Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
It was hard at the beginning to remember the lineage, but once I established the order, the family became this one living being with quite a history. I loved when a piece of their personal history was shared and it made the reader realize why the character is reacting the way they do and how the generations decisions before them affected them. This was definitely a story that revolved around characters that had to have depth and soul and the author did just that!
It was hard at the beginning to remember the lineage, but once I established the order, the family became this one living being with quite a history. I loved when a piece of their personal history was shared and it made the reader realize why the character is reacting the way they do and how the generations decisions before them affected them. This was definitely a story that revolved around characters that had to have depth and soul and the author did just that!
A very interesting story idea! Keeping track of the lineage was tricky at first. I liked the connections made between the characters and the olive trees throughout the story. Also the surprising twists were just that; surprising! An enjoyable read and I would recommend this book.
Review first published on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-roots-of-olive-tree.html
The Roots of the Olive Tree is a story of five generation of women. Anna is the matriarch of the family and have lived to become the oldest person in the world. Elizabeth or Bets is next. Then come Callie, Deb, and Erin. Added to the mix is the geneticist studying the Keller family to determine the reason for the longevity of these women. Also added to this is the lovely California setting of the Keller family olive farm which has a history of its own.
Anna's story in buried in secrets in the past. Bets is occupied with her ailing husband. Callie is in search of her own life. Deb is paying for mistakes of the past. Erin is trying to forge her own way and has come home, pregnant and alone.
This book and story never really comes together for me. The individual stories of the women could have been interesting, but they are not fully developed in an effort to address all of them. The individual characters and their relationships could have been interesting, but again are not fully developed. The book seems to hover at the surface of these stories without delving deeper. As such, it keeps the reader at bay and not fully engaged in the story.
*** Reviewed for LibraryThing Early Reviewers program ***
The Roots of the Olive Tree is a story of five generation of women. Anna is the matriarch of the family and have lived to become the oldest person in the world. Elizabeth or Bets is next. Then come Callie, Deb, and Erin. Added to the mix is the geneticist studying the Keller family to determine the reason for the longevity of these women. Also added to this is the lovely California setting of the Keller family olive farm which has a history of its own.
Anna's story in buried in secrets in the past. Bets is occupied with her ailing husband. Callie is in search of her own life. Deb is paying for mistakes of the past. Erin is trying to forge her own way and has come home, pregnant and alone.
This book and story never really comes together for me. The individual stories of the women could have been interesting, but they are not fully developed in an effort to address all of them. The individual characters and their relationships could have been interesting, but again are not fully developed. The book seems to hover at the surface of these stories without delving deeper. As such, it keeps the reader at bay and not fully engaged in the story.
*** Reviewed for LibraryThing Early Reviewers program ***
This was so highly acclaimed I was really looking forward to reading it; highly disappointed is more like it.
