This is a book that snuck up on me. Oddly enough, I really disliked it at first and almost DNFed it. Thought it was boring and moved slow. But 1) when it picks up, boy does it pick up, and I did want to know what happened. The second half of the book I enjoyed far more than the first. And 2) days later, I still find myself thinking about this book; it stuck with me. I went back and over some lines and sections that I liked, just admiring them. I do think it's pretty brilliant as far as modern retellings go. And I love Shakespeare, so a modern reinterpretation of King Lear was just very engaging for me to read.
There were some serious WTF moments in the book that I'd love to hear people's takes on!! Very rarely when I read books do I literally gasp out loud or have my jaw drop and it happened a couple times with this one! And I have no one to talk about it with!!!! 🙂 Spoiler text but here they are below:
- When it was revealed Rose had also been having an affair with Jess. And not only that, but the way she unapologetically took ownership of her selfish actions/nature when she told Ginny that she knew Ginny had also been sleeping with him and that Jess would keep seeing her, Rose, because he loved her, not Ginny. On the one hand, I found myself (only a little bit) respecting her accountability and honesty about her own character. But on the other hand, my god that was cruel and a betrayal and just… the matter-of-fact way she said it was so callous. And also, there is something despicable and slimy-manipulative about doing something terrible to someone you love and has always been there for you and saying "well that's just who I am and what I'm like, you know me, and look I'm admitting it and taking accountability so * shrug *" as if it somehow justifies it. Also it was just so… weird! And extremely weird and messy of Jess.
- When Ginny made the poison sausages and sauerkraut. I don't even know what to say, I just want to talk to someone about it!
And I just wanted to share a couple quotes I really liked:
Forgiveness is a reflex for when you can't stand what you know.
And:
"Most people would have said she was rather plan. Square and solid, rather a long face. She was transformed by love."
I glanced at him sharply, to see if he was making fun, and he caught my look. He said, “I’m not joking. She had beautiful eyes and nice teeth. When we were making love and other times, too, when she was very happy and excited, the expressions on her face made it beautiful. She could also be very graceful if she wasn’t thinking about her body or feeling self-conscious about it. We worked together at the crisis center. I watched her for a long time before I fell in love with her. There was plenty of time to notice."
"That's the homely woman's dream, you know. That someone will see actual beauty where others never have."
"I know."
And:
It was terrifying to think of myself as so obvious, so transparent. I remembered just then how my mother used to say that God could see to the very bottom of every soul, a soul was as clear to God as a rippling brook. The implication, I knew even then, was that my mother could do the same thing.
And:
Without speaking, he drew everything out of me. And after it was over, I knew I was somehow at his mercy.
Editing post to add the author name, I can't edit the title now – Jane Smiley!
Sorry about the weird formatting with the ands – it wouldn't let me put spaces between the quotes otherwise and it would've just made no sense
by mulberrycedar