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thisotherbookaccount's review against another edition
2.0
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I’m not sure what else to say other than the fact that, even though Taylor wrote one of my favourite books last year (Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont), A View of the Harbour just did not work for me. It’s mostly about a group of people living in a small seaside town who have nothing better to do other than sticking their noses into each other’s lives. They also spend half the time feeling lonely and miserable about themselves. Other than that, nothing much happens in this book. It’s just a tough slog and I was mostly bored out of my mind.
It has a beautiful cover artwork though, so there’s that?
I’m not sure what else to say other than the fact that, even though Taylor wrote one of my favourite books last year (Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont), A View of the Harbour just did not work for me. It’s mostly about a group of people living in a small seaside town who have nothing better to do other than sticking their noses into each other’s lives. They also spend half the time feeling lonely and miserable about themselves. Other than that, nothing much happens in this book. It’s just a tough slog and I was mostly bored out of my mind.
It has a beautiful cover artwork though, so there’s that?
tillyletch's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Honestly, I just didn’t love this. It was slow and not very much happened. Most of the drama described in the blurb didn’t kick in until half way through. I didn’t like any of the characters except Stevie and Maisie and honestly just didn’t care what happened. I also wasn’t 100% sure of what was happening a lot of the time
nohoperadio's review
4.0
The little seaside village which, unless I’m forgetting something, the narration doesn’t leave for a single page, makes for a very claustrophobic setting. Most of the cast (which is quite large and with screentime so equitably allocated that no character or group can really be called “main”, as seems to be Taylor’s way) live half in the shadow of hypothetical versions of themselves that live not here. Which is not to say they have particular dreams or even fantasies for the most part.
This collection of sad funny lives add up to a bit of a jumble, they don’t suddenly cohere into semi-resolution at the climax like in The Soul of Kindness, which feels intentional but is still less satisfying.
rouge_red's review against another edition
Although I thought the story was fine, I didn't have a sense of there being a plot or that the narrative was going to go anywhere. The way Taylor was structuring this story felt slice-of-life gossip, which I simply wasn't entertained by enough to want to continue.
elenajohansen's review against another edition
2.0
This is the most beautifully written book to ever bore me to near-tears.
Let me explain.
Taylor writes with a lyrical style that for some readers might be a bit purple, but to me was elegantly descriptive and brilliantly toned. When the narration steps back from the characters in brief moments of observation, her grasp of the human condition is sharp and witty.
Too bad the characters range from bland to hateful, from irritating to loathsome. Oh, look, it's a tiny miserable village where everyone is in everyone else's business. The dying lady harasses her daughters and watches people come and go at her window. A young widow is lonely and tries feebly to reach out to her neighbors but ends up drinking every night instead. A woman carries on an affair with her best friend's husband while living next door to them. The wife is oblivious--their oldest daughter catches on.
An out-of-town "artist" who hardly ever paints ties everything together and provides a heavy metaphor for the whole book when he finally does paint one view--and guess what, it's of the harbor! Look how different it looks from the real thing!
Why do serious, literary novels always involve miserable people and adultery? I'm bored.
Let me explain.
Taylor writes with a lyrical style that for some readers might be a bit purple, but to me was elegantly descriptive and brilliantly toned. When the narration steps back from the characters in brief moments of observation, her grasp of the human condition is sharp and witty.
Too bad the characters range from bland to hateful, from irritating to loathsome. Oh, look, it's a tiny miserable village where everyone is in everyone else's business. The dying lady harasses her daughters and watches people come and go at her window. A young widow is lonely and tries feebly to reach out to her neighbors but ends up drinking every night instead. A woman carries on an affair with her best friend's husband while living next door to them. The wife is oblivious--their oldest daughter catches on.
An out-of-town "artist" who hardly ever paints ties everything together and provides a heavy metaphor for the whole book when he finally does paint one view--and guess what, it's of the harbor! Look how different it looks from the real thing!
Why do serious, literary novels always involve miserable people and adultery? I'm bored.
amongthefaithless's review
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
lizzyyyyyyy's review
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mayabee92's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
kjboldon's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-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
4.75
I look forward to reading more Elizabeth Taylor (not the actress) in the future. This was a delight. Small Town drama and intrigue and yet the most human of all emotions across the gamut. I absolutely loved the female friendship between Beth and Tory. So funny I often laughed aloud, and my copy is now studded with book darts at clever or moving passages. But, perhaps a cautionary tale; is there any happy couple? And why does Teddy get the last word?
h1914's review against another edition
3.0
"The trouble with renunciation is the giving-up part. All women fancy themselves doing it, but do they enjoy it, I wonder? It is too negative to be really uplifting, except in literature. The gesture is more beautiful than the thing itself, which does so go on and on – the next day and the next, and for ever. In books one just dies."