
My Review: Read the above summary carefully. I think the reviewer at least partially shared my opinion of the book. The key words are "overwrought" and "windswept melodrama." I also don't think it is flattering to have the phrase "but that will not deter..." in a summary. I think these are nice ways to say what I was thinking while I attempted to read this book. After gagging my way through the first half of the book I simply had enough and it became the third book in as many months that I simply could not bare to finish (see review of City of Falling Angels).
In general - I was put off by the over-emotive thoughts of the women and the "coincidence" that they were all at some sort of cross-roads of life, and despite being cast as intelligent, interesting women couldn't figure out how to get themselves beyond the rut they were existing in. I didn't buy the witty banter that attempted to be so telling of their unique personalities - so unique I couldn't remember which name went to which character, or who was saying what. I was beyond irritated by the absurd overuse of similes that made the prose seem practically gummy with description and comparison.
I love a good "girls rule" book as much as the next person but I think I was insulted by the cliche and improbable relationship these women had. The author was obviously trying to create a warm (dare I say womb-like) reality for the setting of this journey but in doing so stifled the true and terribly interesting nature of a "real" woman and her characters became messy, blobby things instead of interesting, striking women.
And a very small aside - regarding a short section where the author talks about a doctor whose "internal" examination is gentle and kind in a way only a female can be. Uh, so not true! Although I've had good (unpainful) and bad (OUCH) exams from doctors of both genders, the male doctors always apologize when I start squirming around from the pain, whereas it is inevitably the female doctors who say things like "You've already had a baby haven't you?" or "Its a good thing you can get an epidural" in a tone of voice that means "Suck it up, sister and take it like a man". Not that I'm bitter...
My Rating: 1 star
Caveat: I sat in on the book club discussion of this book prior to reading it and nothing said by the 7 women who'd read it would have let me know I'd hate it so much, in fact it influenced one woman to begin the adoption process.
In One Sentence: I wonder if some of the conversations I try to have with my husbands make him react like I did to this book ("Why is she STILL talking about this touchy feely nonsense, didn't she already say that, who cares")...if so, he'd be wise to keep his trap shut!
2 comments:
I read a little of this book hoping for something relevant to my upcoming trip with three women I spent my late twenties and early thirties with, one of us dying.
What I read was trite, poorly written (started in first person present/past present, ugh) and, in my eyes, unworthy of what a book about this subject could have been.
I totally agree with the comments made and found them very well articulated. I was insulted by the time of the book and couldn't get past the first chapter without holding my nose.
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