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trin's review against another edition
5.0
Possibly the best piece of "chick lit" ever written. (Or, okay, my favorite.) The characters all have depth, and the plot is incredibly engaging. Lipman deals with real issues—life, death, love, anti-Semitism, and cookery—and does a fantastic job evoking the atmosphere of Vermont in the '60s and '70s.
babyruth510's review against another edition
4.0
Although Elinor Lipman's books appear on their face to fall into the "chick lit" genre there is real substance to her novels. She also has a great sense of humor. I
nuscheda's review against another edition
2.0
yikes, this was a very thin plot. There was not enough to justify an entire novel. It might have passed as a short story in the New Yorker. I expected more from her based on other novels.
rebroxannape's review against another edition
3.0
Ms. Lipman is a good writer: engaging and amusing. The book is a light and frothy social comedy tackling the issue of antisemitism in the '60s and '70s. It takes some surprising twists and turns that keep one's interest. I am not one to stick with a book on principal if it is not entertaining. The romance is mild but nice, taking second priority to the character development and cultural exploration of Jewish v. Gentile manners and family ways. I will definitely be giving this author another whirl.
florapants84's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
zhelana's review against another edition
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Nothing actually happened in this book. I mean what was it about? I don't know. A weird slice of life type thing that follows this girl's relationship with an inn that wouldn't accept her because she's Jewish when she was a kid. But like. I thought I was getting in for a revenge story, and instead she winds up caring about the people who work there and own the place. And like. I don't know. There's not really intentional revenge, although I guess technically it could fall under revenge. I'm just not sure what to make of this story. I wanted some kind of realization that she was wrong, or some kind of actual revenge or something. And instead I just got... this... and I'm not entirely sure what "this" is at all. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't really... anything.
kategci's review against another edition
4.0
A reread for me, I picked it up after Thomas recommended it on The Readers last summer. This is such a great summer read, with well drawn characters and a plot that keeps the pages turning. I highly recommend it on its own or as a break between heavier stories.
deecreatenola's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the first half of this book. It was such an unusual concept - a little girl who grows up and during that whole time is obsessed with a hotel that refused them service because they were Jewish. And by obsessed, I mean, she wanted to go there to see what it was all about and actually did so more than once.
Ultimately, she forges something of a connection with the hotel through a friend. Later, she reconnects with the friend and the hotel. (This was actually where the Christmas element came in, which is unusual in a book about a Jewish girl!)
There is a tragedy, which was very authentic but it was after that that the book went a little off the rails for me.
It got stranger in that the college friend also comes from a hotel background (not super strange - Cornell does have a great HRT program). But it is unusual in a way that that girl is also Jewish. And they all end up at the Inn at Lake Devine where the two girls basically verbally take out the mother/owner of the hotel.
Calling out isms - racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, etc. - work well on the page, in my opinion, when it's subtle. The reader can see exactly what is happening and they are outraged on behalf of the protagonist. What doesn't work well, again, my opinion, when they call it out very obviously and almost ostentatiously, which is what happens here. They do not hold back with the mother, which seemed highly inauthentic, and then the college friend and the brother leave ... to go to our main character's apartment. What???
Then there is a plot twist that is just so strange. It's built up throughout in a way, so there is that, but it was honestly weird and very forced in the way it was manipulating the plot.
The ending also left me hanging - all four are back at the hotel. The college friend is running it, the others are helping, but we don't even see Natalie, our POV character, setting up her kitchen. Neither her nor Kris's lives are settled or on a clear path. After all that the reader deserved some promise of closure.
This worked well for a winter holiday read. But I'm sorry it didn't pay off as well as the first half.
Ultimately, she forges something of a connection with the hotel through a friend. Later, she reconnects with the friend and the hotel. (This was actually where the Christmas element came in, which is unusual in a book about a Jewish girl!)
There is a tragedy, which was very authentic but it was after that that the book went a little off the rails for me.
Spoiler
First, she reconnects with a boy, the son of the owners of the hotel. They have a very strong and also very sweet attraction. But what threw me off was his brother, who was supposed to marry the friend who died, is also in an attraction to a college friend - just months after his fiancé died. That was a little soon for me.It got stranger in that the college friend also comes from a hotel background (not super strange - Cornell does have a great HRT program). But it is unusual in a way that that girl is also Jewish. And they all end up at the Inn at Lake Devine where the two girls basically verbally take out the mother/owner of the hotel.
Calling out isms - racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, etc. - work well on the page, in my opinion, when it's subtle. The reader can see exactly what is happening and they are outraged on behalf of the protagonist. What doesn't work well, again, my opinion, when they call it out very obviously and almost ostentatiously, which is what happens here. They do not hold back with the mother, which seemed highly inauthentic, and then the college friend and the brother leave ... to go to our main character's apartment. What???
Then there is a plot twist that is just so strange. It's built up throughout in a way, so there is that, but it was honestly weird and very forced in the way it was manipulating the plot.
The ending also left me hanging - all four are back at the hotel. The college friend is running it, the others are helping, but we don't even see Natalie, our POV character, setting up her kitchen. Neither her nor Kris's lives are settled or on a clear path. After all that the reader deserved some promise of closure.
This worked well for a winter holiday read. But I'm sorry it didn't pay off as well as the first half.