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snazzjazz's review
2.0
This was a whole lot of nothing.
Pretentious characters. I just got done watching the show The Affair and it really reminded me of that.
WASPy behavior, people carrying about clubs and status, infidelity. Grow up
Pretentious characters. I just got done watching the show The Affair and it really reminded me of that.
WASPy behavior, people carrying about clubs and status, infidelity. Grow up
aa2q7's review
3.0
The characters are so shallow, both as people and characters in a book. They care about themselves and not much else. And I didn't particularly care for them.
I wanted to like this book; I added it to my to-read list because I had read a favorable review somewhere else. But it just wasn't as good as I expected. I can only care so much about a prissy wedding and lobsters and ambivalent infidelity.
The book is supposed to be about the complex relationships between the characters attending a weekend wedding on some fancy-pants island in the Northeast. They wear Lilly Pulitzer and those pants with little crabs or whatever in a repeated, stitched pattern. But their upper-crust lives are so boring and frankly, depressing.
I kept reading because I thought the book might get better, and the writing was decent, sometimes elegant. The characters had potential but failed to be real for me. I often forgot how the secondary characters were related and none of them seemed relatable to me. I'd probably give Shipstead a second chance if the story setting were different.
I wanted to like this book; I added it to my to-read list because I had read a favorable review somewhere else. But it just wasn't as good as I expected. I can only care so much about a prissy wedding and lobsters and ambivalent infidelity.
The book is supposed to be about the complex relationships between the characters attending a weekend wedding on some fancy-pants island in the Northeast. They wear Lilly Pulitzer and those pants with little crabs or whatever in a repeated, stitched pattern. But their upper-crust lives are so boring and frankly, depressing.
I kept reading because I thought the book might get better, and the writing was decent, sometimes elegant. The characters had potential but failed to be real for me. I often forgot how the secondary characters were related and none of them seemed relatable to me. I'd probably give Shipstead a second chance if the story setting were different.
longstorieshort's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
courtneyindc's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this story - flawed characters, an interesting setting, enough realistic drama. The writing was wonderful too.
eliellis's review
3.0
Winn was a less well-written (and worthy of less empathy) version of Updike's Rabbit. Eh.
sharimeyer's review
3.0
This was a great satire of WASPy New Englanders and an enjoyable book that has more to it than you would assume based on the jacket copy. The characters had depth beyond their surface in some cases, and notably lacked depth where others had presumed them to have it. The overall effect of this, to me, was to show that we can't possibly presume to fully know the workings of another's mind, even our own spouses. The funny bits were a little overly ridiculous but I did snicker to myself quite a bit.
aarrick's review against another edition
5.0
I heard on one of my podcasts that this would make a great summer read as it takes place in the Hamptons during a wedding weekend. It sounded simply Ralph Lauren-esque so I couldn't wait to get into it. It's about a family, the father of them in particular, who are preparing for their pregnant daughter's wedding at their island vacation home in New England. Between the father's obsession with joining the local golf club, the sister trying to get over her ex-boyfriend and using the weekend to do it, and the crazy antics of the bridesmaids and groomsmen. It also features a runaway lobster and an exploding whale. How is that not an entertaining summer read??