A review by anatomydetective
Certain Women by Madeleine L'Engle

1.0

I really wanted to enjoy this novel. I was excited to be reading an "adult" novel by one of my favorite YA authors. Unfortunately this novel got completely bogged down in the plot and backstory, to the detriment of the characters. I generally have no problem keeping track of many different characters, but since so many were merely spoken of or seen in flashback that I found myself regularly referring to the list at the beginning of the book. I found it impossible to connect emotionally to any of the characters and I found myself unable to find any sadness for the ailing patriarch, or his daughter the protagonist. Overall, I just found the novel tedious and wanted it to end. I'm not sure if I will try any more of Ms L'Engle's work for adults.