Scan barcode
vene121's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVED this book. I was simply captivated by the lives of the five sisters. When I wasn't reading this book, I was longing to read this book.
book_worm_13's review against another edition
1.0
I truly wanted to like this book but for some reason I found it dull.
tobia's review against another edition
I stopped reading at 45%.
It’s just boring, redundant and predictable.
Nothing happens every life is the same in a different setting and I am pretty sure I know the ending: the all meet back at the house by the river. Yawn...
I couldn’t separate the girls names it just felt all so similar l. I didn’t buy into the role woman played of being so passive and depended on their husband but ok this might be the time and area. I was interested in learning more but there was just nothing new, no real conflict, no real feelings, it was just like a river flowing by - you can continue watching aka reading but most likely the scenery stays the same...
I guess some people like this kind of story. I am not one of them.
It’s just boring, redundant and predictable.
Nothing happens every life is the same in a different setting and I am pretty sure I know the ending: the all meet back at the house by the river. Yawn...
I couldn’t separate the girls names it just felt all so similar l. I didn’t buy into the role woman played of being so passive and depended on their husband but ok this might be the time and area. I was interested in learning more but there was just nothing new, no real conflict, no real feelings, it was just like a river flowing by - you can continue watching aka reading but most likely the scenery stays the same...
I guess some people like this kind of story. I am not one of them.
jenmeleon's review against another edition
4.0
This was a captivating story about a family of women who all took different paths that involved varying degrees of adventure, love and heartbreak. I liked how the author gave each daughter a unique story but common themes kept them connected. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect Greek cultural traditions and beliefs also played a part in the construction and overall themes of the book. There seemed to be a timelessness to the work. The writing was also beautiful, for the most part. (There was some dialogue that was trite and a few scenes didn’t ring authentic. That might be result of the translation though.) This book kept me interested and was a rare good find through Kindle First.
unielesta's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
kharmacat's review against another edition
The author is apparently one of Greece's most beloved writers, and the book gets rave reviews on Amazon. Maybe they all read it in Greek? Maybe something was lost in translation? I tried twice, but finally gave up. The writing style is almost like folklore, not really like a novel, and for me it was tedious.
jrc2011's review against another edition
1.0
Another selection from Amazon's free offerings for some promotion or other - and I finally tried getting into it. I hoped for more descriptive details about village life, of the food, the surroundings -- even signs that we were approaching the 1970s (right?). The author seems to intentionally avoid talking about time -- the only tie to historical events is Nazi occupation.
I read through the first couple of chapters, and then the first chapter focusing on one of the daughters - and then the last part of the book. It's way too long and just not that interesting. The characters have no depth - and everything just seems flat. It's as though the author was gathering together stories and structure for a mini-series.
There are a few other things that beggar belief - like Gerasimos' death by ... tetanus? He stepped on a rusty nail, his leg got very infected and he had a high fever but typically, it's treated with high doses of antibiotics (which would have existed in post-WW2 when the man dies), and other medicines to prevent muscle spasms. So - maybe amputation would NOT have cured what he had since the author didn't actually give him the symptoms of tetanus.
The biggest flaw, to me, is that all the daughters are heaped with tragedy and return to their childhood home with children and others in tow. The house becomes a matriarchal commune of -- 16 women? I lost count of how they ended up there but it just was all so ridiculous. Maybe it'll make a better miniseries.
Don't waste your time on this one.
I read through the first couple of chapters, and then the first chapter focusing on one of the daughters - and then the last part of the book. It's way too long and just not that interesting. The characters have no depth - and everything just seems flat. It's as though the author was gathering together stories and structure for a mini-series.
There are a few other things that beggar belief - like Gerasimos' death by ... tetanus? He stepped on a rusty nail, his leg got very infected and he had a high fever but typically, it's treated with high doses of antibiotics (which would have existed in post-WW2 when the man dies), and other medicines to prevent muscle spasms. So - maybe amputation would NOT have cured what he had since the author didn't actually give him the symptoms of tetanus.
The biggest flaw, to me, is that all the daughters are heaped with tragedy and return to their childhood home with children and others in tow. The house becomes a matriarchal commune of -- 16 women? I lost count of how they ended up there but it just was all so ridiculous. Maybe it'll make a better miniseries.
Don't waste your time on this one.
justjoel's review against another edition
1.0
There were really good and really horrid parts of this book. The opening was decent: the sisters were young and living at home. The book was strongest after the girls left their village and embarked on their own adventures, as each told their story.
Everything went crashing off the rails in the final chapter. So much trite sappiness wrapped in a semi-feminist shroud, then drowned in religious overtones ruined everything that had come before for me. The honoring of parents (or failure to do so) and the sense of being punished for "sins" were definitely written by someone who has yelled, "You kids get off my lawn!" I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Okay, boomer," more than once in the final 20 minutes.
1 out of 5 stars.
Everything went crashing off the rails in the final chapter. So much trite sappiness wrapped in a semi-feminist shroud, then drowned in religious overtones ruined everything that had come before for me. The honoring of parents (or failure to do so) and the sense of being punished for "sins" were definitely written by someone who has yelled, "You kids get off my lawn!" I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Okay, boomer," more than once in the final 20 minutes.
1 out of 5 stars.
br00k3a133n's review against another edition
Honestly this is just so much of nothing. I was kind of interested in how the story was structured, but everything is so flat, no one talks to one another, and I feel (and based on some other reviews) that I won't care for the actual directions this goes.
I'm not going to waste any more time on this one.
I'm not going to waste any more time on this one.