If you've read our second book, When God Was a Rabbit (Sarah Winman), I really would love to hear what you have to say in the comments below, or on our Facebook page (under "Blogger Book Club", set up by Carol at The Design Pages).
This story is about a brother (Joe) and sister (Elly) and the deep connection they share with each other. There are many times in this book when it states that the only person that Elly truly feels understands her is her brother Joe. Joe is older, and seems more independent - running off to the US to work and leaving his sister and their family behind in the UK. Elly however still has an unstobbable reliance on Joe and his listening / understanding.
To me this book was a little bit disconnected. A number of things happened - the family won the lottery, the brother moved away to New York, the parents started up a B&B...but none of these actions really seemed monumental to me. They just sort of happened. The most piercing part of this book was when it depicted 9/11 and its impact on the characters. I think 9/11 will always grip people because it was so monumental, and so recent. However, in this book I felt like it was thrown in as a last ditch effort to grab people's attention. I didn't really think it fit with the story, and I didn't like how the author dealt with it or its outcome on the characters. It came late in the book and tied itself up nicely at the end.
Overall, this book gets a B from me. It wasn't a terrible book that I couldn't finish, however it won't make it onto my recommendation list. I also read it immediately after The Glass Castle...and I kept on having to remind myself that these kids aren't poor, actually quite the opposite! I think it says a lot when a book stays with you and the Glass Castle definitely did...I just can't say the same for When God Was a Rabbit.
I believe that so much about liking / disliking a book depends on when you're reading it, what else you have read recently, what's going on in your life, etc. Given that, I'm really excited to hear what you have to say about it!
Don't miss our third book - this is the one I'm most excited about: Day After Night (Anita Diamant). That one I think WILL have a strong female character (an area where our first two books were sorely lacking). Day After Night will be reviewed on July 16.
5 comments:
I didn't get a chance to read this months book, but I am looking forward to discussing Day After Night with you Heather ;)
Heather, you are soo right. I enjoyed the book, it was a good read but I felt the many connections between the characters didn't flow well. Was a bit disjointed and inplausable at times. Even bordering on ridiculous. The storyline about the aunt, mother , father triangle was disjointed. I think the author tried to tackle far too much in this book. The title didn't connect with the book. I thought there would be more of a theological theme, the talk of God, meaning of life, etc but it was just touched on.
She did do a good job of making you connect with the main character, Elly. But I'd agree with Heather, a B.
I am looking forward to our next book as well. Anita Diamanté writes fabulous books. I have read "The Red Tent" so I am excited about the next read!
I agree with you and Barbara! So much happened in this book that I was confused... there was talk of sexual abuse that wasn't really explained? I also didn't enjoy the 9/11 part because the characters had strange reactions to finding the brother with his memory loss. I had almost forgotten how many different things happened until you listed them, Heather. The book was a little all over the place. (Glass Castle on the other hand is captivating!)
Oooo -I might have to join for Day after Night, as I loved AD's The Red Tent!
I totally agree! I was actually more interested in the book when they were children (before they won the lottery), but I felt like a lot of things happened that were never explained or never went anywhere. As the book went on, I found I had to make myself read it (as opposed to those books - like the Glass Castle - that you don't want to put down). I really didn't like the 9/11 parts, because I too felt it was tacked on and didn't connect to earlier parts of the story. Overall, I thought the book lacked focus.
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