scgirl730's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Very political so much so it detracts from the story.
__karin's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
cami19's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
lvw22's review against another edition
3.0
My thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
There is a lot to love about this novel, but, ultimately, I found it frustrating. Nissen does a great job capturing the voice of a middle aged woman who unexpectedly falls in love while she is a visiting professor, throwing her whole life into upheaval. She is a rather unlikable, annoying narrator who is aware of her own selfishness, but she is also quite amusing and admirable at times.
There are several subplots that work--her complicated relationship with her daughter, her unmoored status in a small Amish town, and her struggle to trust in a life with her new lover. There are also several parts that don't work, including a long extended section in which she envisions the life of her mother-in-law as a young woman in Nazi Germany, and a stupid plot line involving a hickey, of all things.
There is a lot to love about this novel, but, ultimately, I found it frustrating. Nissen does a great job capturing the voice of a middle aged woman who unexpectedly falls in love while she is a visiting professor, throwing her whole life into upheaval. She is a rather unlikable, annoying narrator who is aware of her own selfishness, but she is also quite amusing and admirable at times.
There are several subplots that work--her complicated relationship with her daughter, her unmoored status in a small Amish town, and her struggle to trust in a life with her new lover. There are also several parts that don't work, including a long extended section in which she envisions the life of her mother-in-law as a young woman in Nazi Germany, and a stupid plot line involving a hickey, of all things.
bfth23's review against another edition
1.0
Long book. Unlikeable characters that did not seem real at all. (Well, maybe the Amish ones did.) I really thought I would like this but instead I found myself slogging through it and wondering why the hell I was still trying.
basking_turtle's review against another edition
3.0
I found this an interesting book - another woman going through a mid-life crisis. Been there. It seems when one is going through a crisis that everything happens at once and so it was with the main character. I found her fantasy asides odd although they did add to the interest of the book. I didn't like it enough to give it 5 start but I liked it enough to finish it.
namielle's review against another edition
Try as I may, I could not force my way through the entirety of this book (only got to 35%). Phil, the main character, was just so unlikable. She’s self-absorbed like some sort of spoiled teen, when she’s actually a middle aged lady. I just felt bad for her husband and child.
wordnerdy's review against another edition
2.0
http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2017/12/2017-book-214.html
Literary novels about middle aged academics having affairs have never been something I was particularly interested in, but this one grabbed me—at first—with its strong narrative voice. The fact that the narrator is a middle aged Jewish woman theater professor also made this feel a bit fresher, plus the first half of the novel turns on her mentally ill daughter's marriage to an Amish man—so a lot of balls are being juggled, but I found it compelling enough. Things start to drag as the narrator becomes mired in indecision and self pity, and I could have done without a lengthy dream sequence about WWII French collaborators as well as the lengthy retreads of the Bush-Kerry election (the novel is set in 2004 for some reason). I just found this all to be more insufferable the longer it went on. B-.
_
A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on January 23.
Literary novels about middle aged academics having affairs have never been something I was particularly interested in, but this one grabbed me—at first—with its strong narrative voice. The fact that the narrator is a middle aged Jewish woman theater professor also made this feel a bit fresher, plus the first half of the novel turns on her mentally ill daughter's marriage to an Amish man—so a lot of balls are being juggled, but I found it compelling enough. Things start to drag as the narrator becomes mired in indecision and self pity, and I could have done without a lengthy dream sequence about WWII French collaborators as well as the lengthy retreads of the Bush-Kerry election (the novel is set in 2004 for some reason). I just found this all to be more insufferable the longer it went on. B-.
_
A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on January 23.
britakate's review against another edition
My guess is that we librarians will have some "unappealing narrator" conversations around this one. I thought Philippa navigated her mess of a life in a completely realistic - if not quite admirable - manner, but I can imagine some readers will have trouble getting over her alleged (and freely acknowledged) selfishness. The hardest thing about the book for me, personally, is that the main character has the name of a coworker of mine, the main character's love object has my nephew's name, and her daughter has my stepmother-in-law's name. Definitely refreshing to see a middle-aged female protagonist. I'd recommend this to people who have enjoyed Nissen's previous novels, as well as fans of Karen Russell, Helen Ellis, and Lauren Groff.
mishiebhat's review against another edition
1.0
The main character Philippa was not only unlikeable but didn’t have an arc nor did she grow in any discernible way. The only possibly intriguing part about her mother-in-law’s mysterious origins were never really answered, and we’re left with Philippa ruining everything she has and altering her relationships all for completely selfish reasons, all while playing the victim.