vivakresh's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
kelbi's review against another edition
5.0
Lovely story about the fraught relationship between a mother and daughter. Sensitive and believable
picopoinesse's review
dark
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
juniperusxx's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Pidin tästä samoin kuin muistakin aiemmin lukeistani Stroutin kirjoista. Tämä oli kirja, jossa ei oikeastaan tapahdu mitään elämää ihmeellisempää, mutta jossa kuvataan, kuinka ihmeellistä elämä sellaisenaan on! Upeaa ihmismielen ja ihmissuhteiden kuvausta ja mielenkiintoinen äiti-tytär -suhteen kasvutarina.
noelle_tofigh's review against another edition
4.0
I kept thinking, "Wow! This is Strout's debut..." as I read and I think that's the mark of a pretty special book. It's not perfect. Maybe she went a little overboard in some of the nature writing, maybe the plot lagged in places. But! It's such a strong debut.
Strout always knocks me out with what she has to say about parent-child relationships. The way she can put the most nuanced thought into words is unlike anyone else. And I completely fell in love with Bev.
It was also fun to go back to Olive, Again and read the last chapter where Olive Kitteridge and Amy Goodrow meet. Definitely a full-circle moment.
Elizabeth Strout is an auto-read author and I'm so glad I still have a few more back-list books to read before I'm all caught up.
Strout always knocks me out with what she has to say about parent-child relationships. The way she can put the most nuanced thought into words is unlike anyone else. And I completely fell in love with Bev.
It was also fun to go back to Olive, Again and read the last chapter where Olive Kitteridge and Amy Goodrow meet. Definitely a full-circle moment.
Elizabeth Strout is an auto-read author and I'm so glad I still have a few more back-list books to read before I'm all caught up.
m_mentu's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rebbemcc's review against another edition
4.0
Such a good book. Quiet and intense, it does a great job of pulling you in to a complicated relationship between a mother and daughter. The supporting characters are well written and given enough detail to feel like real people without taking away from the central storyline. I loved the descriptions of the town and the weather and felt like they added as much to the story as the people.
gorecki's review against another edition
3.0
I love Elizabeth Strout. What she does in Olive Kitteridge and My Name Is Lucy Barton is simply incredible - I instantly became her fan after reading them. But Amy & Isabelle left me quite underwhelmed.
I'm not really sure what it was: maybe the lack of force and conviction in the writing, maybe the overblown proportions of the story and the feeling it's making unneeded fuss and adding extra drama, but I just couldn't connect to the narrative in any way. It left me quite cold, quite often bored, and mostly unconvinced that this is the same Elizabeth Strout I love.
It's true that this was her first book, though. So I do appreciate it as her first stop to becoming the writer I love so much today.
I'm not really sure what it was: maybe the lack of force and conviction in the writing, maybe the overblown proportions of the story and the feeling it's making unneeded fuss and adding extra drama, but I just couldn't connect to the narrative in any way. It left me quite cold, quite often bored, and mostly unconvinced that this is the same Elizabeth Strout I love.
It's true that this was her first book, though. So I do appreciate it as her first stop to becoming the writer I love so much today.
arizonas's review against another edition
4.0
I've arrived mystifyingly late to Elizabeth Strout and decided to read them in the order they were written. This stifling, simmering exploration of a mother-daughter relationship and their separate longings and secret desires is best experienced in sweltering summer conditions - just to add another layer of discomfort.
Isabelle's discovery of her fifteen-year-old daughter's involvement with an older man elicits complicated feelings of rage and regret. She is angry at the exploitation of her underage daughter and with Amy for her deception but also envious of Amy for experiencing a passion that Isabelle once felt herself in a partial mirroring of the events.
Told from two narrative viewpoints, the expression and suppression of desire unfold against an egregiously hot Maine summer, mostly set in a factory office. It also tells the story of female friendship and the tentative connections Isabelle make as she processes her humiliations.
In an age of safeguarding, grooming and awareness of predatory behaviour, it is perhaps discomforting to see such a light touch used to delineate this crossing of boundaries. The descriptions of 'Fat Bev' also made me wince a little.
Although not perfect, the evocative sensory detail, the distinctive characterisations of both main characters and the emotional depth of the novel make it a vivid read.
Isabelle's discovery of her fifteen-year-old daughter's involvement with an older man elicits complicated feelings of rage and regret. She is angry at the exploitation of her underage daughter and with Amy for her deception but also envious of Amy for experiencing a passion that Isabelle once felt herself in a partial mirroring of the events.
Told from two narrative viewpoints, the expression and suppression of desire unfold against an egregiously hot Maine summer, mostly set in a factory office. It also tells the story of female friendship and the tentative connections Isabelle make as she processes her humiliations.
In an age of safeguarding, grooming and awareness of predatory behaviour, it is perhaps discomforting to see such a light touch used to delineate this crossing of boundaries. The descriptions of 'Fat Bev' also made me wince a little.
Although not perfect, the evocative sensory detail, the distinctive characterisations of both main characters and the emotional depth of the novel make it a vivid read.