relationship (e.g. Darling Rose Gold, The Last Story of Mina Lee). This year the complexities of the bond between sisters/twins are in full swing not only in the mystery/thriller category but across many genres (check out the titles longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction for proof of this theme's popularity).
And Sally Hepworth's book is a refreshing addition to that particular sub-genre. It's an inventive twist on a theme I think we'll see a lot of. Rose and Fern are fraternal twins. Rose is the presumably responsible one. Fern is brought up to be reliant and rose. Fern suffers from sensory challenges. Rose suffers from diabetes. Both women have a very different relationship with their mother. Rose's diary tells tales of a bad mother; Fern's memory tells another story. Everything gets complicated, and later on, revealing, when Rose is diagnosed with premature ovarian ageing and Fern decides to have a baby in Rose's stead.
Fern's character and challenges were well developed throughout the book, but I cannot say the same thing about either Rose or the mystery itself. When the book started to pick up speed in its last third or so, that is when the threads of the mystery started to come together, the details weren't as careful as Fern's characterization. Too obvious clues in the form of a too careless culprit are the enemy of any mystery. The last chapter, in particular, which was intended as a menacing message, was too ludicrous to believe because of the many plot holes that stand against that narrative.
Overall, I still see the appeal of this book to many mystery/thriller readers and it is well-earned.
Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for my eGalley of this book....more
"We'd made the space. We'd filled in the cracks of the system and made room for ourselves where there was none. No one had given us anything. We ha
"We'd made the space. We'd filled in the cracks of the system and made room for ourselves where there was none. No one had given us anything. We had taken it."
For the love of books that restore our faith in a whole genre after we thought it was a lost cause-- or at least I did.
For the past few months, I've had my fair share of floppy contemporary YA. I know I'm not the targeted audience in terms of age group, but I do enjoy YA fiction. Always had. And it was only until very recently that I started to DNF books that belonged to that genre. YA Fantasy and Sci-fi are still going strong, but contemporary, nothing really worked for me recently. So, I thought I just outgrew it.
Until FURIA happened to me. (Can I have this in bold?!)
Let me tell you something about me. I grew up in what is known as the Middle East. In this region, the identifiers that set apart male from female are inescapable and exigent. Growing up, I'd give an arm to become a boy and play football. The ME is craaazy about football. It's the sport of choice. But some sports are looked upon as "improper" for young ladies and I belonged to a generation of kids that was brought up shielded from that knowledge until it's a bit late to start practising a sport but never too late to challenge the patriarchy. And I LOVED football. Still do. But why? Because >>> "[Football] could do that--make people forget about the price of the dollar, the upcoming elections, even their love lives. For a few hours, life was beautiful."
So what is Furia about? It's about a teenager. A normal teenager, who wanted to play football and have fun and fall in love with a boy. Simple, but not so simple. Because Camila, la Furia, has issues. She is from a small town in Argentina. She isn't supposed to play football. Her father is an archetypal patriarch. And yes, her heart makes matters worse.
I loved the authenticity of the story. I loved how the story sets itself apart from the mainstream contemporary YA. I loved the defiant characterisation of an almost all-female cast. I loved Coach Alicia so much I wanted to hug her. I loved how Camila was proud of her Russia/Arab/South American roots. I loved how the love of tradition mingled with rebelliousness when those traditions got too tight. I loved how the plot was paced: not swoony, not dry.
This is what I proudly call a feminist, own voices, diverse YA novel....more
For the love of quaint English villages, Yorkie accents and old school crisis management.
Meet the ladies!
Leena is a 29 year old overachiever who sFor the love of quaint English villages, Yorkie accents and old school crisis management.
Meet the ladies!
Leena is a 29 year old overachiever who suffers a panic attack at work ang goes on paid leave for eight whole weeks to pull herself together. Lena had a horrible year after losing her sister to cancer, something that marred her relationship with her mother.
Eileen, Leena's grandmother, is a 79 year old lady who wants to start over after her husband walked out on her, her granddaughter died, and her daughter's life broke to pieces. Eileen is a force of nature in her home village of Hamley. Funny and fearless.
Leena and Eileen switch places for 8 weeks, prompting Leena to reconnect with her old self before that horrible year and nudging Eileen towards a new adventure of dating and socializing in London.
My favourite parts were those of Eileen. Although she is a granny, she is far more vivacious and hilarious than Leena. My second favourite is Eyleen's neighbours. Leena, however, takes the wooden spoon. She comes across as a cliched type A personality who wants to be always in control and ends up losing it all.
This one was fun to read/listen to. I was hovering between 3 and 4 stars, then finally settled on 3.5 pumped up because the audiobook was actually good. It's my first audiobook by Alison Steadman, but I will be looking out for her narrations from now on. I'm also in the mind of checking Beth O'leary's backlist. I love her sense of humour....more
Usually, DNF's are a one star for me, but I'm giving two here because I did not particularly dislike the book.
So, here is my reasoning. I'm DNF at 50%
Usually, DNF's are a one star for me, but I'm giving two here because I did not particularly dislike the book.
So, here is my reasoning. I'm not the targeted audience, but nevertheless, I really enjoy reading YA in all genres. That sense of adventure I should have had when I was younger, the kind of understanding of the world I love and envy young adults for among a lot of other things that make me addicted to the literature directed to this particular demographic.
