oohsarracuda's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know, y'all. I've been vacillating between two and three stars. I read it quickly because it was compelling, but once I finished, I was left thinking, "Well, what was the point of that?"
Nothing Myla Goldberg has written thus far has come even close to "Bee Season".
Nothing Myla Goldberg has written thus far has come even close to "Bee Season".
juniper00's review against another edition
3.0
I kept hoping that I would feel something for the characters, but I didn't develop a real concern for their outcomes in the story. The use of the unreliable narrator, due to repressed memory, could have been much more powerful. I was puzzled by some of the plot moments, which didn't really propel the story forward (i.e. phone sex scene). Furthermore, does the narrator call her parents "mommy" and "daddy" at 32 due to some psychological reason? We never really delve deeply enough into the character, due to limited development, to care.
renflew's review against another edition
1.0
Not what I expected from the overview I had read. Didn't really like any of the characters, and there was no real conclusion.
jessgock's review against another edition
4.0
Well, it's not [b:Bee Season|251762|Bee Season|Myla Goldberg|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173149520s/251762.jpg|2482870]. Myla Goldberg is a phenomenal writer, but I'm afraid I'm always going to want everything else she's written to be Bee Season - that perfect mix of psychology and philosophy and religion and wonder. The False Friend is all psychology, but is nevertheless truly fascinating in its milieu.
The False Friend deals with an adult remembering a long-repressed memory that changes the way she views herself and her childhood. Celia Durst's best friend Djuna got into a stranger's car one day in fifth grade and was never seen again - but Celia, now in her early 30s, suddenly realizes that all along she'd been repeating a lie and that what really happened was that Djuna fell in a well and Celia turned around and walked away, creating the story about the stranger as she went. Remembering this, Celia feels compelled to reconnect with her childhood friends - and to confront the fact that she and Djuna had been truly mean and awful to the people around them.
I'd say this is worth a read if you loved Bee Season, but if you haven't read that, don't start here.
The False Friend deals with an adult remembering a long-repressed memory that changes the way she views herself and her childhood. Celia Durst's best friend Djuna got into a stranger's car one day in fifth grade and was never seen again - but Celia, now in her early 30s, suddenly realizes that all along she'd been repeating a lie and that what really happened was that Djuna fell in a well and Celia turned around and walked away, creating the story about the stranger as she went. Remembering this, Celia feels compelled to reconnect with her childhood friends - and to confront the fact that she and Djuna had been truly mean and awful to the people around them.
I'd say this is worth a read if you loved Bee Season, but if you haven't read that, don't start here.
pratt_kat23's review against another edition
2.0
Liked the idea of the book. Was a quick read, but the ending was lame.
whatdotheyknowaboutfriends's review against another edition
2.0
Not as good as Wickett's Remedy or Bee Season, but still worth a read if you enjoyed either of those two books. As someone who doesn't particularly enjoy reading about feelings or personal introspectives, I was really surprised the first time I read Bee Seasons and enjoyed it. Goldberg's strong, quick, off-beat prose, sometimes airily wandering, sometimes very direct, really won me over.
I see less of that style of writing in this book. The main character's issues with her family, her boyfriend, and her recent recollection of a childhood accident are described vaguely and generally, and they never hit home for me. Instead, Goldberg falls back on some stock phrases and scenes, like reminiscences of paper bag lunches. The main character's relationship with her best childhood friend (which leads to the aforementioned incident), is almost wholly described in these schlocky terms, and my biggest issue with the book was that I couldn't "get into" this relationship or understand its mechanics.
That said, the ending hits a lot harder and with more focus. It can be a bit hard to see it coming, since its not clear which "thread" of the story is going to lead to the finale (the protagonist's relationship with her parents, her boyfriend, another childhood friend, etc) because none of these threads is really invested with sufficient emotional weight early on. But the ending itself is really powerful, and the last page/epilogue makes up for a lot of earlier failings, recalling Bee Season's nigh-transcendant, fuck-yeah type ending. Worth a read if you're a big fan already, otherwise pick up Bee Season first.
I see less of that style of writing in this book. The main character's issues with her family, her boyfriend, and her recent recollection of a childhood accident are described vaguely and generally, and they never hit home for me. Instead, Goldberg falls back on some stock phrases and scenes, like reminiscences of paper bag lunches. The main character's relationship with her best childhood friend (which leads to the aforementioned incident), is almost wholly described in these schlocky terms, and my biggest issue with the book was that I couldn't "get into" this relationship or understand its mechanics.
That said, the ending hits a lot harder and with more focus. It can be a bit hard to see it coming, since its not clear which "thread" of the story is going to lead to the finale (the protagonist's relationship with her parents, her boyfriend, another childhood friend, etc) because none of these threads is really invested with sufficient emotional weight early on. But the ending itself is really powerful, and the last page/epilogue makes up for a lot of earlier failings, recalling Bee Season's nigh-transcendant, fuck-yeah type ending. Worth a read if you're a big fan already, otherwise pick up Bee Season first.
editrix's review against another edition
As someone who doesn’t much like traditional mysteries, I appreciated that this was kind of “mystery-lite,” in which the motives the main character was sleuthing were her own. There was a lot of very good wordsmithing that often came close to being the revelatory-of-the-human-experience stuff I really get off on. This was good, but I liked “Bee Season” better of the Goldbergs I’ve read.
syren96's review against another edition
3.0
This book had the potential to be completely gut-wrenching, and at times it reached that level. It touches on the cruelty of pre-teen girls and the lasting scars that they leave on each other, but just never quite embraces it. Many of the characters are so thinly developed that you forget about them after turning the page, which makes it difficult to feel anything but disdain for them and for Celia.
juliemhowe's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
stamdl99's review against another edition
1.0
This book started out with a great premise and interesting characters. My main issue is that it feels unfinished. Nothing is resolved. I can understand leaving some ambiguity in a book, but this one seems like the last chapter or two was ripped out. I can't recommend it.