emily_bovan's review against another edition
3.0
While this book’s main theme is about a family dealing with grief, I really enjoyed the undertones about what it means to be a family and what lengths people will go to for their family. It was a bit slower then I expected, but overall I enjoyed the story.
orygunn's review against another edition
3.0
The book was well written, and when I read it, it went quickly, but it wasn't one of those I just *had* to pick up or couldn't put down. A journey through the impact grief has on life.
findyourgoldenhour's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. I enjoyed this book overall, even though it felt overly melancholic at times. I felt immersed in the time and place, the culture of American Jews in pre- and post-WWII, and I cared about the characters. The writing itself, while beautiful, sometimes felt clunky. The best books are the ones where you don't notice that you are reading; you brain takes in the words and you're immersed in a story. This one had some clunky sentence structures and run-on sentences; I'd have to re-read them to figure out to whom the pronoun was referring, for example, or if the verb tense made sense. I'm glad I read it; a few of the characters will stay with me.
lvw22's review against another edition
4.0
I've had this book on my shelf for awhile; I'm not really sure why I never started it. After reading the opening line, however, I was hooked: "The summer of 1948 my brother Davy was killed in an accident with a man who would have given his own life rather than have it happen."
The novel gradually unravels the events leading to this catastrophic accident, and reveals how it altered the lives of every member of 8-year-old Davy's tightly knit extended Jewish family. Davy's sister Molly, who was 12 when he died, narrates the novel, and Poliner does a great job creating her voice. I loved Molly's observations of the contentious, but loving, relationship between her mother and her two aunts as they gather each summer at a run down family home at the beach in a Jewish enclave in Woodmont, CT. known as Bagel Beach.
If you like multi-generational family dramas, you will definitely enjoy this book.
The novel gradually unravels the events leading to this catastrophic accident, and reveals how it altered the lives of every member of 8-year-old Davy's tightly knit extended Jewish family. Davy's sister Molly, who was 12 when he died, narrates the novel, and Poliner does a great job creating her voice. I loved Molly's observations of the contentious, but loving, relationship between her mother and her two aunts as they gather each summer at a run down family home at the beach in a Jewish enclave in Woodmont, CT. known as Bagel Beach.
If you like multi-generational family dramas, you will definitely enjoy this book.
zhelana's review against another edition
2.0
The only two reasons I finished this book is that it was my book club book and I finished it all in a weekend while driving to Alabama. If it had taken more than 2 days to get through I probably would have given up. There are just too many characters and it was impossible to keep them all straight. Plus, all of the ways they "ruined their lives" is romantic drama. It's like the author didn't know there should be plots that had nothing to do with romance. Also, the narrator is supposed to be one of the characters, but she knows far too many secrets that all the other characters keep and it is never explained how she knew so much. Also, is it really believable that everyone in the family ruins their romantic relationships for the rest of eternity because a family member died? Also, I really hate it when main characters in my books die and really if this hadn't been my book club book I wouldn't have read it at all.
kpages23's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
As Close To Us As Breathing is a multigenerational family saga centred on a tragic accident which occurs at the beach in 1948 and the way its impact continued to be felt decades later. I liked the focus on the relationships between the sisters, the Jewish representation, and a small LGBTQIA+ storyline but this isn’t a book that has stuck with me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Xenophobia
Minor: Antisemitism
thain's review
4.0
Heartbreaking multigenerational saga about the lasting effects of a tragedy at a family's summer home on "Bagel Beach" - a Jewish enclave in post-war Connecticut.