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Western Lane
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
39 posts | 32 read | 8 to read
A taut, enthralling first novel about grief, sisterhood, and a young athlete's struggle to transcend herself. Eleven-year-old Gopi has been playing squash since she was old enough to hold a racket. When her mother dies, her father enlists her in a quietly brutal training regimen, and the game becomes her world. Slowly, she grows apart from her sisters. Her life is reduced to the sport, guided by its rhythms: the serve, the volley, the drive, the shot and its echo. But on the court, she is not alone. She is with her pa. She is with Ged, a thirteen-year-old boy with his own formidable talent. She is with the players who have come before her. She is in awe. An indelible coming-of-age story, Chetna Maroos first novel captures the ordinary and annihilates it with beauty. Western Lane is a valentine to innocence, to the closeness of sisterhood, to the strange ways we come to know ourselves and each other.
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review
rmaclean4
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Pickpick

It is a surprising and charming story about grief and family. I enjoyed it. 3 🌟 #womensprizeforfiction

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NovelNancyM
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Mehso-so

A coming of age novel about the loss of a mother to not only the three girls in the family, but also to their father. The protagonist and her father become obsessed with her playing squash as a channel to dealing with their grief.

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Graywacke
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Pickpick

I found this to be a novel of wonderful rhythmic hypnotic prose. It took me a few sittings, but I found myself swept up in Gopi's world of grief and squash.

It‘s unassuming, on a grieving family of Jains in England. After Ma dies, dad gets his three daughters into squash, and one of them really takes to it, embracing the sounds and rhythms of the play and the game flow and its strategies.

This finishes the #Booker2023 longlist for me

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Kazzie
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
Pickpick

This book was beautifully written. Haunting. The intergenerational and intercultural dynamics were welcome. Not entirely happy ending. But hopeful

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Graywacke
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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My next book. I finished The Sound and the Fury tonight and started this. It‘s my last left from the #Booker2023 longlist.

BarbaraBB I hope you‘ll share your personal shortlist with us! 6mo
Graywacke @BarbaraBB sure! I have a full list, minus this one. 6mo
42 likes2 comments
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Michellesibs
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Mehso-so

We meet Gopi in the aftermath of losing her mother. She's the youngest of 3 girls and Dad, in his quiet way, isn't coping. No one in this family is dealing with their grief.

Grief and loss open up massive spaces and Gopi fills her space by playing Squash at Western Lane every day.

This is a short book at less than 200 pages but I feel like it needs a good edit. I like what this book is trying to communicate but the execution falls flat.

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Gissy
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Mehso-so

6th book read from the Women‘s Prize for fiction-long list
😬Sorry this one didn‘t work for me. I‘m not a fan of novels about sport even though the story has other topics. I wasn‘t interested in the story and I couldn‘t believe so decision made. 2.5/3⭐️

DieAReader 👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻 6mo
TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 6mo
40 likes3 comments
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jlhammar
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Pickpick

Moving one-sitting read. I liked it, but not nearly as much as the other two #WomensPrize titles I‘ve read (Ordinary Human Failings and Brotherless Night).

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Chelsea.Poole
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Mehso-so

Was this a victim of overhype? Should I have read a print copy rather than listening to the audiobook? I‘m not sure but I feel like whatever the multiple nominating committees of various prizes found in this I missed. I appreciated the way squash takes center stage but otherwise was disconnected from the characters.

squirrelbrain I agree - didn‘t love this. I didn‘t feel any connection either. 7mo
ChaoticMissAdventures Totally agree! I finished it and just sort of sat there going that way it? I thought it was very middle of the road fine. 7mo
Hooked_on_books I liked it better than you did, but I also realize it‘s not going to stick it all. 7mo
LeeRHarry No connection here either and I read it physically. 7mo
67 likes4 comments
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Hooked_on_books
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Pickpick

The description and cover suggest this short novel is all about squash and, while it is, it‘s also about grief, connections, and trying to find your way after major loss. Gopi is 11 when her mother dies, and she and her father cling to the game they both know, steeping themselves in it, as they try to cope with going forward without her. I really liked this and, frankly, didn‘t expect to.

