Helpful Score: 3
This is an absorbing glimpse into the lives of those who have to go on after an unthinkable tragedy blindsides them. The stages and layers of grief both separate and join those who are left to deal with the aftermath of a devastating loss. Ayelet Waldman writes beautifully and convincingly about the unexpected strengths and fallibilities of human beings in their darkest hours.
Helpful Score: 2
Oh, Wow. At first, I thought this book was slow- but it really wasn't. I just spent the last two hours ignoring my family and finishing it. Wow. Waldman once again gets the characters pitch perfect, and does a tragic but hopeful story without any schmaltz.
We start with a wedding being held in a coastal Maine town. The groom is a local boat-builder, whose mother runs the town's house-cleaning/managing company that cleans and cares for the bride's family home when they are back in NYC. Typical rivalrys and tensions abound, but the story is about so much more. The beginning narration hooked me, as the path is laid with each wedding guest being aptly described through dress, demeanor, or actions. Where it could have been over-done smarm, it was almost a tongue-in-cheek cynical opening, with a touch of Rod Serling tone. (Honestly though, this could just be me.) You just knew, even without reading the cover, tragedy awaited these two opposing families.
Lots here to sink your teeth into...small town living, orchestral music focusing on violins, prodigies, foreign adoption, boat-building, friendship and hate, marriage and separation, tiny bits of joy, and abysmal pain. The atmosphere is strong, well-captured by the author who writes people very well.
Odd, but satisfactory ending as we again visit the opening wedding, which explains in more detail through the lens of the photographer's camera, the final minutes of the happy couple, with a tad of irony thrown in regarding the photographer.
Lots here to sink your teeth into...small town living, orchestral music focusing on violins, prodigies, foreign adoption, boat-building, friendship and hate, marriage and separation, tiny bits of joy, and abysmal pain. The atmosphere is strong, well-captured by the author who writes people very well.
Odd, but satisfactory ending as we again visit the opening wedding, which explains in more detail through the lens of the photographer's camera, the final minutes of the happy couple, with a tad of irony thrown in regarding the photographer.
Plot was a little contrived and lost interest several times. I am anxious to read her next book to compare.
This book was on many lists this summer as the book to read. A bit of a disappointment. It just kind of plodded along and then an attempt at a big finale.
Only 2 stars from me. The characters for the most part were predictable, I have seen them all before.
