Julie

Starts Slow- Charming intrigue

Revisado: 01-08-24

A little life with purpose. A map to surviving well in a world turned upside down.

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Eh,John witnesses miracle, but stays negative

Revisado: 02-20-19

The best part of this book, for me, was the good basic character of Tabby, Dan and Grandmother Wheelwright. I also agreed with much of the politics.

But the ending seemed out of tune for me. The outcome of Owen Meany’s life is the “miracle” that the author claims propels John forward in his faith. But John blames all of Graves End and the US for what happened to Owen and leaves for Canada? It just doesn’t make sense. Was Owen a miracle or a victim

He looses all respect for Pastor Merrill for not believing the miracle of Owen Meany enough, but continues to value his relationship to Dan, who also witnessed the miracle of Owen but doubted it.

And he does not really embrace a life of Christianity or he would be able to extend love and forgiveness to all of those people he blames for what happened to Owen. Owen kept telling him what was going to happen and that it was all pre determined, so he didn’t have the same kind of faith that Owen did.

And I get that Hester was the Mary Magdalene of the story, but he still held her away as “less than”. Even though Owen loved her, flaws and all.

His contempt for Owens parents bothered me as well. They were simple people. They thought their son was a miracle. In the end so did John. Why did he still hold them in contempt for some poor parenting choices? There were worse parents in the book?

John had great examples of healthy loving relationships, but was unable to form any of his own. It just seemed like Owens life, and Tabby’s example of not letting slights bother her sunny outlook did NOTHING for John.

He was intent on wallowing in the negative and in the past. I was hoping for a turning point for John that just never materialized.

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Reliving the 80’s in too much detail

Revisado: 02-15-19

I enjoyed the performance, the irony of Wil Wheaton reading it, and reliving some of the fads from the 80’s. I just got tired of the detail. My overall feeling, I guess, was that it was so sad ALL these people were immersing themselves in the passions of someone else to the exclusion of ALL else. I would have preferred this tale be much shorter, with more in the after. I want to know how free everyone is now that they can follow their own passions.

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Parenting is hard, but . . .

Revisado: 02-06-19

All parents have the angst of trying to figure out what is best for each of our children. If they don’t, they aren’t doing it right. Some situations definitely rise to the level of more angst than typically suffered. This is such a story, but seeing how Rosie and Penn navigate the societally dangerous landscape of raising a transgender child is pure magic. Seeing how they raise their cis boys is just as amazing.

I know for most families this is so much harder because the world is harder, but this is how it SHOULD be inside every home. Unconditional love and acknowledging mistakes and realizing it’s never going to be as perfect as fictional stories, but that’s ok. We figure it out as we go together.

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Powerful- Love and Pain. And Joy

Revisado: 02-04-19

The ladies in this story wrestle with an absence of affection, and how that skews their own reactions to life and loved ones. Pulling the threads to their Mothers fairy tales helps reveal the tragedy in the past. I’ve read so many WWII novels, but this is the first from the Russian perspective. Heart wrenching, yet brutiful.

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Kept me hooked

Revisado: 01-31-19

I am always intrigued by tales that can show the dangers of blind faith in people, religious leaders, rather true faith.

The main protagonist was smart and determined, and you weren’t sure if she was good or bad at first.
It kept me wanting to know what was going to happen next. I thought the two subplots with Liberty and Roark fit the storyline well.

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Very matter of fact about really hard things

Revisado: 08-28-18

I found the story very compelling, and horrifying. It is the same story as the holocaust, how neighbors turn on neighbors and suddenly hundreds of thousands of people are dead, or terrified of being next. Murdered. This gets extremely graphic about the condition the children are in and the lengths they go to to survive. Avoid listening during meal time! Finished in a day.

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Annoyed by Claire

Revisado: 08-12-18

Frustrated that she was upset not to be taken seriously, but when talking about the Kennedys, instead of concentrating on policy, she wanted to guess what Jackie would wear next. At least Vivienne seemed to care deeply about her people. She didn’t actively pursue a passion, however. Seemed more swept along by the men and events around her rather than making a mark. I did like her, however. I read this twice, and the first time I enjoyed it more. The second time I kept waiting to be reminded why I liked it the first time. I guess the “twist” at the end made it more tolerable the first go round, but it wasn’t THAT much of a twist.

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Eh, left me unimpressed

Revisado: 08-08-18

Maybe it’s the difference between men and women, but I had a hard time getting in sync with Pinos thought process.

I REALLY struggled with his mother asking him to retrieve the girl in the cemetery. His parents insisted he enlist to avoid getting drafted and sent to the front lines just to send him directly into an intense battle to bring a body back for a friend?!

I was bothered by his reaction to Mario’s murder. It seemed lacking? And his aunt and uncle seemed more distraught for him having witnessed it than losing their own flesh and blood? The historical details were interesting and I am glad I learned more about the events in Italy, but I preferred From Sand and Ash.

It just didn’t sit well with me. The Nightingale and Lilac Girls were fabulous, however, and I just read those last month, so it’s hard to compete.

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Couldn’t keep my attention

Revisado: 12-01-17

I just had the hardest time finishing this one. There wasn’t much character development and it just seemed very slow and plodding. Not one I could recommend.

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