BarbaraBB I liked this much more than I thought I would too - probably because of the mixed reviews. 8mo
53 likes1 stack add1 comment
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ChaoticMissAdventures
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Mehso-so

A well crafted story about grief and a family left behind. While I found it interesting that squash was at the center of this - and I learned a lot about the sport from the book and much googling - the characters where a bit basic, and overall the story a bit bland. Unfortunatly this is not a book that is going to stick with me. It was a quick an easy to get through read.

Read for the Women's Prize for Fiction Long List 2024
3⭐

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Graywacke
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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I got a little buzz from the #Booker2023 award, and ordered these five the same night. They just arrived.

Tamra Nice! 👏🏾 11mo
Ruthiella Great stack! 👍 (edited) 11mo
BarbaraBB 🤩🤩 11mo
53 likes3 comments
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Leniverse
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Pickpick

Three sisters mourn their mother and try to accommodate their father's grief while also defying the expectation that he can't raise them on his own. The youngest plays squash compulsively and watches old Jahangir Khan matches with her father. Nothing much happens. This is all vibe, and only the sketch of a plot, but I found it surprisingly captivating. Even the squash trivia.
#booker
#womensprize #longlist #womensprize2024

41 likes1 stack add
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Leniverse
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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When your current read suddenly intersects with your surroundings. It's currently Diwali and I can hear fireworks in the distance. 😃

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BookishTrish
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Pickpick

This slight novel packs a big emotional punch. It‘s the story of a family grieving the loss of their mother / wife and channeling those feelings into competitive squash. I know nothing about squash and yet this books could‘ve been 4x as long and I‘d have loved every bit of it.

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andrew61
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Pickpick

A curious book to get on the booker shortlist ahead of some others I rd however it was a very readable story about a young girl in a English Pakistani family + her 2 sisters deal with the grief of losing their mother. The grief that she + her father feel is managed by his obsession with his daughters becoming squash greats like his hero jahangir Khan. The book combined squash + family life well, altho I wondered what wd happen next. Lovely cover

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Lindy
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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I moved from Alberta to BC in October and I noticed that it affected my reading. I was fussier, for one thing (and didn't finish 3, which is unusual for me). Another thing is that I was particularly drawn to visual narratives. I've tagged my favourite of the month, although I haven't gotten around to writing a review for it yet.

psalva Hey Lindy! I hope your move went well! My BookTube activity, including viewing, has dropped to virtually zero for the moment, which is not to say people aren‘t on my mind. To that point, I wasn‘t sure if you‘d moved yet. I hope it wasn‘t too stressful. Anyways, happy reading! 12mo
LeahBergen I didn‘t know you had moved to BC! 12mo
Lindy @psalva Thanks Peter. Our move went well and I love our new neighbourhood. I‘m starting to feel like I‘m back to my pre-stressed self. And I‘ve missed you on booktube. 12mo
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Lindy @LeahBergen We are in Victoria now, in a lovely area called Vic West, 5 minutes walk from a body of water called the Gorge. 12mo
LeahBergen Ohhh, lucky you! We‘ve been eyeing Victoria, too. Maybe someday! 12mo
Lindy @LeahBergen It would be great if we end up living in the same city! 12mo
LeahBergen Wouldn‘t it be fun?? 12mo
Lindy @LeahBergen 😁 12mo
26 likes8 comments
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Lindy
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Friday Reads October 6: Canada World Youth in Sri Lanka; National Book Award for Young People‘s Literature; memoirs in audio & comics; etymology; blindness; travel; graphic novels for kids and teens; Booker books

https://youtu.be/qc7hOdhZuVo

#booktube

Smrloomis Love Huda Fahmy 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷 13mo
Lindy @Smrloomis I‘m glad I saw her more recent book on the NBA longlist because that‘s what prompted me to pick up (edited) 13mo
35 likes2 comments
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Jas16
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Mehso-so

I really wasn‘t planning on reading the Booker shortlist but I was curious and ended up checking to see what was available at my library and one thing led to another. Honestly not sure how how this book about a grieving family made the short list. There was nothing that stood out to me in the story or the writing other than the fact I have never to my recollection read a book where a character plays squash.