But enough about me and let's move to the book. I liked Erin Hahn's writing quite a lot. Snappy-young, I call it. Lovely and true to the generation it represents. But I had major issues with the story.
First problem: insta-love. Not really fond of those. An outdated idea of love for the Millenials.
Second problem: girl falling for boy with a cute British accent. This particular problem confirmed my suspicion that there was nothing particularly interesting about Luke. His brother Cullen might have been more interesting. Vada's mother is a lot more interesting. But Luke?! No. Sorry, dude. Not sorry.
Third problem: I'm not sure if all the young people got all the musical references. I'm sure didn't,
I really wanted to like this one. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for Hahn's books. I'm even thinking of checking her backlist. But I couldn't finish this one. I really couldn't
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC....more
Emmie Blue is lonely and slightly awkward, but not as much of an oddball like Eleanor. Emmie had hEleanor Oliphant meets My Best Friend's Wedding.
Emmie Blue is lonely and slightly awkward, but not as much of an oddball like Eleanor. Emmie had her share of traumas and there is only one person that she can depend on to always be there for her, Lucas, her friend. And at some point, this is the reason why she starts having feelings for Lucas. But things get awkward when those feelings are not reciprocated and Lucas decides to marry and asks Emmie to be his "Best Woman". Ouch!
What ensues after that is all sweet and cute and a little bit sad, a reminder that we should not be held hostages to our past nor to our past feelings. Things are not always what they seem to be, and people are rarely who we think they are. Don't take anything at face value and a stranger can have far better intentions for you than someone you have known your whole life.
I loved the narrator's voice and characterization. It brought the story to life and it was very soothing at times when Emmie had her small soliloquies.
A quick, easy read and an equally enjoyable listen. Perfect for a summer break or getting yourself out of a reading rut....more
Thank you Elin Hilderbrand for picking a weekend per year to focus on along three decades, instead of dragging on and on the dreariness of each year tThank you Elin Hilderbrand for picking a weekend per year to focus on along three decades, instead of dragging on and on the dreariness of each year to make a generational saga. I don't mind that it is a modern remake of Same Time, Next Year as long as it is done right and kept me interested and entertained in this all-too-inauspicious year in a Nantucket cottage far from the maddening news of 2020.
A true enjoyable read for those forced into Staycations. It is not exactly a feel-good read, mind you, but it was comforting in a way, heart-breaking in a good way, hopeful in the end.. I ended up actually liking all the characters, although it is not a prerequisite for me to love a book because its characters are likeable. But they were really human and faulty and... well, just human. Even when the occassion arised for some political banter, it was balanced and nuanced.
And I loved that cover. Capturing the essence of a story in one photograph. I'm a real sucker for those.
Thank you so much NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this bright spot in my summer....more
"Sometimes love means making yourself scarce. I know that now."
3.5 stars
Carrie and Amanda were two inseparable friends until Carrie got pregnant a
"Sometimes love means making yourself scarce. I know that now."
3.5 stars
Carrie and Amanda were two inseparable friends until Carrie got pregnant at eighteen and Amanda decided to escape the claustrophobic town with a boy. Little to no communication happened between the once close friends. That is until thirteen years later Amanda became a mother. Overwhelmed and at odds with her partner, Amanda takes a break after an argument and the first person she thinks of is Carrie. She leaves New York and drives to Carrie's house in Deerling, Ohio, with her baby. What happens next is an exploration of motherhood, both old and new, and a reconnaissance of teen angst.
I loved Adrian's sense of reality and adored her sense of humour. I really liked how she weaved her very intimate story of two women with the small-town politics and the larger US politics of the 2016 elections. The unapologetic honesty about motherhood is a key winner in this book.
My concerns though are that there was a bit too much reminiscing through time jumps, a bit too much telling that perhaps led to too much angst. And that big reveal in the middle of the book, I'm not sure it added up. But I went with it anyway, to the end. And I enjoyed it.
There is something refreshingly inventive about that book. Something that tugs at your sensibilities and persists there like an ear-bug, making you quThere is something refreshingly inventive about that book. Something that tugs at your sensibilities and persists there like an ear-bug, making you question what you really thought all those years ago about that "wrong decision" you made or that twist in fate that denied you your heart's desire.
This book's main character is the Adversary/the Devil or you can call her Ella. It could be anybody really. Anyone who slips into the role of "the devil's advocate". Think of Lucifer (the TV series) minus the humour.
Ella introduces us to Perdie, a woman who is in an abusive marriage, both physically and emotionally. All that Perdie wants is, like any good mother, to shield her children from her abusive and violent husband. She has two courses to choose from: To leave, or to stay.
Ella's role is to show us that both courses have their flip sides, and what we humans love to do is to say that if I had chosen the other course none of the flip side of my current choice would have happened. A fair point really. I never could have articulated it any better than this story.
But there was a caveat for me. The continuous merger of the narrative and Ella's soliloquies as the devil's advocate were neither one nor separate. They were only set apart by italics. And sometimes they became discursive and took away from the coherence of the story. Sometimes I just zoned out. Sometimes I thought Ella was the narrator but further along, I was less sure. And as a bit of nit-picking on my part, there was the occasional inundation of Ten dollar words that could have easily been substituted with simpler synonyms that could deliver a punch of meanings.
A brilliant idea was at the core of the book, but I can see why it won't work for some....more
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