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A review by wordsmithreads
Beheld by TaraShea Nesbit
3.0
I described this to friends as "Big Little Lies but in Plymouth in the 1600s." I stand by that description, though it isn't as compelling as BLL. But it's petty, with human relationships as the focal point upon which all drama revolves.
However.
I found myself growing annoyed with this book because 3-5 chapters in a row ended with some sort of "if only we had known what was coming next" cliffhanger, and then when it did happen, it was resolved fairly quickly, and then we jumped years and years and years in the subsequent chapters. I was disappointed with this plot timeline. Also found some of the language usage by Eleanor — "I'm [doing X], right," is a very 2000s way of speaking, not 1600s —a bit out of sync. It also (understandably) is really God-heavy, and I am an Atheist/Agnostic, so it was a bit uncomfortable (also, completely over my head what a Puritan is and isn't).
That said, there were some lines I liked:
Every woman knew that preparing for labor was preparing for death, both their own and their child's. We planned our will and rehearsed our last testament.
Anything we say about love we say as an absence.
Somebody loves us all. Not only God, but someone earthly, too.
We often do not know what things mean to us until they are broken.
We outgrow it, don't we, the expression of that fierce edge that is always a part of love?
But if I let go of grief, I let go of her. To be no longer grieving is to no longer have her with me.
However.
I found myself growing annoyed with this book because 3-5 chapters in a row ended with some sort of "if only we had known what was coming next" cliffhanger, and then when it did happen, it was resolved fairly quickly, and then we jumped years and years and years in the subsequent chapters. I was disappointed with this plot timeline. Also found some of the language usage by Eleanor — "I'm [doing X], right," is a very 2000s way of speaking, not 1600s —a bit out of sync. It also (understandably) is really God-heavy, and I am an Atheist/Agnostic, so it was a bit uncomfortable (also, completely over my head what a Puritan is and isn't).
That said, there were some lines I liked:
Every woman knew that preparing for labor was preparing for death, both their own and their child's. We planned our will and rehearsed our last testament.
Anything we say about love we say as an absence.
Somebody loves us all. Not only God, but someone earthly, too.
We often do not know what things mean to us until they are broken.
We outgrow it, don't we, the expression of that fierce edge that is always a part of love?
But if I let go of grief, I let go of her. To be no longer grieving is to no longer have her with me.