sundeviljewels's review against another edition
2.0
I try so hard to like historical fiction.
My mind continued to wander as I read this book, which led to me having to reread so many parts. There were so many parts that were engaging, but also so many parts with so much explanation that left me thinking, “Come on already, move along.”
Mobsters, war, woman diver during the war, crippled sister, a father who leaves... it has a little bit of everything.
My mind continued to wander as I read this book, which led to me having to reread so many parts. There were so many parts that were engaging, but also so many parts with so much explanation that left me thinking, “Come on already, move along.”
Mobsters, war, woman diver during the war, crippled sister, a father who leaves... it has a little bit of everything.
maggie73's review against another edition
1.0
I was bored. Very slow and couldn’t seem to make it’s mind up on what it wanted to be. Gave up after 150 pages - life’s too short.
nlallen1's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
christar_123's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to really like this book, because I thought "A Visit from the Goon Squad" was great. In some ways, I think Egan dwelt on similar themes here, but put them into a historic context - ideas about family, guilt, fathers and more. But it was just kind of boring. I never really felt like I got connected to the characters and kind of couldn't figure out some of them. I wanted to like Anna but she felt like a 2-D character. Like Egan wanted to write a strong female character but just kind of left it at that....I don't know how to explain it. I often like writing styles where we infer a character's personality and feelings from the dialogue and actions rather than actual descriptions of the person (Hemingway-ish, and I think we see this in Towles's novels too), but it just didn't work here.
I got annoyed with the jumps in time and fractured timeline too. I guess the mystery aspect of the story wasn't engaging enough for me to be amused.
I got annoyed with the jumps in time and fractured timeline too. I guess the mystery aspect of the story wasn't engaging enough for me to be amused.
dizzymissizzyy's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best protagonists I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. I have spent my whole life wishing there was a version of Goodfellas with a girl in it, and I’ve finally found it, only so much better. All around strong, well fleshed-out characters, compelling plot, and a ton of amazing historical context. One of the best books I’ve read in a long time.
teachingkids1982's review against another edition
4.0
4.5⭐️ woah I liked that way more than I expected. I’ll have to check out her other books now…
minty's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this book a lot more than Visit from the Goon Squad, but it's not going down as any kind of beloved novel. It was fine! I found it compelling enough to keep listening, though.
One thing that struck me is how this book covered the same general late timeframe of Some Luck, which I recently read, only set in NYC instead of the Midwest, and it was far and away more interesting. Also I loved how often they drove to my neighborhood of Bay Ridge!
One thing that struck me is how this book covered the same general late timeframe of Some Luck, which I recently read, only set in NYC instead of the Midwest, and it was far and away more interesting. Also I loved how often they drove to my neighborhood of Bay Ridge!
josephsand's review against another edition
3.0
“You said that the war was a joke. Boys poking each other with sticks.”
“The men who make the wars, yes. But the ones who fight, those beautiful kids… they’re innocents.”
muuuch different than i expected, but mostly in a good way. i think it dragged at certain bits for me because of that expectation but still really well written, and a very immersive story.
ravenclawomanistcyborgwitch's review against another edition
4.0
Beautifully written story. So movie-like. Loved feminist themes. Really liked Anna. Buy the story dragged and was too long. I see why it was nominated for an American Book Award!
kieserachel's review against another edition
3.0
I guess 2.5?? I liked one of the story lines a bunch but overall was bored