2024 the best time we ever had review

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(as of Dec 21, 2024 03:31:07 UTC - Details)

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER “A gripping and poignant ode to a messy, loving family in all its glory.” —Madeline Miller, bestselling author of Circe

In this “rich, complex family saga” (USA Today) full of long-buried family secrets, Marilyn Connolly and David Sorenson fall in love in the 1970s, blithely ignorant of all that awaits them. By 2016, they have four radically different daughters, each in a state of unrest.

Wendy, widowed young, soothes herself with booze and younger men; Violet, a litigator turned stay-at-home-mom, battles anxiety and self-doubt; Liza, a neurotic and newly tenured professor, finds herself pregnant with a baby she's not sure she wants by a man she's not sure she loves; and Grace, the dawdling youngest daughter, begins living a lie that no one in her family even suspects.

With the unexpected arrival of young Jonah Bendt—a child placed for adoption by one of the daughters fifteen years before—the Sorensons will be forced to reckon with the rich and varied tapestry of their past. As they grapple with years marred by adolescent angst, infidelity, and resentment, they also find the transcendent moments of joy that make everything else worthwhile.

Reviewer: Emily Emm
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Stunning!
Review: This isn't a book you read for entertainment. This is the type of book you read to remind yourself what it is to be human. To connect on another level to humanity itself. To recognize little pieces of yourself in the stories of others: the bright pieces, and the dark ones too. It teaches you things you don't even realize you're learning. It's not a surface level book - it reaches deep parts of you that are often forgotten or neglected. It's a revelation.The tangled web of emotional turmoil within the Sorenson family is taut with tension. The steadfast love between Marilyn and David produced four beautiful daughters who are grown now and living their own lives. Wendy, the girl who was always too much as a child grew into a woman all too acquainted with grief. Violet, the good girl, has a picture-perfect life complete with two point five kids and a loving husband. Liza, the third child often forgotten in the chaos of her two older sisters, is still struggling to find purpose. And Grace, the baby, is being crushed by great expectations pressured by the weight of the family who all came before her. But when a fifteen-year-old secret walks back into their lives, the effects ripple through them all, bringing many old hurts and hidden feelings to a much-needed reckoning.Lives are shaped by the butterfly effect. One little moment leads to the next, leads to the next. On and on we go. An overheard and misunderstood conversation can plant the seed that sets roots of anxiety and doubt deep in the psyche of a young girl. An avoided occasion can set long-burning embers of animosity to light that sizzle and pop for decades. Actions have consequences, and they won't always be the ones you expect to confront.The narrative is presented in a constant flow of the now and the before, exploring family experiences from multiple sides, because when things happen in a family, it isn't only about one person. Everything affects everyone, to different degrees. Not only did I find it engaging all the way through, by the time we arrived at certain landmarks in the family history, I found myself simultaneously surprised and satisfied. We're given so much context to understand the complex feelings between the family members. It feels real. It feels like the Sorenson's are out there somewhere, having lived these lives we get to read about.I don't even know how you write a book this bold and beautiful. The complexity that is the Sorenson family is at once romantic and heartbreaking and tender and sometimes so cliche in a way that is simply human nature. Children are born with personalities, and they will cause tension and conflict and love and joy too. This family isn't broken, but it isn't perfect either. They are bound by love, in both the best and worst ways, and Lombardo highlights them both with skilled artistry.I loved this book in the most surprising way, and I will cherish this experience of reading it for the first time as long as I can, because I know it won't be the last.

Reviewer: MLBbookworm
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Interesting story about family life
Review: I really enjoyed this book overall. I agree with other reviewers that the story was long at times and portrays day-to-day family life more than it really gets to a "big ending" or point. Perhaps this appealed to me as a mom with tweens who share a lot of thoughts on how I could be doing things better - i.e., I could identify with the mom character - but I can see where it would be boring to some.In terms of the characters, I deeply disliked Wendy and was kind of surprised that everyone in the family mostly ignored what a toxic and shallow person she was rather than refusing to put up with her constant barbs and garbage behavior. I understand she had been through a lot, but I would personally not maintain a relationship with her if she were one of my family members. As other reviewers said, there was also a lot in the book about Marilyn and David's relationship and an implied theme of them having affected their daughters negatively by having had a healthy and loving relationship. Perhaps the point was that you can still have a flawed family and character traits even when the parents love each other and do the best that they can under difficult (at times) circumstances, but the characters were a bit frustrating at times. Imagine how dysfunctional the daughters might have ended up if they hadn't had parents who actually cared and were able to provide them with quality educational opportunities and soft landings to get started in life! I would have liked to hear more about how things turned out for Jonah as one of the most likable characters in the book, who seemed the most capable of making the best of actual bad situations and learning from them.

Reviewer: K. Panza
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: long book
Review: This book is the longest one this year that I have read it was very good . It was well written and a very detailed story about a family with four daughters and the parents at the heart of it. It tells flashbacks and in real time the flashbacks sometimes get a little bit long in the realm of the book. However, they boring and they were well done. I will read more of the author ‘s books. Kudos to Reese for picking a decent one this month…..I have heard it’s being made into a series .

Reviewer: Ximena
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Es un libro de fácil lectura, aunque el tiempo no es lineal, es fácil de entender. Es la hisotria de una familia con 4 hijas, las personalidades e historias de cada una..

Reviewer: Renie
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: A fantastic book that reveals lots of emotions and the reality of life. The feelings of all, mother, father, siblings, grandparents, boyfriends, relationships. An eye opener, or more like the skill of great writing, revealing the feelings of relationships, life, tragedies and reality.Beautifully written and so relatable, if you, like the characters, allow yourself to feel your feelings and express them.

Reviewer: Alex
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Ein Roman, in den man total eintauchen kann. Die Figuren sind glaubwürdig, die Dialoge lebendig und alles sehr lebensnah. Der Roman steht in der Tradition der großen amerikanischen Roman wie The Corrections oder Werke von Roth oder Russo. Für mich von der ersten bis zur letzen Seite fesselnd.

Reviewer: Chantal
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Grand daughter is really happy with this book she loves it

Reviewer: Client d'Amazon
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Superbe saga familiale. L'écriture est très agréable, les personnages tous et immédiatement attachants dans leur variété et leur complexité. Drôle, émouvant, rythmé. Formidable.