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TheEllieMo
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Mehso-so

This slim novel about a man and his daughters struggling to come to terms with the death of his wife/their mother has some beautiful wetting, and lots of imagery, but somehow failed to hit the mark with me. Call me low-brow, but for a novel about racquet sports, I preferred Carrie Soto is Back

#BookerPrizeLongList
Third finish for #SummerEndReadathon @TheSpineView
#Rushathon @DieAReader @Andrew65 @GHABI4ROSES

DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 14mo
TheSpineView Well done! 14mo
Andrew65 Well done 👏👏👏 14mo
31 likes3 comments
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JenP
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Mehso-so

Book number 6 for our longlist panel.

Another book about grief and parental loss from this list. Makes me wonder if the Booker judges have some unresolved issues. Surely not all top books published jn the last year revolved around parental loss.

It‘s an average book. Not terrible but certainly not one of the top 13 books. You can read our full reviews here: https://thereadersroom.org/2023/09/04/2023-booker-longlist-western-lane-by-chetn...

BarbaraBB I liked it better than you did but agree that‘s is all very depressing this year (or any year for that matter!). It won‘t make my shortlist either 1y
JenP @BarbaraBB so I didn‘t hate this book. I was engaged in it but just rated it harshly in the context of it being a Booker candidate. It‘s not a book I will find particularly memorable but it was solid enough 1y
27 likes2 comments
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Deblovestoread
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Mehso-so

I found Western Lane to be “meh”. The writing was fine, the characters were fine but I‘m not sure what the point was. A widower with 3 teenage girls uses squash as an outlet or a way not to have to talk about their loss?
My first off the Booker long list.

Readathon wrap up: Made some intended progress and then left the intention for other books. Seems to be how I roll lately. Best laid plans and all that.

Thanks for hosting @Andrew65

sarahbarnes I felt the same way about Western Lane. 1y
51 likes1 comment
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charl08
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Pickpick

I have questions.
What happened after that?
Did she ever play squash again?

A good read (and as you can tell, I'm invested) but I would be surprised if it won - another relatively "quiet" book.

@squirrelbrain @TheKidUpstairs, @BookwormM, @vlwelser, @JamieArc, @BarbaraBB, @sarahbarnes #Booker23

squirrelbrain Love your photo-collage! Yes, it is a quiet book, and I don‘t think I was as fully invested as you. 1y
49 likes1 comment
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AWebOfStories
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Panpan

Like most of the titles on the Booker Award Longlist, I had never heard of this one. However, I was intrigued about this story of a girl and her father who process their grief through playing squash.

The good thing about this book is that it is clear that Mario has the potential to be a fantastic writer. However, I don‘t think she‘s there yet with this book. The language was lovely, but I didn‘t get the emotional deep dive I was looking for.

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AnneCecilie
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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I don‘t know how I feel about this one, making it hard to rate. I listened to the audio and that might be part of the reason even if the narrator was great.

A father and his three daughters is left to deal with the grief of losing their wife/ mother.

7th book for #RushAThon
Booker 1/ 13

DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 1y
squirrelbrain I couldn‘t work out how I felt about this either. 1y
AnneCecilie @squirrelbrain I‘m glad to know I‘m in good company 😊 1y
46 likes3 comments
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AnneCecilie
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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#BookReport

Confession: Getting back to working was tougher than I thought it would be. I‘m born for lazy days. So my reading suffered a little

I‘m still catching up on The Pickwick Papers

I continued my reading of Femina

I finished the audio of Western Lane and In the Approaches

I‘ve started This Other Eden on audio

bthegood I'm with you on getting back to work - 😂 1y
sarahbarnes I feel the same way - I could be on vacation forever! 😄 1y
Ruthiella I hear you! 1y
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Cinfhen Wow! That went fast!!! Has it been three weeks already??? 1y
AnneCecilie @bthegood @sarahbarnes @Ruthiella Vacation is the best, even when I just stay at home and mostly read (edited) 1y
AnneCecilie @Cinfhen Three weeks fly by quickly when you‘re having fun reading 😊 1y
Cinfhen Exactly! 1y
49 likes7 comments
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AnneCecilie
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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#WeeklyForecast

I want to continue and hopefully catch up on The Pickwick Papers. I‘m also thinking about maybe starting another buddy read, The Sum of Us

I want to continue my reading of Femina and my audio of Western Lane

I want to finish In the Approaches

I prioritized my own books during my vacation, but that don‘t mean that no library book arrived. Due soon at the library and with a waiting list is the Haratischwili one so that‘s next

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TheKidUpstairs
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Pickpick

I know this one hasn't quite worked for everyone, but for me, it's a big pick. I felt so strongly for these girls who don't know what to do with their grief, and their father, who is so lost in his own he can not guide them. I was fully engaged as the rhythms of the game became the rhythms of their life and the story, and it broke my heart to see how much they lost in what they could not say to each other.

