snowmaiden's review against another edition
5.0
I was a little worried, because this book starts out like the kind of stock Lifetime movie where a middle-aged woman decides to change her life, but once we start getting the flashbacks to Judith's teenage years in Nebraska, it gets much more interesting. McNeal is a fabulous writer, and his descriptions of both people and nature are very apt. Plus, it's always interesting to read a love story written by a man, especially when the main character is a woman. It made me cry, and that's one of my tests for greatness in this kind of book.
librarylassamj's review against another edition
5.0
I loved it. A story of love lost, refound and lost again. Deeply moving.
lynnski's review against another edition
3.0
This book was just OK for me. It actually took me a couple of tries to get all the way through it. I'm glad I gave it a 2nd chance because I eventually did get into it, but it was still just OK. Maybe it's because I just didn't like any of the characters.
robinsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars - This didn't live up to my expectations.
shelfimprovement's review against another edition
5.0
I am so grateful that I stumbled across this book. There was no buzz surrounding it, I had never heard of the author before, I didn’t even have the good fortune to unpack it from its box at the store. I simply noticed it on the new hardcover table one day and thought the title was great. The best impulse purchase I have ever made.
Judith is a woman going through a quintessential midlife crisis. Her life isn’t altogether bad, but it isn’t what she hoped for: her career as a film/television editor is stalled, her relationship with her teenage daughter is strained, and she suspects that her husband, Malcolm, might be having an affair. Her dissatisfaction with her life leads her to reminisce about Willy Blunt, the man she fell in love with when she was seventeen. The narrative flashes back and forth between the present and that Judith’s youth, explaining how she came to live with her father in Nebraska following her Vermont hippie-mother’s own midlife crisis, how her tender-yet-passionate love affair with Willy took hold of her life, and how it came to an abrupt end when she decides to pursue her dream of attending Stanford. Judith does not see Willy again after she leaves for college, but now that her own life has left her feeling unfulfilled, she finds herself wondering whatever became of him. When she decides she cannot handle the curiosity anymore, Judith hires a private investigator to track Willy down.
This novel is GORGEOUS, simply astonishing. McNeal has constructed a wonderfully complex, likable female character in Judith, with a strong back story that gives her shape and depth. Judith’s need to escape was so realistic, so believable. It never once felt melodramatic or too “woe is me.” McNeal artfully bounces back and forth between the past and present, building a multi-layered story without giving away too much too soon. There is no huge mystery at the center of this love story, just the simple question: did I make the right decision?
McNeal’s prose is stunning. His sentences were often an emotional kick in the stomach that I wanted to read over and over again. One of my favorite lines from the book is how Judith’s mother responds to Judith’s inquiry of what happened in her marriage to Judth’s father: “What always happens. We were happy, and then we weren’t.” It’s a very simple statement, but it so eloquently describes the idea at the heart of this book – our lives don’t always turn out the way we expect, no matter how hard we try.
Judith is a woman going through a quintessential midlife crisis. Her life isn’t altogether bad, but it isn’t what she hoped for: her career as a film/television editor is stalled, her relationship with her teenage daughter is strained, and she suspects that her husband, Malcolm, might be having an affair. Her dissatisfaction with her life leads her to reminisce about Willy Blunt, the man she fell in love with when she was seventeen. The narrative flashes back and forth between the present and that Judith’s youth, explaining how she came to live with her father in Nebraska following her Vermont hippie-mother’s own midlife crisis, how her tender-yet-passionate love affair with Willy took hold of her life, and how it came to an abrupt end when she decides to pursue her dream of attending Stanford. Judith does not see Willy again after she leaves for college, but now that her own life has left her feeling unfulfilled, she finds herself wondering whatever became of him. When she decides she cannot handle the curiosity anymore, Judith hires a private investigator to track Willy down.
This novel is GORGEOUS, simply astonishing. McNeal has constructed a wonderfully complex, likable female character in Judith, with a strong back story that gives her shape and depth. Judith’s need to escape was so realistic, so believable. It never once felt melodramatic or too “woe is me.” McNeal artfully bounces back and forth between the past and present, building a multi-layered story without giving away too much too soon. There is no huge mystery at the center of this love story, just the simple question: did I make the right decision?
McNeal’s prose is stunning. His sentences were often an emotional kick in the stomach that I wanted to read over and over again. One of my favorite lines from the book is how Judith’s mother responds to Judith’s inquiry of what happened in her marriage to Judth’s father: “What always happens. We were happy, and then we weren’t.” It’s a very simple statement, but it so eloquently describes the idea at the heart of this book – our lives don’t always turn out the way we expect, no matter how hard we try.
never4get's review against another edition
3.0
Somewhat disjointed back and forth love story across 30 yrs. Judith traces her former lover from a luminous summer - to find a broken man who never forgot her. Final denouement as they rebuild a tender time together is poignant, but unbelievable.
In this book Judith goes to live with her father in Nebraska after her parents end their marriage. In Nebraska she meets Willy, who turns out to be her first love. Judith goes off to Stanford University and leaves Willy behind with the promise that they will marry when she has finished college. Instead, Judith ends up ending their relationship by simply not being present for their designated weekly phone call, instead of talking with him about it.
Soon after ending her relationship with Willy, she meets Malcolm and eventually marries him. After 27 years without Willy in her life, Judith is consumed by memories of her time with Willy after her daughter rejects a bedroom set that use to be hers when she was a girl in Nebraska. She takes the bedroom set to a self storage unit and steals any opportunity to spend time with the set. One thing leads to another and she hires a private detective to find Willy. She eventually connects with him and is presented with the reality of what the end of the relationship did to both of them.
In this book Judith goes to live with her father in Nebraska after her parents end their marriage. In Nebraska she meets Willy, who turns out to be her first love. Judith goes off to Stanford University and leaves Willy behind with the promise that they will marry when she has finished college. Instead, Judith ends up ending their relationship by simply not being present for their designated weekly phone call, instead of talking with him about it.
Soon after ending her relationship with Willy, she meets Malcolm and eventually marries him. After 27 years without Willy in her life, Judith is consumed by memories of her time with Willy after her daughter rejects a bedroom set that use to be hers when she was a girl in Nebraska. She takes the bedroom set to a self storage unit and steals any opportunity to spend time with the set. One thing leads to another and she hires a private detective to find Willy. She eventually connects with him and is presented with the reality of what the end of the relationship did to both of them.
jourdan_zephyr's review against another edition
4.0
Absolutely beautiful prose and dynamic characters. Left me thinking about it even after I finished.
dommdy's review against another edition
2.0
Cruel, abrupt, unsatisfactory ending. Some characters thinly drawn, the major female not very sympathetic. The final act of the main male character made him seem vengeful.
livinlavidalori's review against another edition
3.0
This book was beautifully written. Good thing, because I didn't find the stroy that engaging. But the Lyrical prose made me want to finish.