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A review by rodica_b
Spring House by Mary Ellen Taylor
3.0
It was supposed to be an easy, I-am-too-busy-and-tired-for-serious-books kind of a read. And it is easy. And annoying. I am glad I used prime reading and did not spend my hard earned money on it. I was annoyed, but spending extra money on this book would have annoyed me even more.
Coincidentally, I read a similar book this year - The lost vintage. There are enough overlapping themes for me to make this connection - dual timelines, letters/diary entries intertwined, World War II and the Jews, tons of family secrets. And I remember being annoyed by The Lost Vintage, but it was a different kind of annoyance. Better annoyance.
Why this book felt so flat to me? I am still preoccupied by this question. Mind you, I was not half as preoccupied by the book itself while reading it.
First, I found the writing clunky. I like to get lost in my books. For that, the words have to flow, to keep you in the story. There are many little repetitions and cumbersome phrasing here to prevent any flowing for me. Too many unnecessary details, such as the capacity of the dumping container and, at the same time, not enough details to allow you to fully feel the atmosphere of the place. Which is supposed to be very beautiful,
Second, there are too many characters. And they’re in the book to serve the plot. I could not tell you what makes Helen different from Grandmother, let’s say, besides their age and relationship to Megan. There is a family tree at the beginning of the book, but who has time to keep going back to that? Give me some memorable characters, damn it.
Third, the little inconsistencies.
- Young girl at the beginning of 19th century, especially girl with not too much formal education would not write the kind of letters the author included in the book.
- They would also not wash eggs. It’s actually not something routinely done in Europe - washed eggs require refrigeration.
- They would be familiar with the market towns, especially if in the business of selling wine. I find it very hard to believe that Diane did not go back to Le Havre for so long.
- Claire left tapes explaining old secrets, but didn’t say anything about a basement full of alcohol?
- Megan can’t wait to research something, but also waits till late in the evening to get on her computer? The book is set in 2018, she has smartphone, why not use it?
- Also, Megan gave birth at 36 weeks. we are also being told she is organized and tends to deal with stuff, not shy away from responsibility. But, she has no hospital bag, anything at all prepared?! 36 weeks is almost full term, women usually have some stuff ready to go already, just in case.
- Helen tells Megan so never had to buy presents for girls. Even if, by absurd, Helen had no nieces or younger cousins, she was a mother. Children do get invited to plenty of birthday parties throughout the years. She never bought one gift?
Fourth, there are hints and storylines started but never completed/explained. Samuel mentions sinking a u-boat in 1939? (I may have misunderstood, I should probably go back and reread that journal entry. Only I don’t want to.) Natasha saying Diane looks like a witch in that old photograph with Claire? She never was a witch, just dressed simply and lived on a farm, so why give such a hint in the first place, if you decided not to pursue this avenue? Also, was Samuel properly told who was his mother?
Fifth, the love story. This one is strongly related to my second point. I didn’t feel the characters, I didn’t feel Megan being very sad for what happened to/with Scott. I didn’t see any convincing feelings between Megan and Rick, besides lust. And I
Bottom line. It’s not a bad bad book, just a very average one. I didn’t find it particularly entertaining, but it was a quick read.
Coincidentally, I read a similar book this year - The lost vintage. There are enough overlapping themes for me to make this connection - dual timelines, letters/diary entries intertwined, World War II and the Jews, tons of family secrets. And I remember being annoyed by The Lost Vintage, but it was a different kind of annoyance. Better annoyance.
Why this book felt so flat to me? I am still preoccupied by this question. Mind you, I was not half as preoccupied by the book itself while reading it.
First, I found the writing clunky. I like to get lost in my books. For that, the words have to flow, to keep you in the story. There are many little repetitions and cumbersome phrasing here to prevent any flowing for me. Too many unnecessary details, such as the capacity of the dumping container and, at the same time, not enough details to allow you to fully feel the atmosphere of the place. Which is supposed to be very beautiful,
Second, there are too many characters. And they’re in the book to serve the plot. I could not tell you what makes Helen different from Grandmother, let’s say, besides their age and relationship to Megan. There is a family tree at the beginning of the book, but who has time to keep going back to that? Give me some memorable characters, damn it.
Third, the little inconsistencies.
- Young girl at the beginning of 19th century, especially girl with not too much formal education would not write the kind of letters the author included in the book.
- They would also not wash eggs. It’s actually not something routinely done in Europe - washed eggs require refrigeration.
- They would be familiar with the market towns, especially if in the business of selling wine. I find it very hard to believe that Diane did not go back to Le Havre for so long.
- Claire left tapes explaining old secrets, but didn’t say anything about a basement full of alcohol?
- Megan can’t wait to research something, but also waits till late in the evening to get on her computer? The book is set in 2018, she has smartphone, why not use it?
- Also, Megan gave birth at 36 weeks. we are also being told she is organized and tends to deal with stuff, not shy away from responsibility. But, she has no hospital bag, anything at all prepared?! 36 weeks is almost full term, women usually have some stuff ready to go already, just in case.
- Helen tells Megan so never had to buy presents for girls. Even if, by absurd, Helen had no nieces or younger cousins, she was a mother. Children do get invited to plenty of birthday parties throughout the years. She never bought one gift?
Fourth, there are hints and storylines started but never completed/explained. Samuel mentions sinking a u-boat in 1939? (I may have misunderstood, I should probably go back and reread that journal entry. Only I don’t want to.) Natasha saying Diane looks like a witch in that old photograph with Claire? She never was a witch, just dressed simply and lived on a farm, so why give such a hint in the first place, if you decided not to pursue this avenue? Also, was Samuel properly told who was his mother?
Fifth, the love story. This one is strongly related to my second point. I didn’t feel the characters, I didn’t feel Megan being very sad for what happened to/with Scott. I didn’t see any convincing feelings between Megan and Rick, besides lust. And I
Bottom line. It’s not a bad bad book, just a very average one. I didn’t find it particularly entertaining, but it was a quick read.