ladyreading365's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.0
Did not keep my attention I gave up at 20%
rebbemcc's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would after slogging through the first couple of chapters. Once I got into the rhythm of the writing, I found myself engrossed. I enjoyed the details and alternating points of views of the same event from different characters.
kittykornerlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
This story is a book about family connections and family memories. It alternates between the present, when all six children are grown up, and flashbacks to the past as they remember growing up in the family home. Get ready for the family skeleton in the closet!
pnwlisa's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
ellemir's review against another edition
2.0
Okay, a family with six children, an aloof father and a mother who seems almost obsessed with creating a facade of happy family life. Add an au-pair who never left the family, even when the children are grown up. And of course there is a dark family secret that is never mentioned, but everybody seems to know about it. Sounds interesting.
But I was disappointed by this book. The characters were stereotypical and missed depth. The constant changes of narrator and timeline made it impossible to get into the book, to identify oneself with one of the characters or even to care for one of them. The complex relationship between family members is not fully explained. A lot of questions remained without an answer.
The title of the novel was well chosen. The family is presented in snapshots of their life, it feels almost like skimming through an album of family pictures.
I liked the writing style, though. I will definately try another book by this author. Many of them got better reviews than this one.
But I was disappointed by this book. The characters were stereotypical and missed depth. The constant changes of narrator and timeline made it impossible to get into the book, to identify oneself with one of the characters or even to care for one of them. The complex relationship between family members is not fully explained. A lot of questions remained without an answer.
The title of the novel was well chosen. The family is presented in snapshots of their life, it feels almost like skimming through an album of family pictures.
I liked the writing style, though. I will definately try another book by this author. Many of them got better reviews than this one.
smbla's review against another edition
4.0
Family Album is one of those rare books where in this case a house, Allersmeade, is a character in the story-not as a Gothic demon but as a chronicler of a family, expanding and contracting as life demands and a keeper of its' secrets. Each family member contributes their voice to the story.
chrissireads's review against another edition
It started out with much promise but really, it wasn't very good and didn't end up going anywhere which is a shame. I didn't feel anything for the characters and was left wondering what the point of the characters actually were.
jessreads82's review against another edition
4.0
Following a large family in England, we learn about what happens inside a family, and not just the events, but how those events shape the children in the future, and how each of the family members can view one event so differently. What I really enjoyed was the empathy the author obviously had for each family member, being able to see their side of things. Rarely, are our family members ill-intentioned, but somehow, families end up hurting one another anyway. Usually, as the novel points out so well, because we refuse to see one another's side of things.
The writing was superb and original, although it took me a few chapters to get used to the third-person omniscient POV. When I first began the novel I was also intimidated by the amount of characters that were being introduced; six children (and their partners), two parents, the au-pair, and an aunt. It worked that the author first introduced one of the children, with her partner, in order to allow an attachment to her, before moving on to follow the other characters.
I would recommend the story to anyone who enjoys serious character-based literature.
The writing was superb and original, although it took me a few chapters to get used to the third-person omniscient POV. When I first began the novel I was also intimidated by the amount of characters that were being introduced; six children (and their partners), two parents, the au-pair, and an aunt. It worked that the author first introduced one of the children, with her partner, in order to allow an attachment to her, before moving on to follow the other characters.
I would recommend the story to anyone who enjoys serious character-based literature.