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There are currently 14 member reviews
for We That Are Left
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Julie Z
We That Are Left by Clare Clark
Bringing the effects of the Great War to life, Clark does a wonderful job of combining historical facts with this fictional story. Two sisters, Jessica and Priscilla grow up amidst great wealth. When the unthinkable happens to their brother, their mother becomes emotionally remote, leaving the girls and their father to fend for themselves. Both become attached in different ways to Oskar, their mother's godson. One of the sisters wishes to save the vast estate from debtors, yet the other one is not interested in the least.
With the setting similar to Downtown Abbey, readers will love this story of wealth, heroics, and mistaken identity. Based on this novel and her previous works, Clark is obviously a historical researcher- enhancing what is already a well written novel with a look into the era.
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Lianne D. (Redmond, WA)
We are left...feeling unsettled.
I really wanted to like this book, but to me it was too long and the characters were not easily likeable. The author does write beautifully though, making it easy to imagine the setting, what the characters are feeling, and what is going on. Unfortunately, I just didn't like what was happening in the characters' lives or how they were handling life. Jessica was selfish and egotistical, Phyllis was disengaged, Oscar was easily manipulated and weak, and their parents were narcissists. I know this book was written to show how people were changed by the Great War, but I wish the characters had been different. And the ending was a sad way to end a book. It left me feeling unsettled.
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Susan C. (Tinton Falls, NJ)
"We That Are Left" left me cold.
I apologize for the pun-like headline but frankly that is exactly how I felt when I closed the book. The book wasn't boring but there are so many better choices the author could have made than the finale she used. I will not reveal the ending but it was not to my taste.
The main female character, Jessica was not like able. I was continually hoping that we would spend more time getting to know her older sister Phyllis but she was thinly drawn until the very end. Oscar, the lead male was a great character but the reveal regarding his personal history was a tad too sensationalist.
I wanted to like this book and there were passages that were beautiful but not enough for me to recommend it.
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Terri O. (Chapel Hill, NC)
Began well but fizzled out
We That Are Left is a complex tale of a family, their crumbling estate, and a godson who becomes inextricably entwined with both. It is clearly well researched and well written, and the writer did a good job of conveying time and place (England around the time of World War I). However, the story line became somewhat tedious towards the end, and the ending was less than satisfying. It seemed more like the season finale of a continuing drama than an ending. I would give the first half of the book 4 stars but the last half only 2 stars.
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Virginia P. (Tallahassee, FL)
We That Are Left by Clare Clark
My expectations of this book diminished as I read. I think all fiction writers need to come up with story lines that do not try to restate what has already been written. This story was very reminiscent of the Downton Abbey series with the trouble of no male heir as well as the often repeated saga of finding out that your father was not who you thought he was. Reading through the first 2/3 of the book was plodding. As the author started wrapping up her tale, the story became more interesting and I was able to finish it quickly. I was glad to be finished and could not really recommend the book.
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Cariola
Hard to Connect
I had a very hard time getting into this book, mainly because I just didn't care about any of the hothouse characters. They were more than odd, they were all spoiled, self-centered, obsessive, and mean, whether children or adults. I know the author meant to portray an upper crust family, but I really don't want to read about people that I dislike so much. It also bothered me that they seemed to be drawn not from Downton Abbey, as one reader suggested, but from Ian McEwan's 'Atonement' (even though the latter's setting began just prior to World War II). And there was way too much detailed description of THINGS! I kept waiting for something to happen or for the characters to get more interesting. For me, neither ever happened. Very dry. If I want to get the flavor of World War I and its effect on England, I'll go back to Pat Barker's 'Regeneration' series, or even 'Mrs. Dalloway.' This was just plain boring, in my opinion.
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Sherrie B. (Fishers, IN)
This should have been my kind of book
The writing style of this author just does not appeal to me. She piles one thought upon another, upon another before she finally resolves a paragraph and it's very confusing. I never could settle into the story.
