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ginny17's review against another edition
3.0
I absolutely loved parts of this book. I laughed out loud quite a bit. Then, I absolutely hated parts of this book. It was very up and down for me.
meyerej's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
scgirl730's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Very political so much so it detracts from the story.
__karin's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
cami19's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
lvw22's review against another edition
3.0
My thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
There is a lot to love about this novel, but, ultimately, I found it frustrating. Nissen does a great job capturing the voice of a middle aged woman who unexpectedly falls in love while she is a visiting professor, throwing her whole life into upheaval. She is a rather unlikable, annoying narrator who is aware of her own selfishness, but she is also quite amusing and admirable at times.
There are several subplots that work--her complicated relationship with her daughter, her unmoored status in a small Amish town, and her struggle to trust in a life with her new lover. There are also several parts that don't work, including a long extended section in which she envisions the life of her mother-in-law as a young woman in Nazi Germany, and a stupid plot line involving a hickey, of all things.
There is a lot to love about this novel, but, ultimately, I found it frustrating. Nissen does a great job capturing the voice of a middle aged woman who unexpectedly falls in love while she is a visiting professor, throwing her whole life into upheaval. She is a rather unlikable, annoying narrator who is aware of her own selfishness, but she is also quite amusing and admirable at times.
There are several subplots that work--her complicated relationship with her daughter, her unmoored status in a small Amish town, and her struggle to trust in a life with her new lover. There are also several parts that don't work, including a long extended section in which she envisions the life of her mother-in-law as a young woman in Nazi Germany, and a stupid plot line involving a hickey, of all things.
bfth23's review against another edition
1.0
Long book. Unlikeable characters that did not seem real at all. (Well, maybe the Amish ones did.) I really thought I would like this but instead I found myself slogging through it and wondering why the hell I was still trying.
basking_turtle's review against another edition
3.0
I found this an interesting book - another woman going through a mid-life crisis. Been there. It seems when one is going through a crisis that everything happens at once and so it was with the main character. I found her fantasy asides odd although they did add to the interest of the book. I didn't like it enough to give it 5 start but I liked it enough to finish it.
namielle's review against another edition
Try as I may, I could not force my way through the entirety of this book (only got to 35%). Phil, the main character, was just so unlikable. She’s self-absorbed like some sort of spoiled teen, when she’s actually a middle aged lady. I just felt bad for her husband and child.
wordnerdy's review against another edition
2.0
http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2017/12/2017-book-214.html
Literary novels about middle aged academics having affairs have never been something I was particularly interested in, but this one grabbed me—at first—with its strong narrative voice. The fact that the narrator is a middle aged Jewish woman theater professor also made this feel a bit fresher, plus the first half of the novel turns on her mentally ill daughter's marriage to an Amish man—so a lot of balls are being juggled, but I found it compelling enough. Things start to drag as the narrator becomes mired in indecision and self pity, and I could have done without a lengthy dream sequence about WWII French collaborators as well as the lengthy retreads of the Bush-Kerry election (the novel is set in 2004 for some reason). I just found this all to be more insufferable the longer it went on. B-.
_
A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on January 23.
Literary novels about middle aged academics having affairs have never been something I was particularly interested in, but this one grabbed me—at first—with its strong narrative voice. The fact that the narrator is a middle aged Jewish woman theater professor also made this feel a bit fresher, plus the first half of the novel turns on her mentally ill daughter's marriage to an Amish man—so a lot of balls are being juggled, but I found it compelling enough. Things start to drag as the narrator becomes mired in indecision and self pity, and I could have done without a lengthy dream sequence about WWII French collaborators as well as the lengthy retreads of the Bush-Kerry election (the novel is set in 2004 for some reason). I just found this all to be more insufferable the longer it went on. B-.
_
A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on January 23.