francesmthompson's Reviews (976)

Love Dawn O'Porter and all the work she's done on TV in the past, but sadly this novel just wasn't my cup of tea. I suspect it was the genre (chick-lit) more than what the author is capable of, and while the story line was interesting enough to keep me going the characters and constant internal dialogues weighed any kind of pitch and personality down...

Sucked me in, chewed me up and sort of spat me out, but not without feeling like I'd learned a world of new ways to write. Thank you Eimear McBride.

While I read this book without much resistance and the writer is clearly very experienced and accomplished in sewing strong story lines 'together with well-written prose, I saw the twist coming a mile off (admittedly as an author I hunt for them like a dog) but I found the intensity of the main characters relationship just a bit too well, intense. I prefer love stories that feel real and not all the elements of this one did.

From the reviews I'd read I approached this book like it was going to be as light as candy floss and as upbeat as a drum and bass record... It is actually neither and tackles arguably some of the biggest tragedies and brutal acts a person can experience. This altered my reading of Eleanor Oliphant but not necessarily my enjoyment as I was drawn in by her story, her struggles and her simply brilliant personality both at its hardest and its softest. I would recommend but would kindly warn anyone that the feelgood factor is not universal or without its shadow...

A painful and unpleasant story that asks as many questions as it answers... Normally this would be a recipe for a disjointed and disturbing reading experience, but the author's prose and confidence in what she does and doesn't reveal is so very powerful. I devoured this novel even despite the horrors it told, and I can't stop thinking about it...

I'll admit that although I expected more from the reviews and blurb (that'll learn me!) I did enjoy this exploration of a marriage at various stages. I sort of saw the ending and little twist coming (and it annoyed the HECK out of me!) but it was all definitely food for thought. My first go at Wolitzer and I'm curious about reading more...

Wanted to love it as I adored her debut but this book didn't have the same pacing or interesting characters... But it still doesn't dilute my love for the first book.

I think the moral of this story is trust no-one, and suspect everyone... Quite a rollercoaster of a suspense story that primarily tackles a brilliant concept; if a woman is guilty of adultery, is she also guilty of more?

This novel did not go where I expected it to and I am kind of reeling from the final twist, almost in a "I wish I hadn't read that" kind of way... I'm fairly new to this genre so found the near constant inner dialogue quite hard to get used to (I definitely prefer showing, not telling) but I can't deny the characters were suitably menacing when they needed to be and I was keen to know what was really going on from the outset.

About a quarter of the way into this story I didn't know if I could continue. I'm 25 weeks pregnant with my second son and I fell into a sobbing well of sorrow thinking how tragic Leon's situation is, and yet how many Leons in the world there are.... and how no child should experience what he does. But I continued because that was a miniscule ask compared to what such kids would have to face. Needless to say his plight and his love for his mother and brother pulled at all my heartstrings and made me go check on my sleeping three-year-old more times than I usually do at night. There were times when I really did want a bit more depth to all of the characters but maybe this was deliberately not the case because the story is told from Leon's perspective, but as hard as I think some of the conversations could be, I am adding this book to stories I will read to my sons when they're older... and I have less hormones flowing through my body.