Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.25 AVERAGE
3.25 AVERAGE
Five generations of first-born women live together on a prosperous olive grove called Hill House. Anna, the oldest, at 112, wishes to become the oldest person in the world. Next in line is her seemingly tough as nails daughter, Bets, followed by granddaughter, Callie, who suffered a traumatic injury and runs the Pit Stop restaurant and shop. Great-granddaughter Deb was incarcerated 20 years earlier for killing her husband, and great-great granddaughter, Erin, the youngest, at 24, has just come home pregnant and feeling alone since her mother is imprisoned. A researcher has heard of the incredible longevity of the Keller women, and their slow aging process. He believes that by conducting a study on them, he can uncover a way to slow down aging. Despite their incredible story, the women are more concerned about keeping their longheld secrets, and maintaining order in the family while Deb is up for parole which causes anguish and hard feelings among the women who have often struggled to get along.
When I first started reading this book, I was apprehensive. It seemed a bit slow to start, but soon enough, I was pulled into the story and I’m very glad I stuck with it. The writing is very vivid and descriptive, both with the setting and the emotions and feelings, and though I don’t like olives, the descriptions made me crave them! Though there were five main characters, I really felt a sense of knowing all of them. I was nervous when I saw that the story was equally about all five of the women. I thought I would struggle to keep them straight, but that was not the case at all. The author brings them all to life. Usually when I’m reading a book and there are a lot of main characters, I grow frustrated and confused, but with the five Keller women, I got to know – and love (sometimes!) – all of them and their quirks. This is definitely the kind of book where you miss the characters after you turn the last page. I particularly liked Anna, the matriarch of the family who was still full of life and keen on everything around her despite her incredible age. Their relationships were also realistic, full of conflict and love, tension and forgiveness. In addition to the excellent characterization, I enjoyed the sense of mystery surrounding the women’s aging and longevity. I was curious to know the results of the study a doctor was performing on them. Did they have a secret that kept them living longer than most?
A beautifully written story of a unique family of women, I’d strongly recommend this for fans of literary fiction and character driven stories.
When I first started reading this book, I was apprehensive. It seemed a bit slow to start, but soon enough, I was pulled into the story and I’m very glad I stuck with it. The writing is very vivid and descriptive, both with the setting and the emotions and feelings, and though I don’t like olives, the descriptions made me crave them! Though there were five main characters, I really felt a sense of knowing all of them. I was nervous when I saw that the story was equally about all five of the women. I thought I would struggle to keep them straight, but that was not the case at all. The author brings them all to life. Usually when I’m reading a book and there are a lot of main characters, I grow frustrated and confused, but with the five Keller women, I got to know – and love (sometimes!) – all of them and their quirks. This is definitely the kind of book where you miss the characters after you turn the last page. I particularly liked Anna, the matriarch of the family who was still full of life and keen on everything around her despite her incredible age. Their relationships were also realistic, full of conflict and love, tension and forgiveness. In addition to the excellent characterization, I enjoyed the sense of mystery surrounding the women’s aging and longevity. I was curious to know the results of the study a doctor was performing on them. Did they have a secret that kept them living longer than most?
A beautifully written story of a unique family of women, I’d strongly recommend this for fans of literary fiction and character driven stories.
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ich habe das Buch vor einigen Jahren schon einmal gelesen, hatte aber kaum noch Erinnerungen daran. Ich wusste nur noch, dass ich positiv überrascht war (ich war im Ausland und hatte meine mitgebrachten Bücher schon ausgelesen, die meisten Buchläden hatten keine deutschen Bücher und als ich dann endlich einen gefunden hatte der eben auch deutsche Bücher verkaufte, war die Auswahl sehr gering - sonst hätte ich mir vermutlich eher etwas anderes ausgesucht wenn ich ehrlich sein soll). Auch dieses mal war ich skeptisch wie gut mir die Geschichte gefallen würde und wurde erneut positiv überrascht. Das Buch ist in fünf Teile aufgeteilt, welche jeweils aus der Perspektive einer der fünf Keller-Frauen geschrieben sind. Ich bin nicht immer der größte Fan von so vielen Perspektivwechseln, aber in diesem Fall hat mir das wirklich gut gefallen, denn im Laufe des Buches wird klar, dass eigentlich jede der Frauen ein Geheimnis mit sich trägt. Ich mochte total gerne, dass die Geheimnisse so realistisch waren, es war nichts total drüber aber es waren schon alles wirklich krasse Sachen auf eine gewisse Art und Weise. Generell mochte ich auch gerne, dass sich so intensiv mit der Familiengeschichte befasst wurde und die zwischenmenschlichen Beziehungen zwischen den Frauen so detailliert dargestellt wurden. Ich fand auch interessant was der Doktor geforscht hat, würde aber sagen, dass das eher im Hintergrund stand. Mir hat auch das Ende super gut gefallen. Sowohl das letzte Kapitel als auch der Epilog haben Sinn für mich ergeben und einen schönen Abschluss ergeben, ohne, dass viele Fragen offen bleiben aber auch ohne zu genau ins Detail zu gehen. Außerdem fand ich toll, dass der Epilog aus der Perspektive des kleinen Kellers geschrieben war, was sich sehr gut mit dem Gesamtkonzept eingefügt hat.
