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terrimpin's review against another edition
2.0
While the narrative was engaging enough for me to complete this book, it isn't something I'd recommend to anyone or anything that really stuck with me. The author's narrative style is a bit much at times - overly dramatic in places, and the way she describes other women is odd. There's really no other way for me to describe it, but every description of another woman involved a strange layer of bitterness.
One thing that definitely ruined this book for me was the perverse description of Winter (her mother) as a 13-year-old girl. Just before a particularly disturbing scene with Lavern, the author describes Winter's body in oddly sexual tones. I didn't think this was in any way necessary, and as someone who was genuinely triggered by the inclusion of the following scene, the author's voluntary description of a child's body in that context felt as if she were promoting what was to come. It was just inappropriate and it definitely resulted in me speed-reading through the rest of the book to get it over with.
The book rounds off with an extra dose of cringe - the present-day description of the narrator's teenage daughter explaining the ins-and-outs of Snapchat while her son rattles off random, out-of-context slang. You know, the classic "kids these days" bullshit.
All in all, this read like a college entry personal essay, with unnecessarily dramatic tones, the romanticization of the mundane, and a general tone of narcissism.
One thing that definitely ruined this book for me was the perverse description of Winter (her mother) as a 13-year-old girl. Just before a particularly disturbing scene with Lavern, the author describes Winter's body in oddly sexual tones. I didn't think this was in any way necessary, and as someone who was genuinely triggered by the inclusion of the following scene, the author's voluntary description of a child's body in that context felt as if she were promoting what was to come. It was just inappropriate and it definitely resulted in me speed-reading through the rest of the book to get it over with.
The book rounds off with an extra dose of cringe - the present-day description of the narrator's teenage daughter explaining the ins-and-outs of Snapchat while her son rattles off random, out-of-context slang. You know, the classic "kids these days" bullshit.
All in all, this read like a college entry personal essay, with unnecessarily dramatic tones, the romanticization of the mundane, and a general tone of narcissism.
alicebeastcat's review against another edition
4.0
I think many readers will recognize elements of the Narrator’s family in their own families — the mythologies we create, how our unexamined fears can lead us to hurt those we love, and the shared history that binds us regardless. Very nicely written.
jjmcdade's review against another edition
4.0
What is a life? How do we make a life? Who are we, really? What is our family history -- really? Great storytelling.
shelleyann01's review against another edition
5.0
This inter generational family saga draws you in. You get to know the characters, love some, hate some, admire some, feel sorry for some. The fact that it is based on the women of the author's family made it such a joy to read. The message of the growing empowerment for women threaded throughout here is done with subtle grace and love.
The setting, characters and situations rang completely true to me. All the choices we make and the consequences we endure. McPhee’s book is a triumph. Not many novels can elevate the struggle of ordinary lives into the epic tales they deserve to be, but Ms. McPhee accomplishes this with class. This is a fascinating book that deserves to be read more than once. A beautiful, emotional ride. I could not put the book down and did not want the story to end.
Thank you NetGalley, Scribner and Martha McPhee for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.
#AnElegantWoman #NetGalley
The setting, characters and situations rang completely true to me. All the choices we make and the consequences we endure. McPhee’s book is a triumph. Not many novels can elevate the struggle of ordinary lives into the epic tales they deserve to be, but Ms. McPhee accomplishes this with class. This is a fascinating book that deserves to be read more than once. A beautiful, emotional ride. I could not put the book down and did not want the story to end.
Thank you NetGalley, Scribner and Martha McPhee for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.
#AnElegantWoman #NetGalley
book_beat's review against another edition
4.0
I have to admit that I love thinking about my grandmothers and great-grandmothers — all they overcame and accomplished. My office is filled with their heirlooms: a quilt, painting, and hope chest. I am inspired and feel loved when I create in this space and think of their stories. My obsession with my family led me to pick up a new release by Martha McPhee.
AN ELEGANT WOMAN is a fictional story based on McPhee’s own family history. It is a fluid, poetic tale about many generations of one family of women. The book begins with the granddaughter/narrator sorting through her grandmother’s belongings and considering the faultiness of stories and memories — is a story only true if it is factually accurate? Or can a story carry the essence of truth with muddled (but fully felt) details?
From there the reader follows the narrator’s great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother’s stories through the 1900s and all over the United States (OH, MT, ME, etc.). McPhee gets at the heart of these women, their desires and fears, and explores what it means to forge a life — what can you reject or claim as your own? What is unavoidable?
