I just finished this orning and I loved it. Curious to think what you all thought. I know not everyone has started or is close to finishing...we've had a boring last few days so I had some time to read...but I thought I'd start this so everyone could add to as they were reading or whenever they finished. I found it to be a good story (or stories) but most importantly, very thought provoking about living life, getting old, losing those you lose, loving those you still have, having regrets or no regrets about your past, and making your own future....There are so many ways to interpret this book, I'm sure we'll all walk away with something different. I know it made me look at my own family and relationships with my parents, grandparents, husband, and children all a little differently....
Enjoy!
I'm glad to know it was good! I've started,but just barely. I've only read a couple of pages. I've started this one and two others in the past couple of days, so I'm kind of juggling them. The others are non-fiction, though, so no worries of getting stories all mixed up. :)
ReplyDeleteI started this yesterday afternoon. I am at the 25% mark (est. page 72). I'm not sure if I'm liking it yet or not. The writing is good but I don't really care for Olive that much. I'm sure my feelings will change though by the end of the book since she is the major character, I foresee a attitude change in her. I'm also having a hard time with the short story format. Just when I get interested in one character their story is over and we are moving on to someone else. Do any of these characters in the beginning stories pop back up in later chapters?
ReplyDeleteGirls, I am SO FAR BEHIND. I've had SO much going on personally and I'm going out of town for the weekend to see a friend just to get a break and breathe a little, so I've been getting ready for that all week. I'm going to have some free time this weekend, though, and I plan to get really into this book then.
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ReplyDelete'm with you, Tempie! I am intrigued, and each time I really "get into" a character, the chapter ends and we are on to another short story....:( Oh, well, between work and housework (and KIDS) this week, its been a slow read, but I do like it.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I finished this book yesterday afternoon. The whole time I was reading it I was on the fence about whether or not I like this book. Towards the end I really got tired of the jumping around with characters. I really wanted to know why that man stabbed that woman so many times or what happened to the woman who fell in the water. Also, I have a question about Henry's relationship with Daisy but I don't want to ask it until everyone is done reading it (I'm not sure if I was the last or not). Anyway, I think I finally decided I didn't like this book. As I said earlier I really liked the way the author writes but I just wish the book had been a litte more connected. Oh, and I never really did ending up liking Olive either.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you didn't like it, Tempie...but good job with finishing it! I know it's hard to finish a book when you're not into it, I rarely do.
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing about this book is that I am not a fan of short stories. I always feel like I'm left hanging and that was definately the case with some of these chapters. However, I think the author made it work. I'm still trying to figure out exactly how it all fit together. I kind of look at the book as a set of "interviews" of people in Olive's small town. A collection of stories to find out more about Olive. In most of these, she is hardly even mentioned but when she is, you discover something of her character.
As for Olive, I'm not sure if anyone truly loved her. But she is so REAL to me and the ending kind of broke my heart. Her role as a mother definately created a lot of heart ache for her and her son and this part really touched me. When we are raising our kids we do the best we can. That's all we can try and do and that still doesn't promise anything about the kind of relationship we will have with our sons and daughters later on. I'm very fortuate because I have a great relationship with my own mother and I hope I can have the same with my own girls. But, I know lots of people who don't have this. Hell, my own brother has a completely different perspective when it comes to our parents and we were raised in the exact same house!! As parents, we try and give everything to our children and do what we think is right at the time, but we are only human and the outcome we hope for isn't always how it turns out. I think Olive tried to raise her son the only way she knew how and is terribly broken because of not getting it exactly right. This has also affected how her son sees her and it's very apparent in how he treats her now that he is a grown man.
Sorry if I'm rambling on, I'm still trying to figure Olive out a week after I've finished the book. I like books that make me think :)
I officially gave up trying to read Olive. I Could NOT get into that book.... at least I got some decent sleep whenever I tried to read it. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping that next month's book will be a fun zinger.