Teilweise fand ich gerade die historischen Erzählungen von besonders Anna leider nicht so ineterssant - ich glaube das ist aber eher eine persönliche Sache, denn das hat schon sehr gut in den Rest der Geschichte gepasst und war auch keinesfalls schlecht geschrieben. Was ich auch nicht so gerne mochte sind die Forschungsberichte von Dr Hashmi gewesen, die zwischen den verschiedenen Teilen gestanden haben. Ich verstehe schon warum Miller Santo sich dafür entschieden hat diese einzubauen, aber mich persönlich hat das eher gelangweilt und ich hatte auch nicht wirklich das Gefühl, dass sie sonderlich viel beigetragen haben, da der Fokus wie gesagt eher auf den innerfamiliären Konflikten und Spannungen lag. Trotzdem bin ich grundlegend der Meinung, dass das Forschungsthema super interessant war und definitv seine Berechtigung innerhalb des Buches hatte und es wesentlich spannender gemacht hat, da sonst schon ziemlich wenig passiert. Es ist wirklich eher eine Mischung aus Erinnerungen, Nostalgie und einem, meiner Meinung nach, sehr realistischen Familiendrama.
Teilweise fand ich gerade die historischen Erzählungen von besonders Anna leider nicht so ineterssant - ich glaube das ist aber eher eine persönliche Sache, denn das hat schon sehr gut in den Rest der Geschichte gepasst und war auch keinesfalls schlecht geschrieben. Was ich auch nicht so gerne mochte sind die Forschungsberichte von Dr Hashmi gewesen, die zwischen den verschiedenen Teilen gestanden haben. Ich verstehe schon warum Miller Santo sich dafür entschieden hat diese einzubauen, aber mich persönlich hat das eher gelangweilt und ich hatte auch nicht wirklich das Gefühl, dass sie sonderlich viel beigetragen haben, da der Fokus wie gesagt eher auf den innerfamiliären Konflikten und Spannungen lag. Trotzdem bin ich grundlegend der Meinung, dass das Forschungsthema super interessant war und definitv seine Berechtigung innerhalb des Buches hatte und es wesentlich spannender gemacht hat, da sonst schon ziemlich wenig passiert. Es ist wirklich eher eine Mischung aus Erinnerungen, Nostalgie und einem, meiner Meinung nach, sehr realistischen Familiendrama.
I would give this book 2.5 stars. I thought the premise was promising, and there were parts that held my attention, but the character development was shallow at best, and the plot is peppered with inconsistencies. I felt that the author should have spent more time on certain characters/ plot lines, instead of introducing more and more implausible story lines as the novel progressed.
This book had so much potential. I loved the idea of the five generations and the investigation into their longevity and long kept secrets. However, it didn't live up to the hype. I felt that the dynamics of the relationships between the women were not explained. It seems like there was so much more to the story that just wasn't told.
It was as if nothing was really resolved and the ending left me scratching my head. Am I supposed to concoct my own ending or was I too thick to "get it".
It was as if nothing was really resolved and the ending left me scratching my head. Am I supposed to concoct my own ending or was I too thick to "get it".
Interesting story and I love a book that talks about genealogy.
Review first published on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-roots-of-olive-tree.html
The Roots of the Olive Tree is a story of five generation of women. Anna is the matriarch of the family and have lived to become the oldest person in the world. Elizabeth or Bets is next. Then come Callie, Deb, and Erin. Added to the mix is the geneticist studying the Keller family to determine the reason for the longevity of these women. Also added to this is the lovely California setting of the Keller family olive farm which has a history of its own.
