Reviews

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

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aelliott207's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

jalehrter's review against another edition

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4.0

Well written with lovely descriptions of nature and setting the scene. I liked the plot and the back and forth present/past style which worked well for the novel. A bit tough to read in places but overall enjoyable!

whatcourtneyreads's review against another edition

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5.0

Elle's family own a group of cabins at Cape Cod that they affectionately refer to as the Paper Palace. It is run down and houses a family of mice in the off-season, but they go every summer and it is where Elle truly feels at home. She absolutely adores her husband Peter, but this summer as she reflects on her life, she can't help but wonder what could have been if she ended up with her childhood love Jonas.

I'll admit I picked up The Paper Palace because of the Bookstagram hype, but wowee, this novel is stunning and had me hooked!

The main story takes place within a 24 hour period while on holiday at the Palace, however jumps back and forth seamlessly between the present and defining moments in Elle's life, many centered around family conflicts and summers spent at Cape Cod spanning 50 years.

When I first started reading I was worried it was going to be a romance novel (NOT my jam), but while it is largely about unrequited love, it didn't feel like a soppy love story. There were some very dark and traumatic moments in the book, and given the number of divorces in Elle's family, it hardly pushes the hard sell for holy matrimony.

Miranda Cowley Heller's writing is fantastic. Her characters are fully developed, multidimensional, and dynamic, the relationships between characters are absolutely delicious, and the way the Cape is described had me completely immersed. While Australia is obviously far from Cape Cod, I could strongly relate to the summer holiday vibes and could almost smell the salt and sunscreen. Visceral to say the least.

The Paper Palace is about secrets, white lies, family conflicts and legacies, love, and the "what if?" questions we ask ourselves when it comes to choosing between what we desire and what is safe.

This book is a strong contender for my favourite book of the year, and it's going to be really difficult to top it!

bellalaf's review against another edition

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2.0

It took me two weeks to get through the first 30% of this book, and then a single night to get through the rest... Very slow/confusing to start with, but if you can push through, it's worth it! If you liked Where the Crawdads Sing, you'll like this. Once it got good, I couldn't put it down.
Definitely needs to come with some trigger warnings:

Spoiler

sexual assault, pedophilia, rape, incest.