*DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS*
I received this through First Reads Giveaways.
It was a decent book, and it was very well-written. However, I don't feel that I can honestly give it more than 3 stars simply because of two things: the characters AND the predictability of the plot.
A. The Characters:
Muriel, of course, is a beautiful, heartbreaking example of a child who had to grow up much too young and with not enough love, who then lives a solitary adult life, unable to trust anyone enough to allow herself to be vulnerable with them. She and her boss, Joanie, are the only two likeable characters in the book, with POSSIBLY the exception of Logan, even though an argument could be made for disliking him as well based on his selfishness and thoughtlessness.
Pia and Lidia, on the other hand, are both despicable. I understand that the author was going for a "never too late for redemption" thing with both of them, but it falls flat simply because so much of the novel is devoted to them as heartless, selfish, cold, and cruel individuals undeserving of love or forgiveness. By the time Hogan (the author) turns around and has them experience something that changes their outlook on life -- Pia dying of cancer and Lidia losing her favorite daughter as well as her true love -- it is almost too late for the reader to forgive them, even though Muriel, herself, decides to do so.
Pia was horribly cruel to Muriel. Some might say that all older siblings are cruel to their baby sisters/brothers, but there comes a point when the older sibling is supposed to grow out of that phase. I won't swear to it, but I believe the BIG thing that Pia did to Muriel -- telling her about how much of a disappointment she was to her mother -- happened when Pia was TWENTY years old. That is ridiculous. She was a complete and total blank blank blank. Furthermore, after both girls were grown up and living their lives as women, Pia continued to hurt Muriel, only coming to visit her once in a blue moon, and spending that time criticizing Muriel's way of life. Pia only decides to "make peace" with Muriel when she's dying of cancer and has mere weeks to live, and even then, the way the scene is presented, it seems as though she is only doing so because she wants someone to make sure she looks beautiful in her casket.
The girls' mother, Lidia, is even worse. I don't have a single nice thing to say about this woman. She was the devil. She had three children: the youngest, she actively despised; the middle child, she ignored and left him to her husband; the oldest -- the one she conceived with her true love (not her husband) -- she adored and petted her, turning her into a selfish, entitled wench. And the reunion/forgiveness scene that Lidia FINALLY has with Muriel occurs about TWO SECONDS before the end of the book...? Yeah... No way an ACTUAL daughter would have forgiven such an awful human being so quickly. I just hated this woman through and through. And even her explanations and situations that are supposed to inspire sympathy for her do not make her any less terrible.
I could devote other paragraphs to the grandparents, to Owen, and to Logan, but I think you get the point.
B. Predictability:
The plot of this novel, while interesting enough to keep me reading it till the end, was quite predictable. By the time Pia and Muriel are having their dinner with the two strangers, I knew that Pia was going to reveal something huge to Muriel, and I knew, without a doubt, that that something was that she was dying. I wasn't sure, of course, if it was cancer or something else, but I did know she was dying, and I assumed that it was cancer because honestly, she just doesn't seem like the AIDS type, and therefore, cancer was the most likely option.
During the "one final rally" when Pia wakes up feeling healthy and alive and has a wonderful visit with Muriel... it was obvious she was about to die.
Furthermore, the "BIG SECRET!!!" behind Pia's real father and that whole story? Very obvious. Suspected it VERY early on, absolutely knew it without a doubt when the priest came to speak at Pia's funeral.
There were other examples, of course, but these were enough for me to make my point, I believe.
However, it wasn't a TERRIBLE book either, hence the three stars rather than anything less. I have DEFINITELY read worse books, and the actual writing style of the author is QUITE GOOD.
I received this through First Reads Giveaways.
It was a decent book, and it was very well-written. However, I don't feel that I can honestly give it more than 3 stars simply because of two things: the characters AND the predictability of the plot.
A. The Characters:
Muriel, of course, is a beautiful, heartbreaking example of a child who had to grow up much too young and with not enough love, who then lives a solitary adult life, unable to trust anyone enough to allow herself to be vulnerable with them. She and her boss, Joanie, are the only two likeable characters in the book, with POSSIBLY the exception of Logan, even though an argument could be made for disliking him as well based on his selfishness and thoughtlessness.
Pia and Lidia, on the other hand, are both despicable. I understand that the author was going for a "never too late for redemption" thing with both of them, but it falls flat simply because so much of the novel is devoted to them as heartless, selfish, cold, and cruel individuals undeserving of love or forgiveness. By the time Hogan (the author) turns around and has them experience something that changes their outlook on life -- Pia dying of cancer and Lidia losing her favorite daughter as well as her true love -- it is almost too late for the reader to forgive them, even though Muriel, herself, decides to do so.
Pia was horribly cruel to Muriel. Some might say that all older siblings are cruel to their baby sisters/brothers, but there comes a point when the older sibling is supposed to grow out of that phase. I won't swear to it, but I believe the BIG thing that Pia did to Muriel -- telling her about how much of a disappointment she was to her mother -- happened when Pia was TWENTY years old. That is ridiculous. She was a complete and total blank blank blank. Furthermore, after both girls were grown up and living their lives as women, Pia continued to hurt Muriel, only coming to visit her once in a blue moon, and spending that time criticizing Muriel's way of life. Pia only decides to "make peace" with Muriel when she's dying of cancer and has mere weeks to live, and even then, the way the scene is presented, it seems as though she is only doing so because she wants someone to make sure she looks beautiful in her casket.
The girls' mother, Lidia, is even worse. I don't have a single nice thing to say about this woman. She was the devil. She had three children: the youngest, she actively despised; the middle child, she ignored and left him to her husband; the oldest -- the one she conceived with her true love (not her husband) -- she adored and petted her, turning her into a selfish, entitled wench. And the reunion/forgiveness scene that Lidia FINALLY has with Muriel occurs about TWO SECONDS before the end of the book...? Yeah... No way an ACTUAL daughter would have forgiven such an awful human being so quickly. I just hated this woman through and through. And even her explanations and situations that are supposed to inspire sympathy for her do not make her any less terrible.
I could devote other paragraphs to the grandparents, to Owen, and to Logan, but I think you get the point.
B. Predictability:
The plot of this novel, while interesting enough to keep me reading it till the end, was quite predictable. By the time Pia and Muriel are having their dinner with the two strangers, I knew that Pia was going to reveal something huge to Muriel, and I knew, without a doubt, that that something was that she was dying. I wasn't sure, of course, if it was cancer or something else, but I did know she was dying, and I assumed that it was cancer because honestly, she just doesn't seem like the AIDS type, and therefore, cancer was the most likely option.
During the "one final rally" when Pia wakes up feeling healthy and alive and has a wonderful visit with Muriel... it was obvious she was about to die.
Furthermore, the "BIG SECRET!!!" behind Pia's real father and that whole story? Very obvious. Suspected it VERY early on, absolutely knew it without a doubt when the priest came to speak at Pia's funeral.
There were other examples, of course, but these were enough for me to make my point, I believe.
However, it wasn't a TERRIBLE book either, hence the three stars rather than anything less. I have DEFINITELY read worse books, and the actual writing style of the author is QUITE GOOD.
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