Firstly, I love Scotland so much, so the location of this novel was amazing! I felt like I was in the mountains, listening to the cadence of the Scottish accent. I am not very interested in mountain climbing, so at first that sort of put me off the story, but the climbing actually plays a large role in the story and makes a lot of sense to how the three sisters lives turn out. Hannah, the eldest, appears put together with her great career, she is also very smart and bookish. Only, she hides her emotions very well, because of her past relationship with her real father (before he died). Hannah's story was emotional, often leading to deep discussions between the sisters and reconciliation between the past and the present. She doubts herself, her finding happiness and whether love actually exists, or if it is conditional. Her story highlights the impact that parents can have on their children, on their children's behaviour, on their child's future. Even with Suzanne taking over the role of parent, the emotional damage had already been done to Hannah. Beth's story was my favourite, the one that made me angry, discouraged, satisfied, upset, hopeful. I felt her story was the one I could relate to the most. She is a stay-at-home parent who feels trapped, that her husband thinks she is perfect and can do no wrong, and that she has lost the person she once was. She yearns to return to work, with her daughters old enough to not rely solely on her, but she feels guilty. There were hard moments, but fantastic lessons about learning about others instead of assuming you know who they are and how their life is and what they may want. Posy, the youngest, was my least favourite sister and the reason this was not a five star read for me. I felt her character lacked the depth of her sisters. She was pushy, mean, and she would be angry at others for assuming what she wanted and about her life, while she does the very same thing to her sisters. Her only redeeming quality was her interactions with Hannah, who made her more human and caring. Otherwise, I may have outright skipped her chapters. I loved that the book began and ended with Suzanne, the comforting mother figure to the girls. She is their home and heart, and she is able to understand them and their needs. It is a feel good read with a great message about family and the strength of being honest. Honesty is used to heal and create connections. So happy I waited to read this around the holiday season.
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Currently ReadingGraphic Novel
Feminist Essays
Archives
April 2024
|