406knits's review
3.0
Carry the One starts with the action right away. The aftermath of the accident is extremely realistic and shakes the lives of the 20-somethings involved. In spite of following the characters for 25 years following the accident, I never really felt drawn by them. The relationship just hadn't been formed between myself and any of the characters, so I found myself going along for the ride, not living the experience as though I was there, too. All characters have their downfalls and shortcomings, but I feel Anshaw highlighted those more with these characters and didn't highlight their "good side" enough, if at all for some of them. The storyline itself was fantastically original and exciting, but Anshaw definitely fell short in character development.
I recommend this novel for anyone who does not need to feel an extreme bond with characters in a novel, but is looking for a pretty decent storyline.
For a more complete review, please read my blog post here
I recommend this novel for anyone who does not need to feel an extreme bond with characters in a novel, but is looking for a pretty decent storyline.
For a more complete review, please read my blog post here
jeanettesonya's review against another edition
4.0
This book is the unfurling of interconnected lives. It's all about watching the way one traumatic event can affect a group of very different people in very different ways. It was a great read, the type that might stick with me for a while in the same way that the accident sticks with the characters in the book.
maureenmcc's review
2.0
I felt that though the characters of the two sisters were well-developed, the other characters never quite gelled for me. There were some interesting passages with insightful reflections but overall it seemed overly spelled out and predictable.
aeagle73's review
2.0
I was excited about the premise of this book, but I don't feel satisfaction having finished it. I could never get into the book that much, because I didn't really like any of the main characters. Hard to finish a book when you don't really care how it ends. And it's even worse when the ending sucks.
minvanwin's review
2.0
I started caring about the characters in the last 20 pages. Some poignant scenes, but overall this book left me feeling cold.
robinsbooks's review
4.0
Good character development and despite not really caring for any of the characters, I found it to be an engrossing read.
kikiramone's review against another edition
1.0
I could not even finish this book. I found the writing so clunky and the characterization so archetypical and obvious that I found myself not caring at all about plot. I was disappointed in this book, after reading and enjoying Anshaw's "Aquamarine."
ssloeffler's review
4.0
I don't often read books because of reviews I've read -- I'm generally a recommendation person -- however, the Entertainment Weekly review of Carry the One made me want to read it. I'm so glad. It was an incredibly quick read. I've never had a book which is so full of tragedy and dysfunction also be so loving and intriguing. Highly recommend.
sbunyan's review against another edition
2.0
I was very intrigued by the premise of this story - 6 people are in a car that strikes and kills a young girl. This happens early in the book and the rest of the narrative follows the 6 people through many years.
I was extremely depressed after reading this book. I thought about it awhile before giving 2 stars because I wondered if my being depressed was what the author intended. In the end I gave the 2 stars because I didn't find anything to praise about the book other than the setup. I didn't really like any of the characters and though I was able to finish the book, I didn't really enjoy it. I am not trying to be facetious when I say it was like not being able to look away from a car accident. I wanted to stop reading but kept hoping there might eventually be something uplifting. And I never got uplifted. So I thought maybe the point was to cause depression and that just doesn't seem like something valuable to me.
I was extremely depressed after reading this book. I thought about it awhile before giving 2 stars because I wondered if my being depressed was what the author intended. In the end I gave the 2 stars because I didn't find anything to praise about the book other than the setup. I didn't really like any of the characters and though I was able to finish the book, I didn't really enjoy it. I am not trying to be facetious when I say it was like not being able to look away from a car accident. I wanted to stop reading but kept hoping there might eventually be something uplifting. And I never got uplifted. So I thought maybe the point was to cause depression and that just doesn't seem like something valuable to me.
torifreeman17's review against another edition
1.0
3/10
"What kind of humans are we if we forgive ourselves?"
If I had to sum up my distaste for this book in a single quote, it would be that.
However, I so rarely leave one-star reviews that I feel obligated to justify my reasoning. Based on the summary of this book, I expected a novel about the various ways people process and are affected by grief/guilt. That is not what this book was about. The characters are all fiercely determined to hang on to their guilt for their involvement in the accident as a way to atone for their sins, but that's not really what the story examined.
In an interview included in the end of the book, Anshaw says she wanted to examine the role "time plays in love and obsession, in relationships among siblings, in political convictions, and the struggles of an artist...and the way addiction can trump everything else." I think that was part of the problem; this book tried to be about too much, which left it far too expansive and broad to really be about anything.
The constant jumps through time, if done well, could have really added to the story. Unfortunately, they just left me confused more than anything. A lot of times they felt inconsistent with the character or just completely out of the blue. And following three main characters made it difficult to follow where exactly in the timeline we were.
Also, the constant Conservative/Catholic bashing was a huge turnoff. I have ready many a book in which I and the characters share different and even opposing world views and beliefs, and still enjoyed the story and liked the characters. Anshaw took her bitter resentment toward the right to an extreme that was over the top and unnecessary.
The one thing I did think was well written was the way the sisters dealt with their brother's addictions.
Ultimately, this story was painfully boring. Anshaw is a talented writer, but in this case that wasn't enough to make for a good story. The only reason I pushed through to the end is because this was the only book I brought on vacation with me.
"What kind of humans are we if we forgive ourselves?"
If I had to sum up my distaste for this book in a single quote, it would be that.
However, I so rarely leave one-star reviews that I feel obligated to justify my reasoning. Based on the summary of this book, I expected a novel about the various ways people process and are affected by grief/guilt. That is not what this book was about. The characters are all fiercely determined to hang on to their guilt for their involvement in the accident as a way to atone for their sins, but that's not really what the story examined.
In an interview included in the end of the book, Anshaw says she wanted to examine the role "time plays in love and obsession, in relationships among siblings, in political convictions, and the struggles of an artist...and the way addiction can trump everything else." I think that was part of the problem; this book tried to be about too much, which left it far too expansive and broad to really be about anything.
The constant jumps through time, if done well, could have really added to the story. Unfortunately, they just left me confused more than anything. A lot of times they felt inconsistent with the character or just completely out of the blue. And following three main characters made it difficult to follow where exactly in the timeline we were.
Also, the constant Conservative/Catholic bashing was a huge turnoff. I have ready many a book in which I and the characters share different and even opposing world views and beliefs, and still enjoyed the story and liked the characters. Anshaw took her bitter resentment toward the right to an extreme that was over the top and unnecessary.
The one thing I did think was well written was the way the sisters dealt with their brother's addictions.
Ultimately, this story was painfully boring. Anshaw is a talented writer, but in this case that wasn't enough to make for a good story. The only reason I pushed through to the end is because this was the only book I brought on vacation with me.