Helpful Score: 1
It pains me to admit how many times I tossed this book aside; I found the way Laura Lippman moved the story -- forward and backward, then to a midpoint, constantly moving the story and time -- to be disconcerting. After awhile, it simply became irritating.
The other problem I had with this story is that I didnt really care for any of the characters. The story begins about the time Felix Brewer was convicted and about to go to prison. Instead, he abandons his wife and 3 daughters and escapes the country for parts unknown. Much of the rest of the story is how beautiful Bernadette "Bambi" Gottschalk Brewer and daughters and friends survive without him.
The only character I felt marginally interested in was the wronged wife, Bambi. Felix always had a swarm of lovers around him; he took care of his latest paramour, Julie, by giving her a business.
His wife was left destitute but she refused to accept Felix was gone and never filed for his life insurance or veterans benefits. Instead, she kept up appearances in the huge home she and Felix bought even though she did not have the resources to do so.
Their three daughters were some of the most pathetic specimens in modern fiction. I found little/nothing to admire about them individually or as a group. They seemed to be hateful harpies.
I havent really enjoyed the last two Lippman books much {AND WHEN SHE WAS GOOD (2012) and AFTER I'M GONE (2014)}. Laura Lippman has been one of my favorite authors, but I think shes heading in a direction where I dont plan to follow. This makes two books filled with unlikeable characters doing who cares kinds of things.
The other problem I had with this story is that I didnt really care for any of the characters. The story begins about the time Felix Brewer was convicted and about to go to prison. Instead, he abandons his wife and 3 daughters and escapes the country for parts unknown. Much of the rest of the story is how beautiful Bernadette "Bambi" Gottschalk Brewer and daughters and friends survive without him.
The only character I felt marginally interested in was the wronged wife, Bambi. Felix always had a swarm of lovers around him; he took care of his latest paramour, Julie, by giving her a business.
His wife was left destitute but she refused to accept Felix was gone and never filed for his life insurance or veterans benefits. Instead, she kept up appearances in the huge home she and Felix bought even though she did not have the resources to do so.
Their three daughters were some of the most pathetic specimens in modern fiction. I found little/nothing to admire about them individually or as a group. They seemed to be hateful harpies.
I havent really enjoyed the last two Lippman books much {AND WHEN SHE WAS GOOD (2012) and AFTER I'M GONE (2014)}. Laura Lippman has been one of my favorite authors, but I think shes heading in a direction where I dont plan to follow. This makes two books filled with unlikeable characters doing who cares kinds of things.