BookwormM Another book about grief? They are piling them on this year! 1y
TheKidUpstairs @BookwormM it really does seem to be a prevailing theme this year! I would love to read one that celebrates joy instead of heartache, but I don't think I'll find it on this year's list. 1y
squirrelbrain I agree @BookwormM - so many books about grief / loss on this year‘s list. Glad you loved it Megan! 1y
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JamieArc
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Mehso-so

My first Booker read and I am left wanting (no surprise there). There were nice moments, and more I expected more from, but there were a lot of things that happened that I didn‘t quite understand, leaving me confused. It reminded me of a bleaker, less fleshed-out version of Claire Keegan‘s novels.

JamieArc I‘ll add that I‘m a bit less excited about this year‘s Booker Longlist. While there are a few I am looking forward to, I don‘t think I will have the stamina to follow for the next few months 😕 1y
TrishB I think you very generically described most Booker reads!! 1y
JamieArc @TrishB I think you are right! 😂😂 1y
59 likes3 comments
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JamieArc
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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When your contemporary read (tagged) mentions the same place as your classic read (Vanity Fair). Both read in the same day. Weird and wonderful.

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ClairesReads
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Mehso-so

A slight novel about grief, family, human connection, and sport. I found this meditation on the myriad ways we process grief, and the complexity of family dynamics thoughtful, easy to read, and at times affecting. In the end, the narrative whole felt a little directionless or underdone, and maybe that was the point but this reader left this story feeling like something was missing.

shawnmooney This novel was so well-written, I thought, yet left me absolutely cold. 🤷‍♂️ 1y
ClairesReads @shawnmooney there were a few really warm moments for me, but they were moments, rather than part of a whole. A few moments I felt like the author was just about to lean more deeply into it but then she didn‘t. 1y
JamieArc @shawnmooney @ClairesReads I just finished this and yes, what both of you said resonates with me. It reminded me of Claire Keegan‘s books, but a lesser version of them. 1y
ClairesReads @JamieArc yes that‘s such a good comparison Jamie- a similar style to Keegan, but for me, less emotionally resonant. 1y
34 likes4 comments
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BarbaraBB
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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#BookReport 29/23

Four books this week! I liked Katalin Street and the tagged one a lot, both others less. A satisfying week nevertheless.

squirrelbrain A week in which you get to read 4 books is always a good week! 1y
Cinfhen Yay!!! Awesome week💕 1y
kspenmoll Congrats on your reading! (edited) 1y
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BarbaraBB
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Pickpick

This is a little book about grief and not knowing how to handle it. No one speaks about the mother that died, instead the sisters and their father play squash. Fanatically. But the silence becomes oppressive and I as a reader was waiting, hoping for it to break. Such a sad story! #CampToB #Booker23 2/13

sarahbarnes Great review! Glad you liked it. 🩶 1y
BarbaraBB @sarahbarnes I really did. I know it was only a so-so for you. Maybe if you hadn‘t just finished 😉 1y
BkClubCare I am still waiting in holds for these. Looking forward to reading and eventually reviewing the summer TOB convos. 1y
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Cinfhen Excellent review! You make it sound much better than I actually found it 😝 1y
sarahbarnes Ha! You‘re so right. 😂 1y
squirrelbrain Sounds like you liked it a bit more than me as well! 1y
jlhammar Love the photo! 1y
BarbaraBB @Cinfhen @squirrelbrain I wasn‘t expecting much because of your reviews but it really touched me 1y
BarbaraBB @jlhammar Thank you! I am working from home since this month. It takes some getting used to 😉 1y
Megabooks Great photo! Sounds like an interesting book. 1y
Centique I love this review and your photo! Such cool flowers 💐💐 1y
BarbaraBB @Centique Thanks 🌸 1y
BarbaraBB @Megabooks If you consider reading it, some of our peers (Cindy, Helen and Sarah) were underwhelmed but I absolutely wasn‘t! I‘d be curious to see what you ‘ think, since you and I mostly are in sync about books. 1y
kspenmoll Lovely photo! 1y
83 likes14 comments
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squirrelbrain
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Pickpick

I loved some parts of this book, but there were more parts that I just didn‘t connect with. It‘s a study of grief from the perspective of the youngest of 3 sisters, who is just 11 when her mother dies.