Anna's story in buried in secrets in the past. Bets is occupied with her ailing husband. Callie is in search of her own life. Deb is paying for mistakes of the past. Erin is trying to forge her own way and has come home, pregnant and alone.
This book and story never really comes together for me. The individual stories of the women could have been interesting, but they are not fully developed in an effort to address all of them. The individual characters and their relationships could have been interesting, but again are not fully developed. The book seems to hover at the surface of these stories without delving deeper. As such, it keeps the reader at bay and not fully engaged in the story.
*** Reviewed for LibraryThing Early Reviewers program ***
The Roots of the Olive Tree is a story of five generation of women. Anna is the matriarch of the family and have lived to become the oldest person in the world. Elizabeth or Bets is next. Then come Callie, Deb, and Erin. Added to the mix is the geneticist studying the Keller family to determine the reason for the longevity of these women. Also added to this is the lovely California setting of the Keller family olive farm which has a history of its own.
Anna's story in buried in secrets in the past. Bets is occupied with her ailing husband. Callie is in search of her own life. Deb is paying for mistakes of the past. Erin is trying to forge her own way and has come home, pregnant and alone.
This book and story never really comes together for me. The individual stories of the women could have been interesting, but they are not fully developed in an effort to address all of them. The individual characters and their relationships could have been interesting, but again are not fully developed. The book seems to hover at the surface of these stories without delving deeper. As such, it keeps the reader at bay and not fully engaged in the story.
*** Reviewed for LibraryThing Early Reviewers program ***
This is more of a 3.5 star review from me:
The Roots of the Olive Tree alternates between the viewpoints of all five women. In doing so, I felt like I got just a taste of each woman's life and a few hints at why each had the personality that she had. I would have liked to know even more about each woman's past life. This book was more a slice of all of their present lives. Of course, it did venture into the past to reveal the secrets that some of the women were harboring. While I found the secrets interesting, I didn't find them to be "explosive" as the blurb indicates. And all of these women were so tough and even-keeled most of the time that they didn't seem to be phased much when they found out the secrets either - they definitely didn't seem to be shaken to their roots.
I enjoyed reading this book but I felt like it had unrealized potential. There were some loose ends that could have been developed and I think would have added more dimension. Without spoiling anything, I think Deb and Erin's relationship could have been explored more and I also would have liked to know what happened with the trip the ladies were planning. I also didn't fully understand the symbolism of the tortoise in the story (you'll know what I mean if you read it) but grasping that sort of thing is not always easy for me. If you have thoughts about the tortoise, please share!
Even though I found the story to be somewhat different from what the book jacket promised, I still found this book to be a pleasant and quick read. There is a short e-book prequel (that I have not read)called Under the Olive Tree that is free in the Kindle store as of this writing.
The Roots of the Olive Tree alternates between the viewpoints of all five women. In doing so, I felt like I got just a taste of each woman's life and a few hints at why each had the personality that she had. I would have liked to know even more about each woman's past life. This book was more a slice of all of their present lives. Of course, it did venture into the past to reveal the secrets that some of the women were harboring. While I found the secrets interesting, I didn't find them to be "explosive" as the blurb indicates. And all of these women were so tough and even-keeled most of the time that they didn't seem to be phased much when they found out the secrets either - they definitely didn't seem to be shaken to their roots.
I enjoyed reading this book but I felt like it had unrealized potential. There were some loose ends that could have been developed and I think would have added more dimension. Without spoiling anything, I think Deb and Erin's relationship could have been explored more and I also would have liked to know what happened with the trip the ladies were planning. I also didn't fully understand the symbolism of the tortoise in the story (you'll know what I mean if you read it) but grasping that sort of thing is not always easy for me. If you have thoughts about the tortoise, please share!
Even though I found the story to be somewhat different from what the book jacket promised, I still found this book to be a pleasant and quick read. There is a short e-book prequel (that I have not read)called Under the Olive Tree that is free in the Kindle store as of this writing.
I wanted to like this, but I kept getting the 5 main characters, all women, confused. The confusion made me not care about any of them.
full review: http://www.girlichef.com/2012/09/Parmesan-StuffedOlivesTheRootsOfTheOliveTree.html
Who would want to live forever? Not me. This book delves into five generations of women the oldest being 112 at the beginning of the book. I found this book a bit difficult to follow who was whose mother, grandmother, daughter, grandaughter. It did become easier toward the end of the book. This is definitely a book for those of us that like books about women and their lives and families.