joanne_is_from_canada's review
2.0
Unfortunately the synopsis was more interesting than the plot of this book. While it wasn't particularly bad, and the writing was pretty, nothing really happened. To be honest, after a couple of disappointing misses, maybe I should just consider magical realism as being "not for me"
icg233's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
unfinished_sentenc's review
3.0
I just finished this book and I have mixed feelings about the novel. The prose are beautifully descriptive at times; however, the story seems jumbled and edgy. The ending felt random and adrift.
wordnerdy's review
3.0
http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2015/09/2015-book-229.html
This was a very pretty little book about a line of mothers and daughters, their musical talents, their storytelling, and so on. It centers on Lulu, a successful opera singer who has just given birth, as she meditates on motherhood and on the stories she was told of her great-grandmother in Poland. The writing here is really strong, but I did wish for a little bit /more/, particularly about Lulu's mother Sara. And about the Jewish people on the other side of the great-grandmother's town--there are some interesting hints dropped here that aren't really followed up on. B/B+.
This was a very pretty little book about a line of mothers and daughters, their musical talents, their storytelling, and so on. It centers on Lulu, a successful opera singer who has just given birth, as she meditates on motherhood and on the stories she was told of her great-grandmother in Poland. The writing here is really strong, but I did wish for a little bit /more/, particularly about Lulu's mother Sara. And about the Jewish people on the other side of the great-grandmother's town--there are some interesting hints dropped here that aren't really followed up on. B/B+.
jonathanwlodarski's review
4.0
Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I thought that this book had prose like a swarm of bees: humming and buzzing and uncannily alive. I really loved the experience of reading the words that make up this book, which is pretty rare for me; I value prose strength as probably the least-valuable criterion for evaluation (because there are authors who are truly incredible word-artists but their books are boring).
I also really liked all the Greta stuff, which reminded me of fairy tales (obviously and intentionally). Quite a lovely aesthetic, and it felt really comfortably integrated into the body of the story.
That being said, the rest of the book was less enthralling. I hate when people say that they don't "connect to the characters" because I think maybe sometimes the point of a book is that you cannot connect with a character, but even if I cannot connect to a character I have the expectation that I will be engrossed by her/him, and I did not feel very engrossed by our present-day characters. Flashbacks, certainly, but not by the forward motion of the story, and that's a pity.
I wish that there had been something for me to sink into, but I didn't feel that pull or that gravity.
3.5/5
I thought that this book had prose like a swarm of bees: humming and buzzing and uncannily alive. I really loved the experience of reading the words that make up this book, which is pretty rare for me; I value prose strength as probably the least-valuable criterion for evaluation (because there are authors who are truly incredible word-artists but their books are boring).
I also really liked all the Greta stuff, which reminded me of fairy tales (obviously and intentionally). Quite a lovely aesthetic, and it felt really comfortably integrated into the body of the story.
That being said, the rest of the book was less enthralling. I hate when people say that they don't "connect to the characters" because I think maybe sometimes the point of a book is that you cannot connect with a character, but even if I cannot connect to a character I have the expectation that I will be engrossed by her/him, and I did not feel very engrossed by our present-day characters. Flashbacks, certainly, but not by the forward motion of the story, and that's a pity.
I wish that there had been something for me to sink into, but I didn't feel that pull or that gravity.
3.5/5
catherineofalx's review against another edition
3.0
What I liked: the complex women, the perennial ethical discomfort of Polish families with unclear history, the opera, the mythology.
What I didn't: the heavy craft of it. It was a little like opera that way, I knew where we were going based on the tone, and it was a bit, uh, extra. That and it tried to be about too many things: motherhood and career and history and adultery and religion. I couldn't quite keep up, even though I wanted to read all of those individual stories.
What I didn't: the heavy craft of it. It was a little like opera that way, I knew where we were going based on the tone, and it was a bit, uh, extra. That and it tried to be about too many things: motherhood and career and history and adultery and religion. I couldn't quite keep up, even though I wanted to read all of those individual stories.
larcher's review against another edition
3.0
It was a nice read. It did not keep me engage throughout which was my biggest problem.
sammybluejay's review against another edition
1.0
Good grief. This book started out promising and devolved into boring quite quickly. I picked it up after two days and found that I was so uninterested in what was happening that I didn't even remember who the characters were, so not worth the time to finish for me.
mssarahmorgan's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0