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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
1973 winner, The Optimist's Daughter, follows Laurel as she travels from Chicago to New Orleans to be with her father, Judge McKelva, as he convalesce from surgery. He fails to recover, and the story then moves to his hometown in Mississippi, where he will be buried. Much of the story centres on the conflict between Laurel and her stepmother Fay, who is both younger than Laurel and of a different class. I was uncertain about this aspect of the story since the characterisation of Fay felt a little over-the-top, lacking in subtlety and nuance. Once Fay leaves Mississippi, the focus shifts to Laurel, the warm interactions she shares with the neighbours and her memories of family and friends, which lead her to re-evaluate her own life and be able to move forward in a healthy and positive way. Her personal journey and her reckoning with the past were the more successful parts of the story for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent
jj2020's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent
changeablelandscape's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is a slow sad book about... well, thematically it is about mortality, not just an individual death but about the state of being a human being, that everyone loses the people they love and then eventually loses their own life, that all we have are our own memories and other people's stories, and that often the stories people tell about us are false, or maybe too true and not at all how we see ourselves or would like to be remembered. It is not an easy read but it is incredibly well-crafted and I am glad I read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
tarajoy90's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
kendallhubbard's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This novel is slow but very reflective. The last 50 pages are what made me really love it, but all of the imagery throughout the book shows Welty’s mastery of her craft and she creates a story that will stick with me. I think this is a novel I will reread many times throughout my life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
mondovertigo's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Death of parent