ddanielac's review against another edition
4.0
li o “a mulher” no verão e não quis terminar o ano sem voltar à Meg Wolitzer.
há qualquer coisa na sua forma de contar histórias: o pormenor, a observação, as imagens e sons que nos vai descrevendo, as subtilezas nas ações ou diálogos das personagens, que me deixa maluca. adoro.
e quanto mais penso no livro, mais detalhes e ideias interessantes encontro.
não é um livro que recomendaria a alguém porque imagino que seja “chato” ou mesmo indiferente para muita gente (como a pontuação aqui no GR bem demonstra), mas foi muito especial.
há qualquer coisa na sua forma de contar histórias: o pormenor, a observação, as imagens e sons que nos vai descrevendo, as subtilezas nas ações ou diálogos das personagens, que me deixa maluca. adoro.
e quanto mais penso no livro, mais detalhes e ideias interessantes encontro.
não é um livro que recomendaria a alguém porque imagino que seja “chato” ou mesmo indiferente para muita gente (como a pontuação aqui no GR bem demonstra), mas foi muito especial.
alykat264's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyed the storyline, but for some reason felt like a slow read!
katiieecat's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
whitmc's review against another edition
3.0
So I finally read this book after it has popped up on Amazon all year and then appeared on myriad 2013 book lists. It wasn't bad--I wasn't bored or anything, but I didn't find the story all that interesting. It was basically just the stories of people's lives, nothing overly fantastic or exciting. The main character got fairly whiny at some parts.
juliacosta's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
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? No
3.5
princessfabulous's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
eknachbar's review against another edition
2.0
I was very bored by the constantly repeating tropes in this book.
afox98's review against another edition
2.0
I started out liking this book, then didn’t, then did, then didn’t. Waffled between 2 and 3 stars. Went with 2 stars bc the book just wasn’t that...interesting. The story focuses on a group of teenagers who went to a summer camp for the arts every year. They all had their place - the lovable yet ugly guy, the funny girl, the beautiful girl, the handsome jerk, the musical genius. As they grow up, they stay in touch and their lives go down different paths. What I liked: the normality and reality in the depiction of how people live, the deep friendship between Jules and Ash, the lovingness and normalness of Dennis, Jules’s husband. What I didn’t like: the petty jealousy that Jules never seems to lose and how she takes her husband for granted, the way the Wolf family handled Goodman’s disappearance, the incomplete and shallow telling of the story of Jonah. Interesting to see the backdrop of NYC in the 80s-00s, but throughout it was more of a whisper, and would have liked to know more about how the context of the world impacted each of the characters. All in all, the story was about living life - the good, the bad, and the ugly, but wish the characters had dug in a bit more to live it more fully.
rebbemcc's review against another edition
5.0
Loved. The characters felt real. The pace of the book was perfect.
nostalgicspaceling's review against another edition
4.0
Before reading this book, I used to think of 'interesting' as a nothing-word. Now, I see the need for it. Interesting, and the Interestings, is not really good, not really bad, but definitely not boring. It's engrossing, perplexing, and insightful.
At the beginning of the novel, a group of friends form as teenagers at an arts camp. It's by far the most fun and fascinating part of the story, and their lives, until something terrible happens that teens aren't mature enough to process. What follows is a melancholy meditation on how it feels to become an adult while still keeping one foot in adolescence. The author doesn't give readers the space to love any of the characters, but they are sympathetic, and their dynamic, which shifts over the decades as they land at different levels of success, is, for lack of a better word, interesting.
At the beginning of the novel, a group of friends form as teenagers at an arts camp. It's by far the most fun and fascinating part of the story, and their lives, until something terrible happens that teens aren't mature enough to process. What follows is a melancholy meditation on how it feels to become an adult while still keeping one foot in adolescence. The author doesn't give readers the space to love any of the characters, but they are sympathetic, and their dynamic, which shifts over the decades as they land at different levels of success, is, for lack of a better word, interesting.