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3.25 AVERAGE
3.25 AVERAGE
This started with a good premise but I felt the author was lacking character development. I have problems with books that have unlikeable characters. However, I have a unusual and some might say twisted sense of what is likeable and can find some horrific characters terribly likeable. When they are dully drawn is when I have the problem.
Enter five generations of one family who live in Kidiron, California - a fictionalized version of Corning, for those of you familiar with that particular stretch of I-5 in Northern California. They are women who live for a long very long time and work with olive trees, to sum it up. These five women do not get along very well, for reasons that I do not feel are ever fully explained. For instance, when one of the woman's daughters kills her husband and is sentenced to 15 years to life in Chowchilla, it is never explained why she doesn't go to visit. Why not? Also troubling is the youngest member of this family, the daughter of the husband-shooter, who is supposed to be a talanted classical vocalist who has toured Europe but comes off as childish and immature.
I think that people who enjoy multigenereational women's fiction with flashbacks to the past will go for this and I hope they will not be as bothered by the characters as I was.
Enter five generations of one family who live in Kidiron, California - a fictionalized version of Corning, for those of you familiar with that particular stretch of I-5 in Northern California. They are women who live for a long very long time and work with olive trees, to sum it up. These five women do not get along very well, for reasons that I do not feel are ever fully explained. For instance, when one of the woman's daughters kills her husband and is sentenced to 15 years to life in Chowchilla, it is never explained why she doesn't go to visit. Why not? Also troubling is the youngest member of this family, the daughter of the husband-shooter, who is supposed to be a talanted classical vocalist who has toured Europe but comes off as childish and immature.
I think that people who enjoy multigenereational women's fiction with flashbacks to the past will go for this and I hope they will not be as bothered by the characters as I was.
I am absolutely fascinated with people who live long lives (100+ years) so this book was perfect for me. In the beginning we meet Anna who is determined to be the oldest living person in the world. Along the way we meet her daughter Bets, Bets daughter Callie, Callies daughter Deb, and Debs pregnant daughter Erin. All of the women hold their own secrets which come out over time as Dr. Hashmi seeks to study them and their secret to living so old. These secrets all seem to revolvee around the olive groves planted by Annas father. This is a beautiful tale of mothers and daughters and the struggles within families that seem to always be resolved with the love they have for each other.
I am still reading this book, but I have been disappointed. I writing feels disconnected and choppy. I am more than half way through and still don't any connection to the characters, no sympathy for their struggles. I had such high hope for the book. Hoping it redeems itself in the end
This review can be found on www.amazon.com as part of the Vine Program, or my book blog www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
slow-paced
Thank goodness I finally finished it. Now I can move onto something that's good!
I enjoyed reading this family story. Lots of love. Lots of secrets. Lots of forgiveness.
Roots of The Olive Tree by Courtney Miller Santo
I was first attracted to this book because of the name, olive tree in the title. Coming from a family of nurserymen this would be right up my alley.
Love the proverbs and how they are useful to the olive pickers.
This is a story about 5 generations of women and there is a geneticist coming to find out why they live so long. He hopes to find out all their secrets.
Love hearing about the olive trees, nursery/grafting and why their products are so useful.
Picking olives sounds to me like what knitting does for me, very calming.
Such great treasures in the attic. One of the best books out of hundreds I've read this year. So fascinating to learn all about the DNA, the mutations and
what they can attribute it to. Love hearing about the location of where the book takes place as it's new to me.
Like how each of the 5 sisters got a large devoted part in this book. At the end it just all the mysteries come together and there are no longer any secrets to uncover.
For a book to be worthwhile to me it has to do two things: 1. take me away to a new place, describe it so well that i can feel myself there. This book has done that to the
point where I can reach up and feel the olives as they ripen, walking the rows of trees.
and 2. learn something new. This book has done that as well. Techniques of grafting the tree branches and the treasures they find in the attic.
I was first attracted to this book because of the name, olive tree in the title. Coming from a family of nurserymen this would be right up my alley.
Love the proverbs and how they are useful to the olive pickers.
This is a story about 5 generations of women and there is a geneticist coming to find out why they live so long. He hopes to find out all their secrets.
Love hearing about the olive trees, nursery/grafting and why their products are so useful.
Picking olives sounds to me like what knitting does for me, very calming.
Such great treasures in the attic. One of the best books out of hundreds I've read this year. So fascinating to learn all about the DNA, the mutations and
what they can attribute it to. Love hearing about the location of where the book takes place as it's new to me.
Like how each of the 5 sisters got a large devoted part in this book. At the end it just all the mysteries come together and there are no longer any secrets to uncover.
For a book to be worthwhile to me it has to do two things: 1. take me away to a new place, describe it so well that i can feel myself there. This book has done that to the
point where I can reach up and feel the olives as they ripen, walking the rows of trees.
and 2. learn something new. This book has done that as well. Techniques of grafting the tree branches and the treasures they find in the attic.
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
Five generations of women all living under one roof and that is just the tip of the iceberg with this family. Each woman has their own unique story and is a piece to the family puzzle.
Five generations of women all living under one roof and that is just the tip of the iceberg with this family. Each woman has their own unique story and is a piece to the family puzzle.