bbrewer14's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Nora is in Australia and needs her granddaughter Jess to come home. Jess is in London, struggling to maintain a home and a job. She returns reluctantly to Australia to be with the grandmother who raised her. Polly (Nora’s daughter and Jess’s mother) is caught in the middle of the world Nora created for her as an anxious and ambivalent parent who doesn’t know how to be a mother despite her yearnings. Surrounded by a multitude of characters from the 1950s and 2018, the author takes the reader on a journey through the loss of a mother and her 3 children, the search for a missing infant, the unsolved mystery and years of speculation and rumors to the impact it has 50 yrs later on the family. Nora leaves clues behind that intrigue her journalist granddaughter and lead to an investigation that ends with a twist you won’t expect.
A wonderful book that thrives on artistic depictions of scenery, comparisons to well known literature to help set scenes, and the base desires of humans to seek what they yearn despite the cost to others. Loved the ending and the journey getting there was long but beyond worthwhile. Highly recommend and will be reading more from this author.
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Suicide, Child death, and Mental illness
Moderate: Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Murder, Death, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Infertility, and Suicide
stephs_cozycorner's review against another edition
5.0
Kate Morton does such a fantastic job in her descriptions that you feel completely immersed in the story, transported to another time and place.
The slow burn of this novel pays off and when you think you may have finally figured out this story you are hit with a few more surprises in the end.
𝙃𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 also has a book within a book called 𝙰𝚜 𝙸𝚏 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚆𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝙰𝚜𝚕𝚎𝚎𝚙, and while this usually doesn’t work for me as it can become quite confusing, it is done exceptionally well here. In fact, I feel the book within a book actually enhances the narrative.
Overall this was an exceptionally written, atmospheric and mesmerizing slow burn historical fiction story that I highly recommend!!
Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada and Tandem Collective Global for a gifted copy of the book.
⚠️ Trigger warnings:
Murder/Suicide. Death of a child. Loss. Grief. Infidelity. Postpartum Depression. Depression.
Moderate: Murder, Child death, Suicide, and Infidelity
dismantlethepatriarchy23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
What a crazy plot twist! This is a story where the plot twist completely reverses the presumption of the entire story. There is amazing character development, great detail and very descriptive story telling. You feel as if you could have been there to experience this tragedy among them. It reflects on the nuances of being a mother, and what it means for children/a child to need their mother. It has so many individual details that seem to tie together in a perfect bow at the end, but yet you feel as if this could have happened in real life.
It causes you to question yourself and your own morals; how much does forgiveness matter to you when you can’t change the past? How can a loving person be so deceitful? And where does it cross the line? How can the “truth” be so wrong, and is it worth repairing years later when it won’t change anything?
This is a book focused on family tragedy and secrets, identity, motherhood, forgiveness, sad memories, grief and loss, guilt, and unforgivable actions.
Graphic: Suicide, Child death, Death, and Grief
Minor: Animal death and Infidelity
graceolivia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Spoiler
It really frustrated me that Nora was never considered to be incredibly manipulative, Jess seems to forgive her instantly for taking her away from her mother. Polly felt like she should have been the main character, I was far more interested in her thoughts and experiences. It seemed odd that her and Jess never had a proper conversation about why she actually left her with Nora. The pillow lie (x2) never gets acknowledged and apparently multiple people knew Isobel was innocent and said nothing. Marcus seemingly either forgives Meg for killing his best friend and his brothers girlfriend or doesn’t figure out it was her, either way it’s not believable. The idea that the whole thing happened as a snap decision to ‘punish’ Isobel also doesn’t make sense as it doesn’t align with Megs personality, it would be far more believable that Nora did it.Moderate: Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grief, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Infertility, Infidelity, and Kidnapping
authorjmjohson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Child death, Murder, and Suicide
kiwichill's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Grief, Infidelity, Death, Child death, Death of parent, and Suicide
Moderate: Gaslighting, Abandonment, Grief, and Miscarriage
kelboo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Suicide and Murder
bettyjowerthmann's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Suicide, Abandonment, Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts
I forgot how good Kate Morton’s books are!jobradley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Miscarriage, Infertility, Suicide, Murder, and Pregnancy
tamara_joy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Grief, Abandonment, Child death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, and Suicide
Minor: Death of parent, Infidelity, Animal death, Infertility, and Miscarriage