Their Dad thinks the best way to get over this is to immerse themselves in something; in this case, playing squash.

There were too many unanswered questions and confusing incidents for me to really find meaning; therefore a soft pick only.

sarahbarnes Great review. I felt the same way. I liked parts of it but it fell short for me, for the reasons you stated. 1y
Deblovestoread Appreciate your review….may look to borrow rather than buy at some point. 1y
Cinfhen I gave this a so-so for the same reasons. Great review 1y
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Cinfhen I love your cover though!!!! Mine was boring 1y
Cathythoughts Brilliant cover ❤️ 1y
JamieArc Yes, I agree with you about the confusing incidents. I felt I was missing something a few times. 1y
77 likes6 comments
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squirrelbrain
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Popped into the library to pick up *ONE* reservation ( the tagged book for the real Tournament of Books summer camp).

There was a library book sale on, so that‘s the bottom 3 (the May is for hubby).

Everything Inside and the Kincaid are for #readingtheamericas23 and the others are… just because! 😁

BarbaraBB Great haul! Everything Inside is fantastic 🩷 1y
TrishB Great stuff 👍🏻 1y
Megabooks It‘s amazing how books just leap into my library tote…🤔🤔🤔 great haul! 1y
66 likes3 comments
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sarahbarnes
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Mehso-so

Maybe it‘s my book hangover from The Birthday Party, but I thought both of these books were just okay. I liked the premise of both of them, but each fell a bit short for me and I didn‘t fully connect with the characters or stories in either. #campTOB

@Cinfhen I think you felt similarly about Western Lane.

Cinfhen I did! It fell just short of being a full pick. I bought couplets for my Kindle but haven‘t gotten to it yet. 1y
squirrelbrain I have Western Lane reserved at the library, and I‘m glad I didn‘t buy it as seems a definite #borrownotbuy judging by the reviews on here. 1y
sarahbarnes @squirrelbrain I was also glad to have borrowed it from the library. I liked it well enough to finish it but something was just missing for me. 1y
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sarahbarnes @Cinfhen I agree with that rating. I‘ll be interested to hear your thoughts on Couplets when you get to it. 1y
BarbaraBB I did like Couplets but it‘s not a real winner for me. Western Lane is still sitting on my shelves. I‘ll temper my expectations 1y
sarahbarnes @BarbaraBB I do think there‘s enough to Western Lane to make it worth reading. And I felt the same way as you about Couplets. 1y
BarbaraBB You make me so curious about The Birthday Party! I will definitely read it! 1y
sarahbarnes @BarbaraBB I do think you‘d like it! It‘s one of the best books I‘ve read this year for sure. 1y
34 likes8 comments
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Cinfhen
Western Lane: A Novel | Chetna Maroo
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Mehso-so

From the official #ToBSummerCamp list - it‘s a coming of age story mixed with overcoming grief and sadness yet I never connected to any of the characters. A family trying to cope with the loss of their mother/spouse, each channeling their emotions in different forms. #GoodNotGreat #BorrowNotBuy

BarbaraBB Just bought it! We‘ll see I am planning to read it along with the #CampToB schedule 1y
squirrelbrain I requested this from the library, it‘s one of the few from the list that I can get hold of. 1y
Cinfhen I was able to request a few from the library and then my holds came in super fast so I just read them right away @squirrelbrain @BarbaraBB I did buy one on my kindle 1y
sarahbarnes I got this one from the library. I‘m disappointed to hear it didn‘t work for you. Bummer. 1y
Cinfhen I‘m curious to hear your thoughts @sarahbarnes it‘s not a bad book at all / I just was left wanting more 1y
65 likes1 stack add5 comments