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Community comment are the opinions of contributing users. These comment do not represent the opinions of Strathcona County Library.
Jan 30, 2017PDBurt rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Yes, well-attention to the details of everyday life is succinct. This author's descriptive writing (TMI) would be good paired with a plot and more clarity about what the issues are they've been disagreeing about. There should be more excitement or anything resembling something other than boring subject matter. It may interest someone who's interested in mother daughter relationships or stories about ignorant, slovenly small town busy bodies. The gist of the story once I got through to many boring pages about nothing much is this: the daughter, Amy, who is coming into her hormonal years alternates between admiring and rejecting her mother. The mother, Isabelle feels rejected on many levels. The mother makes plans to send Amy off to a new life which doesn't include her then feels like her daughter is abandoning her. Preparing to depart, speechless Amy felt a swift, unarticulated compassion for her mother. Her mother, full of regrets, perceived Amy's silence as a sign that her daughter was already lost to her. Last page excerpt: '-Amy and Isabelle looked at each other. Amy raised both eyebrows and drew her breath in sharply as she smiled, as though to say, "Okay, let's go" and for a moment they were united, as if they had both agreed to blast off in a rocket and it was countdown time.' Would you agree there is much untapped potential for Elizabeth Strout? I think she needs to write a story with a tangible plot and some excitement paired with her descriptive reflections.