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mhall's review against another edition
2.0
A teenage boy named Henry reads his mom's email and finds out she's having an affair, then creepily keeps secretly reading her email for months and months, printing out messages as an archive, and just generally creeping it up and obsessing about how her affair relates to him. His mom at one point goes to a tarot reader and emails a friend about how the reader told her that Henry and she were married in a past life, and now they're mother and son. Henry reads that email, of course, and thinks disturbing thoughts about his mom's affair. He refers to her variously as Beth, Liza, and Mrs. Shaw in his narration. Nothing really happens - Henry, the teenage boy, living in an upscale Chicago neighborhood, is described as smart and amiable, someone who does what's expected of him. His younger sister is the only character with any life: a butch girl obsessed with Civil War reenactments. This brings me to the heart of my irritation, which is that the mom is completely upset throughout the whole novel because her daughter wants to be a boy in Civil War reenactments. She is described as profoundly torn up inside that her daughter is not interested in feminine things or in wearing dresses, but the mom is such a poorly drawn character that it doesn't make sense that she would be upset, and then there's a climactic incident that ends with the daughter giving up on her obsession with the Civil War.
Horribly self-important and serious-minded, too literary, the description of a boy poisoning himself slowly by being unable to stop invading his mother's privacy doesn't ever come to life on the page - he's kind of a cipher who doesn't suffer consequences, and his mom is much the same.
Horribly self-important and serious-minded, too literary, the description of a boy poisoning himself slowly by being unable to stop invading his mother's privacy doesn't ever come to life on the page - he's kind of a cipher who doesn't suffer consequences, and his mom is much the same.
karasmichelle's review against another edition
4.0
Got this audiobook for a recent trip. It took me until the end to realize it was Robert Sean Leonard ("Dead Poet's Society" reading it. Anyway, I like Jane Hamilton. She doesn't sugarcoat anything. Here a teenager starts reading his mom's email and finds out she's having an affair. But he doesn't call her on it right away. Then the tale gets all twisty. There's an interesting subploat about the boy's younger sister and her hobby of dressing up as a Civil War reenactor.
magshugs's review against another edition
2.0
So last night when I couldn't sleep I was laying awake thinking about how I was going to review this. This is what I decided: I love Jane Hamilton; I do not love this book. I couldn't identify with any of the characters. I'm not even sure why. I just know that when it came to end, I was very glad. There were definitely parts of it I enjoyed. In fact, I really enjoyed the subplot about the sister, Elvira, more than anything else. So, I give this a big resounding "eh."
eberico's review against another edition
4.0
This book sat, unread, on my shelves from 2000-2008. Throughout the years as I sold off books, I kept looking at this one and putting it back, the jacket description appealing to me enough that I kept it all this time.
I'm not really sure what to say about this book other than that I really enjoyed it, and that I'm pleased that I set aside my non-fiction for a few days.
I'm not really sure what to say about this book other than that I really enjoyed it, and that I'm pleased that I set aside my non-fiction for a few days.
mdsnyderjr's review against another edition
Putting this one down. Very long paragraphs that talk about absolutely nothing. Disappointed, I've enjoyed her other books.
yangyvonne's review against another edition
3.0
A story of 17 year old Henry Shaw, who through the email account he has set-up for his mother, learns she is having an affair. He tracks the affair over the year before he leaves for college and wrestles with his feelings about it and the mother he is so close to. Th sub-plot deals with Elvira, his 13 year old sister who is obsessed with Civil War reenactment.
Hamilton makes interesting use of the sub-plot to move the story along. The major flaw, for me, was how little Henry did and how much he seemed to understand what his mother was doing - beyond the reality of a 17 year old. There were a lot of unnecessary "gaps/mysteries" in the story too, which detracted from the basically endearing tale.
Hamilton makes interesting use of the sub-plot to move the story along. The major flaw, for me, was how little Henry did and how much he seemed to understand what his mother was doing - beyond the reality of a 17 year old. There were a lot of unnecessary "gaps/mysteries" in the story too, which detracted from the basically endearing tale.
jankjickjunk's review
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
damarisr's review
challenging
emotional
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? Yes