mcarol's review
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I hated every single character in this book for different reasons. That is: they all had reasons for being terrible people. But yet I found the character development so strong that I couldn’t stop reading.
My only real critique was that there were so many jumps in time and a lot of telling without showing. And it felt like some significant plot holes were dropped on the cutting room floor. Which is why I could only give this book 4 stars.
My only real critique was that there were so many jumps in time and a lot of telling without showing. And it felt like some significant plot holes were dropped on the cutting room floor. Which is why I could only give this book 4 stars.
anjreading's review
4.0
I don't think I've ever enjoyed a book so much in which I disliked almost all of the characters. Definitely a compelling read, and interesting exploration of the theme of the holes we dig for ourselves in so many different ways.
heykellyjensen's review
4.0
This was really good and very, very contemporary. It didn't go where I thought, which was both good and bad. A great debut in the adult fiction area for an author with a couple strong teen books under her belt. Full review forthcoming.
tsunanisaurus's review
3.0
I want to note how difficult it is to write a bad review about one of your most favorite authors. I love her work, her interviews, her blog, her Facebook posts, she's just an interesting person. Most of her stories fall into the realm of favorite books ever, for me. This though..
I feel like 3-stars is extremely generous of a rating. This book had a decent first half buildup and then fell flat on its face with a disappointing lack of character or plot "development".
The timeline is wonky, often jumping seemingly randomly. 5 years, 10 years, 10 more years..and it jumps character views very unsteadily and at really bizarre moments. It focuses mostly on Patsy, the youngest daughter. Who is excommunicated from her church (where her father is the pastor) for getting pregnant by her black boyfriend and subsequently having an abortion. But then, a few chapters later, she says she lost her virginity to her husband - a white church goer. This issue is never addressed again.
The oldest son, Vinnie, hates his father because of something that happened at his college graduation. Another issue that is never really addressed.
There is little to no plot development and absolutely not character development. Just a lot of "fast-forwarding" and nothing really changing..
The book has a credit card cover, (with a really poorly chosen family photo that doesn't fit the timeline or characters described in the book) and is described as being "The Hole We're In shines a spotlight on some of the most relevant issues of our day--over-reliance on credit, vexed gender and class politics, the war in Iraq--but it is Zevin's deft exploration of the fragile economy of family life that makes this a book for the ages."
The "gender politics" are just about non-existent. The war in Iraq and the soldiers characteristics were really poorly researched, there are no class politics and there's no "exploration of fragile economy of family life".
This book is more about Seventh Day Adventists and religious v. secularism struggles. The credit-card reliance isn't really explored, it's just mentioned that the mother has a horrible conscious and screws her kids up. But it's never fixed, the characters are never remorseful nor do they learn anything from their past.
I really did not like this book. Even a tiny bit, I just can't bear to give her bad star-ratings because I love her work so much..usually.
I feel like 3-stars is extremely generous of a rating. This book had a decent first half buildup and then fell flat on its face with a disappointing lack of character or plot "development".
The timeline is wonky, often jumping seemingly randomly. 5 years, 10 years, 10 more years..and it jumps character views very unsteadily and at really bizarre moments. It focuses mostly on Patsy, the youngest daughter. Who is excommunicated from her church (where her father is the pastor) for getting pregnant by her black boyfriend and subsequently having an abortion. But then, a few chapters later, she says she lost her virginity to her husband - a white church goer. This issue is never addressed again.
The oldest son, Vinnie, hates his father because of something that happened at his college graduation. Another issue that is never really addressed.
There is little to no plot development and absolutely not character development. Just a lot of "fast-forwarding" and nothing really changing.
Spoiler
Many of the main characters are unceremoniously killed off at random, with no explanation and no focus at allThe book has a credit card cover, (with a really poorly chosen family photo that doesn't fit the timeline or characters described in the book) and is described as being "The Hole We're In shines a spotlight on some of the most relevant issues of our day--over-reliance on credit, vexed gender and class politics, the war in Iraq--but it is Zevin's deft exploration of the fragile economy of family life that makes this a book for the ages."
The "gender politics" are just about non-existent. The war in Iraq and the soldiers characteristics were really poorly researched, there are no class politics and there's no "exploration of fragile economy of family life".
This book is more about Seventh Day Adventists and religious v. secularism struggles. The credit-card reliance isn't really explored, it's just mentioned that the mother has a horrible conscious and screws her kids up. But it's never fixed, the characters are never remorseful nor do they learn anything from their past.
I really did not like this book. Even a tiny bit, I just can't bear to give her bad star-ratings because I love her work so much..usually.
allymarie16's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
kevinhendricks's review
3.0
This started off as a darkly funny story of a family doing everything wrong and digging themselves deeper and deeper in debt. But about a hundred pages in it shifts to just being dark and just gets darker. Zevin's wonderful writing is the only thing that kept me going.
shelleyk's review
3.0
The first part dragged for me, but I enjoyed reading about Patsy. Very thought-provoking...
vick11's review
2.0
I had a hard time reading this book because I hated all the characters, in particular the parents. It was very bizarre how no one spoke to each other about anything of importance, just hid everything and it seemed like the parents had zero emotional connections to their own children. I did like the last chapter, I hope that turns out not to be our future!
mkat303's review
4.0
A quick read. Kind of dark but enjoyable. Looking forward to reading other books by this author.