The stories contain great details but there is a sort of “film” felt between the reader and the story — like these are epics passed down from one woman to another and their structures are hazy. The writing is lyrical and contains beautiful lines about memory and truth and story.
I think if you like character-driven stories, poetic writing, and books that explore the concept of truth and memory — you may find a new favorite story in AN ELEGANT WOMAN.
AN ELEGANT WOMAN is a fictional story based on McPhee’s own family history. It is a fluid, poetic tale about many generations of one family of women. The book begins with the granddaughter/narrator sorting through her grandmother’s belongings and considering the faultiness of stories and memories — is a story only true if it is factually accurate? Or can a story carry the essence of truth with muddled (but fully felt) details?
From there the reader follows the narrator’s great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother’s stories through the 1900s and all over the United States (OH, MT, ME, etc.). McPhee gets at the heart of these women, their desires and fears, and explores what it means to forge a life — what can you reject or claim as your own? What is unavoidable?
The stories contain great details but there is a sort of “film” felt between the reader and the story — like these are epics passed down from one woman to another and their structures are hazy. The writing is lyrical and contains beautiful lines about memory and truth and story.
I think if you like character-driven stories, poetic writing, and books that explore the concept of truth and memory — you may find a new favorite story in AN ELEGANT WOMAN.
sprainedbrain's review against another edition
4.0
I love a good multi-generational saga, so I was very excited to get an ARC of this book and even more pleased when it turned out to be a brilliant one.
I was immediately drawn in to this story: from the beginning, we know that Isadora’s ‘Grammy,’ variously known throughout the book as Thelma, Tommy, and Katherine, was quite the character, regaling her young granddaughters with incredible ancestry and rich family stories. The narrative skips around a lot, starting when we move from the granddaughters sorting through their late grandma’s things to Tommy as a 6-year-old child whose mother, Glenna, takes her two young daughters with her, leaving her husband in Ohio and heading west for a new life in 1910. Glenna is not a good mother, and leaves her very young children to be raised by others and then by themselves. Tommy cares for and raises her little sister, Katherine, and then makes her own way in the world.
There is an underlying theme of falseness throughout this story. Life is messy, and people tell lies and embellish. Even the most elegant woman has history and secrets. Tommy takes her sister’s name, her sister takes a different name, Glenna does what she pleases without much regard for her daughters, telling lies and leaving things out as she makes her way. Winter has her secrets, including a secret love, a difficult relationship with her mom, and a complicated family of her own. Isadora’s generation, with the help of a great uncle, try to piece their colorful family history together and separate the truth from the fantasy.
McPhee’s writing is gorgeous and vivid: the descriptions of the various settings are lushly detailed and the characters are well-drawn. So much intricate information is thrown at the reader, along with a cast of unique characters spanning over more than a century, and yet somehow the plot, timelines, and various narratives are easy to follow. Beyond that, the story is enthralling. I couldn’t stop reading once I got started. The only possible complaint I could have are that some stories end almost too soon—I was left wanting just a bit more time with some characters, but I suppose that’s how life is, with the inevitability of time.
Some of my favorite quotes come from near the end of the novel, and are about human life, death, and the histories of us:
“And just like that, a life is over—the urgencies, the fights, the stories, the sweet peas, the rattlesnakes, the attempts to make something of it, bend it and stretch it and configure it with our wills, give it a narrative, a history, a story, to make it amount to something.”
“Close your eyes. Imagine our historic moment, all that it entails. Imagine a thousand years from now what someone would write about it. Would it fill a sentence? A paragraph, at most? One sentence tells the history of us gathered here today, our lives now so rich in detail, filled with love and hate and joy and dramas. We, all of us, are reduced to a sentence, crushed and overpowered and hidden behind the flimsy weight of that sentence.”
An Elegant Woman is about women: mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers, friends. It’s about complicated relationships and history and messy, real family; doing your own thing and still owning your piece of what came before you. I absolutely love the cover, and think it perfectly expresses the themes of the book.
Thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for my copy in exchange for my honest review.
I was immediately drawn in to this story: from the beginning, we know that Isadora’s ‘Grammy,’ variously known throughout the book as Thelma, Tommy, and Katherine, was quite the character, regaling her young granddaughters with incredible ancestry and rich family stories. The narrative skips around a lot, starting when we move from the granddaughters sorting through their late grandma’s things to Tommy as a 6-year-old child whose mother, Glenna, takes her two young daughters with her, leaving her husband in Ohio and heading west for a new life in 1910. Glenna is not a good mother, and leaves her very young children to be raised by others and then by themselves. Tommy cares for and raises her little sister, Katherine, and then makes her own way in the world.
