Welcome to Litsy!

#Offmyshelf “romance”
#10beforetheend

This was a really lovely portrayal of life and love across three generations of women in a family from the 1930s to the early 21st century. Penelope Lively is such a great writer. I can just pick her stuff up, no need to read the blurb. I know I am in good hands.

I bought this used at a library book sale and it had a clipping of the review of the book from the LA Times Book Review from June 17, 2007.

Lively‘s books seem to often be slow burns, but also sort of sad and depressing. I think this was mostly well-written, though the jumping timeline was sometimes confusing. I prefer more dialogue. I also never really felt like I knew these characters….more of an outside looking in vibe.

While not a difficult read, this was not the light book I was expecting. It‘s a slow burn. If it were longer it could be called a family saga or epic. There‘s drama and tragedy, but told at a remove that felt oddly detached, and which isn‘t fully revealed until the end. But then you see what Lively was doing, and it becomes a meditation on space and time, their connections and disconnections, the role of “fate” or “chance” 👇🏻

Using my Margaret Atwood bookmark in my new read. Needing something light for now.

This was such a wonderful and absorbing book. I‘m new to Penelope Lively‘s books. Lucky for me!

Car reading before my driving shift starts.

My third book of this North Carolina road trip. Not a great weekend for hiking and snow tubing, but great for reading.