meezcarrie's review against another edition
3.0
Beauty and Attention is smartly written with interesting characters and a look back at a fascinating time in world history. A loose remake of Henry James’ Portrait of a Lady, the story follows Libby Archer through grief and independence and self-discovery.
This novel started out strong for me, the characters well-defined and the plot intriguing. I liked Libby and Henrietta (Henry) and their friendship, and great possibilities awaited Libby’s journey to Ireland to visit relatives. (I did not know at the time that Beauty and Attention is an homage to Portrait of a Lady or I might have had different expectations.) However, as the novel continued – and Libby was on her own, away from Henrietta’s more vibrant personality – I found I didn’t quite see why everyone was so drawn to Libby. Other than her sweetness, she seems flat and weak. While she seemed independent at first, this either isn’t developed beyond people saying that she is … or she never really was in actuality. Perhaps this was intentional on the author’s part, but it didn’t endear me to Libby.
And really, that’s an example of my main issue overall with Beauty and Attention – just when I began to enjoy a character or an aspect of the plot, the character disappeared or the plot shifted abruptly.
Bottom Line: Overall, Beauty and Attention is a fine book. As an adaptation of Portrait of a Lady, it’s very good. It just didn’t hold my attention. But the beauty of literature is that what doesn’t appeal to me may very well be your favorite book. The author’s writing voice is engaging, and her ability to create setting is excellent.
Reviewer’s Note: Readers should be aware that there is swearing in this book, though it is a minimal amount and not excessive.
(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.)
See my full review at Reading Is My SuperPower
This novel started out strong for me, the characters well-defined and the plot intriguing. I liked Libby and Henrietta (Henry) and their friendship, and great possibilities awaited Libby’s journey to Ireland to visit relatives. (I did not know at the time that Beauty and Attention is an homage to Portrait of a Lady or I might have had different expectations.) However, as the novel continued – and Libby was on her own, away from Henrietta’s more vibrant personality – I found I didn’t quite see why everyone was so drawn to Libby. Other than her sweetness, she seems flat and weak. While she seemed independent at first, this either isn’t developed beyond people saying that she is … or she never really was in actuality. Perhaps this was intentional on the author’s part, but it didn’t endear me to Libby.
And really, that’s an example of my main issue overall with Beauty and Attention – just when I began to enjoy a character or an aspect of the plot, the character disappeared or the plot shifted abruptly.
Bottom Line: Overall, Beauty and Attention is a fine book. As an adaptation of Portrait of a Lady, it’s very good. It just didn’t hold my attention. But the beauty of literature is that what doesn’t appeal to me may very well be your favorite book. The author’s writing voice is engaging, and her ability to create setting is excellent.
Reviewer’s Note: Readers should be aware that there is swearing in this book, though it is a minimal amount and not excessive.
(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.)
See my full review at Reading Is My SuperPower
faerietxn's review against another edition
1.0
This book took forever to read. I was 60% complete and still waiting for it to capture my attention and draw me in.
Libby had so much potential and it was wasted. I'm not even sure of the genre of this book. It didn't quite stay in any particular type. The story was all over the place. Libby acts like she wants this freedom but she doesn't really do anything except follow everyone else around. She dresses as others tell her, lives where others tell her, she even goes to bed when she's told. She has these guys chasing her around and I don't understand the attraction. This book was kind of hard to follow because nothing is explained. It just happens. It's almost as though you have a handful of puzzle pieces from several different puzzles and you're left with the pieces trying to figure it out.
For a second, at the end, the story got interesting. And then, it was over. Horribly disappointed in the amount of time I put into reading this book.
Libby had so much potential and it was wasted. I'm not even sure of the genre of this book. It didn't quite stay in any particular type. The story was all over the place. Libby acts like she wants this freedom but she doesn't really do anything except follow everyone else around. She dresses as others tell her, lives where others tell her, she even goes to bed when she's told. She has these guys chasing her around and I don't understand the attraction. This book was kind of hard to follow because nothing is explained. It just happens. It's almost as though you have a handful of puzzle pieces from several different puzzles and you're left with the pieces trying to figure it out.
For a second, at the end, the story got interesting. And then, it was over. Horribly disappointed in the amount of time I put into reading this book.
cristinavulpe's review against another edition
2.0
Great read up to about 60% - I felt like the rest of the book wasn't even written by the same person. Libby's portrayal is weak. The only character I liked was Lazarus. I'll probably not read anything else written by the same author.
stacyroth's review against another edition
2.0
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.
Libby Archer’s father has just died, leaving her parentless in 1950s New York. Her friends and most of society expect Libby to marry Caspar Lockwood, who loves her, but Libby craves freedom. She chooses instead to visit her uncle, aunt, and cousin in Ireland, changing the course of her life.
I did not know this was a retelling of Henry James’ Portrait of a Lady, and I expected the book to be different than it actually was. It started out OK but lost my interest more and more as the book went on. I felt like the story was giving an example of why women shouldn’t be permitted independence. There may be others who really like this story, but it wasn’t my cup of tea.
Libby Archer’s father has just died, leaving her parentless in 1950s New York. Her friends and most of society expect Libby to marry Caspar Lockwood, who loves her, but Libby craves freedom. She chooses instead to visit her uncle, aunt, and cousin in Ireland, changing the course of her life.
I did not know this was a retelling of Henry James’ Portrait of a Lady, and I expected the book to be different than it actually was. It started out OK but lost my interest more and more as the book went on. I felt like the story was giving an example of why women shouldn’t be permitted independence. There may be others who really like this story, but it wasn’t my cup of tea.
abookishaffair's review
3.0
In "Beauty and Attention," Libby is a young woman trying to make a decision that faced so many women during the 1950s. Things were much different then when women were basically expected to get married and have kids. If they did work a job, it was something like a secretary or another job that wasn't anything like what men were able to do. Libby rejects that idea and finds herself across the ocean in Belfast drawn to a world that she is only beginning to understand.
Books like this make me so happy that I have all of the choices that I have as a woman now. I appreciated that Libby was not content to simply do what society expected of her. She has that gumption in the very beginning of the book and it sticks through right until the end. I really liked seeing the world through her eyes where going off the path that everyone else seems to expect for her barely seems to faze her. This is a strong, independent woman that I really enjoyed following throughout the story.
While I appreciated Libby's character and was drawn to her story, the writing of the book lost me a little bit. This is a relatively short book but there is so much telling rather than showing. In trying to introduce detail to the book, the narrative really gets bogged down and made this book feel like a bit of a slog in some parts. Overall, this was an interesting story that could have been edited more.
Books like this make me so happy that I have all of the choices that I have as a woman now. I appreciated that Libby was not content to simply do what society expected of her. She has that gumption in the very beginning of the book and it sticks through right until the end. I really liked seeing the world through her eyes where going off the path that everyone else seems to expect for her barely seems to faze her. This is a strong, independent woman that I really enjoyed following throughout the story.
While I appreciated Libby's character and was drawn to her story, the writing of the book lost me a little bit. This is a relatively short book but there is so much telling rather than showing. In trying to introduce detail to the book, the narrative really gets bogged down and made this book feel like a bit of a slog in some parts. Overall, this was an interesting story that could have been edited more.
More...