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_stephp's review against another edition
2.0
Je suis un peu passée à côté de ce roman. Je n'ai pas accroché au récit, qui en est l'héroïne ?
On conçoit le poids des traditions et de la religion dans ce New York du milieu du XXe siècle, et l'histoire basée principalement sur des femmes aurait pu être éclairante.
Mais j'ai surtout trouvé le style un peu verbeux, et j'ai eu du mal à voir où cela nous menait.
Tout d'un coup, on réalise que ce sont les enfants de la jeune protagoniste qui nous raconte ce récit, et cela vient un peu comme un cheveu sur la soupe...
Bref, next !
On conçoit le poids des traditions et de la religion dans ce New York du milieu du XXe siècle, et l'histoire basée principalement sur des femmes aurait pu être éclairante.
Mais j'ai surtout trouvé le style un peu verbeux, et j'ai eu du mal à voir où cela nous menait.
Tout d'un coup, on réalise que ce sont les enfants de la jeune protagoniste qui nous raconte ce récit, et cela vient un peu comme un cheveu sur la soupe...
Bref, next !
lindseyzank's review
2.0
*2.5 stars*
Some books just hit my emotional sweet spot, but this novel was not one of those books! I can see how it would be for others, though, so I think my reaction to this book is more about my personal reading experience than any of its merits. While I was intrigued by the nuns who go around caring for the infirm in Brooklyn in the first half of the 20th century (it was fascinating to see how they lived their lives and made house calls), I honestly couldn’t really tell any of them apart and therefore wasn’t invested in any of their stories. I can’t tell you the difference between Sister Jeanne and Sister Illuminata, for example. They all read to me like one character even though I think we were supposed to understand them each to have their own personal backstories and desires. The frame of the novel was confusing to me and I couldn’t figure out why McDermott made the reveal of who is telling the story a plot twist of sorts. It just muddled the whole thing, to be honest. I also got very little sense about who Annie and Sally (mother/daughter) really are as characters, which made the semi-shocking decision one of them makes at the end of the novel feel completely out of left field and unfounded. Essentially this book built towards a whole lot of nothing for me and I just couldn’t get into it. Now the actual writing was good, so I don’t fault McDermott for her sentence by sentence style but the character development was sorely lacking and I couldn’t figure out what the whole point of the book was.
Some books just hit my emotional sweet spot, but this novel was not one of those books! I can see how it would be for others, though, so I think my reaction to this book is more about my personal reading experience than any of its merits. While I was intrigued by the nuns who go around caring for the infirm in Brooklyn in the first half of the 20th century (it was fascinating to see how they lived their lives and made house calls), I honestly couldn’t really tell any of them apart and therefore wasn’t invested in any of their stories. I can’t tell you the difference between Sister Jeanne and Sister Illuminata, for example. They all read to me like one character even though I think we were supposed to understand them each to have their own personal backstories and desires. The frame of the novel was confusing to me and I couldn’t figure out why McDermott made the reveal of who is telling the story a plot twist of sorts. It just muddled the whole thing, to be honest. I also got very little sense about who Annie and Sally (mother/daughter) really are as characters, which made the semi-shocking decision one of them makes at the end of the novel feel completely out of left field and unfounded. Essentially this book built towards a whole lot of nothing for me and I just couldn’t get into it. Now the actual writing was good, so I don’t fault McDermott for her sentence by sentence style but the character development was sorely lacking and I couldn’t figure out what the whole point of the book was.
alhj's review
3.0
I struggled to feel connected to this book. It’s not a long book, but felt very long. The book follows a group of nuns and a young widow and her daughter through many years. The story jumps all over the place a bit and was hard to follow.
manaledi's review
3.0
meh, this was fine. good descriptive language, good use of different perspectives/time frames but nothing memorable.
karenreads1000s's review
4.0
A book of hunger, life, devotion, and death. Friendship and community to see people through their lives. The nuns with their array of personalities to tie the whole together.
br1106's review
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
cpalisa's review
4.0
3.5 stars on this one. I might be an outlier, but I didn't love the story. I did love the writing and that is what kept me in it, I think. The characters were explored deeply and I loved that. You got to know both their inner thoughts and feelings to help reconcile their sometimes surprising actions. Overall, a good read. Not my favorite, but worthwhile for sure.