delaneybull's review against another edition
5.0
Definitely one of the best books I've read in a long time. I absolutely loved the narrative style, which jumped from several characters in the beginning and crucially broke the divide between narrator and reader 3/4 of the way through. It was a lot like Wanda's mosaics--jumpy, colliding, confusing, but eventually finding harmony and meaning in the chaos. I loved each character, they were all so unique and multifaceted, and none truly fell into a cliche, which was a nice change of pace. This book was emotionally touching in a way I didn't expect, one feels revulsion and acceptance of the destruction in this book--both literally to characters and objects and also of the narrative itself at the end, especially in regards to Margaret. While some probably found the pace unrelentingly slow, leaving the reader aching for all the loose plot threads to weave together, I loved the pace and its ultimate resolution. Heartbreakingly poignant, profoundly meaningful, this book was truly amazing.
Also, Maurice. I love him. Enough said.
Also, Maurice. I love him. Enough said.
givnuapeacesign's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant. Each character is broken and afraid in some way. Margaret opens the story alone in her Seattle mansion dying of a brain tumor. She takes Wanda, a stage manager, in as a boarder, introducing her to the massive collection of priceless antiques filling the home. One by one the plot and the cast of characters grows and changes. Eventually the concrete thick armour the characters have spent a lifetime building cracks and reforms into beauty, satisfaction, redemption, forgiveness, and happiness.
saycheeze37's review against another edition
3.0
The story and the characters were brilliant, and its definitely a book worth reading, but there were some parts that I felt dragged on or were unnecessary.
scorpstar77's review against another edition
5.0
I have 3 books to update and review now, and I'm kinda tired, so all reviews are going to be short and sweet. This book was very tender and touching, a story about broken people finding each other, making their own families, and working with their own abilities and inclinations to heal the brokenness. It was fantastic, but it is going to appeal to women much more than men. That said, I highly recommend...
thereadingknitter's review against another edition
I tried listening to this one and an hour in I wasn't impressed enough to continue. There are just to many books to be read to suffer through one.
jonid's review against another edition
4.0
I liked the story. Although I thought some of the writing veered toward overblown and obvious adjective use at times, the author weaves the lives of Margaret and Wanda together along with a cast of characters who are collected along the way to tell a story I haven't heard before. The appearance of ghosts from Margaret's past serve as a revealing memory device. The characters who search for the 'love of their life' refuse to embrace life and love in the present. Wanda serves Margaret as the vehicle for her to atone for her father's accumulation of precious object owned by Jews who were rounded up and sent to their death by the Nazi's and the French in a unique way, giving the story it's unique view of Margaret's desire to atone for the discovery of her father's actions during WWII. Turning stolen ceramic trasires into art transforms the lives of everyone in the story.
jennwolfe's review against another edition
2.0
I'm writing a review while I think about how many stars I'll give this book. I liked the characters in this book and the author definitely has some thought-provoking lines. That said, however, I have a couple of criticisms, as well. There are some moments when Kallos shifts narrators to some omniscient, philosophical out-of-the-book and not one of the characters narrator and that annoyed the heck out of me. It was like, periodically, she couldn't figure out as a writer how to get the characters to say what she wanted to say, so she just stepped out of the story and said it and stepped back in.
pollyannamum's review against another edition
4.0
I picked Kallos' debut novel on the dual recommendation of Ev at the Bookloft in Great Barrington, MA and Sue Monk Kidd's endorsement on the cover. This may seem insignificant, but without those two women promising I would be glad I'd read this, I wouldn't have made it through the first half. Frankly, some of the situations and literary tactics were downright silly.
Starting with Part II, Kallos found her literary legs. I was finally interested in the characters--perhaps because she introduces a couple of folks who were believable--and the story started to make more sense. She also found her hook and finally gave you the piece of information that helped explain quite a bit that was out-of-place in the first half of her novel.
Where Kallos finally made it worth reading the 360 pages was in her weaving the global hurt of the Holocaust with the private hurts of her individual characters and giving a space for cathartic exploration of roads to healing. Not unlike the significance of the art created by her characters being more about the materials than the product--Kallos' work gains its value, not from the creation of a well-executed novel, but from her exploration of themes that resonate with a searching reader.
Starting with Part II, Kallos found her literary legs. I was finally interested in the characters--perhaps because she introduces a couple of folks who were believable--and the story started to make more sense. She also found her hook and finally gave you the piece of information that helped explain quite a bit that was out-of-place in the first half of her novel.
Where Kallos finally made it worth reading the 360 pages was in her weaving the global hurt of the Holocaust with the private hurts of her individual characters and giving a space for cathartic exploration of roads to healing. Not unlike the significance of the art created by her characters being more about the materials than the product--Kallos' work gains its value, not from the creation of a well-executed novel, but from her exploration of themes that resonate with a searching reader.
amy_virginia's review against another edition
4.0
The aknowledgements said this book took 7 years to write. The plot is very intricate and full of coincidences and things coming full circle.
It's set in Seattle and is very detailed--I could picture all the locations described.
Also, it made me kind of want to break something.
It's set in Seattle and is very detailed--I could picture all the locations described.
Also, it made me kind of want to break something.