I read this book all week and finished it this morning with tears running down my cheeks. This novel is intense! It started out so normally but as I read, I could feel the momentum building. I just knew something bad was going to happen but didn't know what. And it was worse than I'd imagined.
Mary Beth Latham owns her own landscaping business. Her husband is a ophthalmologist. They have three kids: 17-year-old Ruby who is quirky and smart and was my favorite character, and 14-year-old twins: Max, who is moody and troubled, and Alex, who is an athlete. Their home is filled with lots of laughter, friends, worries, and tragedy.
It's a hard book to write about because the bad thing doesn't happen until half way through. Anna Quindlen does such a great job of setting the scene and developing the characters that when the tragedy stikes, it feels like it happened to my own family.
I'm definitely going to read something a bit lighter next! It is an excellent book and so well written but I need a break from sadness!
4 comments:
Ooohhh. This one is on my shelf waiting to be read. I'm now intrigued. ;)
I'm glad that you liked this one Linda. I know it sounds weird to say you liked a book that's sad but you know what I mean. I loved this book and others of hers that I've read. I find she really gets to the heart of things in her writing
Enjoy your last weeks of teaching my friend!
"Intense" is a perfect word for this novel. If you haven't read Quindlen's One True Thing, I highly recommend it to you. The protagonist's mother dies, and her daughter is accused of hurrying the process. I didn't consider it a downer at all, and it's my favorite of Quindlen's books.
Keep thinking "more reading time." Things have changed drastically since I started teaching as an adjunct at Chattanooga State Community College. I think you'll like retirement, too.
I read this last week. Really liked it.
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