There is an underlying theme of falseness throughout this story. Life is messy, and people tell lies and embellish. Even the most elegant woman has history and secrets. Tommy takes her sister’s name, her sister takes a different name, Glenna does what she pleases without much regard for her daughters, telling lies and leaving things out as she makes her way. Winter has her secrets, including a secret love, a difficult relationship with her mom, and a complicated family of her own. Isadora’s generation, with the help of a great uncle, try to piece their colorful family history together and separate the truth from the fantasy.
McPhee’s writing is gorgeous and vivid: the descriptions of the various settings are lushly detailed and the characters are well-drawn. So much intricate information is thrown at the reader, along with a cast of unique characters spanning over more than a century, and yet somehow the plot, timelines, and various narratives are easy to follow. Beyond that, the story is enthralling. I couldn’t stop reading once I got started. The only possible complaint I could have are that some stories end almost too soon—I was left wanting just a bit more time with some characters, but I suppose that’s how life is, with the inevitability of time.
Some of my favorite quotes come from near the end of the novel, and are about human life, death, and the histories of us:
“And just like that, a life is over—the urgencies, the fights, the stories, the sweet peas, the rattlesnakes, the attempts to make something of it, bend it and stretch it and configure it with our wills, give it a narrative, a history, a story, to make it amount to something.”
“Close your eyes. Imagine our historic moment, all that it entails. Imagine a thousand years from now what someone would write about it. Would it fill a sentence? A paragraph, at most? One sentence tells the history of us gathered here today, our lives now so rich in detail, filled with love and hate and joy and dramas. We, all of us, are reduced to a sentence, crushed and overpowered and hidden behind the flimsy weight of that sentence.”
An Elegant Woman is about women: mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers, friends. It’s about complicated relationships and history and messy, real family; doing your own thing and still owning your piece of what came before you. I absolutely love the cover, and think it perfectly expresses the themes of the book.
Thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for my copy in exchange for my honest review.
bookcrazyblogger's review against another edition
5.0
It’s a book within a book: Isadora is the family historian, taking after her grandmother, Thelma, otherwise known as Tommy. When Isadora’s own mother needs money for her care, the daughters decide to list their mother’s home and all of their grandmother Tommy’s assorted treasures for sale. Isadora finds documents and combining them with stories from her grandmother, weaves a tale about her grandmother’s fascinating life, beginning when her great-grandmother Glenna decided to move her girls to the wilds of Montana, leaving her cheating husband by himself. While Glenna is more consumed with her own passions and her own life, Tommy is stuck with raising herself and younger sister Katherine. The novel follows Tommy’s journey from 5 years old until beyond her death, culminating in a fascinating perspective on American history and culture in the 20th century. This is more than just a historical fiction novel or a novel about women’s lives. It’s a story about independence, about relationships between sisters, between mothers and daughters and the familial bonds between generations. I highly enjoyed this novel.
gretel7's review
2.0
I received this from Netgalley.com for a review.
"Drawn from the author’s own family history, An Elegant Woman is a story of discovery and reinvention, following four generations of women in one American family."
Kind of a meandering tale, I had a hard time getting into the story and found myself reading sections twice to remind myself of who was who and what was what.
2 stars
"Drawn from the author’s own family history, An Elegant Woman is a story of discovery and reinvention, following four generations of women in one American family."
Kind of a meandering tale, I had a hard time getting into the story and found myself reading sections twice to remind myself of who was who and what was what.
2 stars
cbaszler's review against another edition
2.0
I didn’t feel emotionally invested in this story or its characters. There were many characters but we didn't go deep enough into any of their stories for me to relate or empathize. Uneven, lacking a focus I was looking for in the narrative.
larcher's review against another edition
3.0
A sweeping epic family story, An Elegant Woman attempts a grand story of the 20th century, that in times felt like it took a lot of effort to get through.
For my full review, please visit my blog at: http://obsessedbookaholic.com/2020/05/27/an-elegant-woman-book-review/
Thank you NetGalley and Scribner for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
For my full review, please visit my blog at: http://obsessedbookaholic.com/2020/05/27/an-elegant-woman-book-review/
Thank you NetGalley and Scribner for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.