Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher (via Netgalley). Headline: The first section (Fates) was a 2 or 3 star slog, but the second section (Furies) is unquestionably a 5 star read. Overall, pushing through the beginning was worth it for me. Major Themes: Marriage, differing perspectives, secrets/betrayal What I Liked: - I love the overall theme of differing perspectives, particularly as it relates to a marriage. Groff deftly shows how one person’s background can shape his/her perspective on events…sometimes ending up with a vastly different interpretation than others. - Lotto’s version of his life with Mathilde (Fates) seems fairly normal and even uneventful, but things completely turn on their heads once you switch to Mathilde’s perspective (Furies). So many times, I was left astounded at what had really gone on. - Though it took me awhile to get there, I had a very hard time putting the book down by the end. - This is a book that has me thinking and pondering and I feel like it will stick with me for a long time. - The writing started out a bit terse and I initially had trouble getting into the flow. But, as the story moves along, the writing ends up being absolutely glorious. I was highlighting like crazy by the end. "They handed over spider plants in terra-cotta, six-packs, books, bottles of wine. Yuppies in embryo, miming their parents’ manners. In twenty years, they’d have country houses and children with pretentious literary names and tennis lessons and ugly cars and liaisons with hot young interns. Hurricanes of entitlement, all swirl and noise and destruction, nothing at their centers." What I Didn’t Like: - This book started very slowly for me. The first half (maybe even 60%) really meandered and I wondered when it would get to a point. Honestly, I considered putting it down multiple times in the first half and probably would have had I not been so excited about it going in. I’d probably give the Fates section 2 or 3 stars at most. - This might be one of the only books where I’ve been glad I knew a bit about the story before reading it (usually, I like to know as little as possible). The only thing keeping me going was knowing that the story turned on its head once you got to Mathilde’s perspective. - While I realize that setting up Lotto’s perspective of their life was critical to Mathilde’s perspective having impact, I wish the overall book had been more heavily weighted toward Mathilde. She was the more layered, fascinating character that drew me in, yet more of the book’s real estate was devoted to Lotto. - For well over half of the book, I felt incredibly distant from the characters. Events that should have gotten a reaction out of me felt ho-hum. A Defining Quote: "Up before Lotto rose a vision of himself as if attached to a hundred shining strings by his fingers, eyelids, toes, the muscles of his mouth. All the strings led to Mathilde’s pointer finger, and she moved it with the subtlest of twitches and made him dance." Good for People Who Like: Books about marriage, secrets/betrayal, books that make you think, great writing, mind games Check out my blog, Sarah's Book Shelves, for more reviews.