Nadja J

I love Jesmyn Ward, so I grabbed this off the ARC shelf at work as soon as I saw it! She writes in a way that sucks you into the world of the characters, and manages to evoke pity even for the most unlikeable people by giving us a way to connect with their human experience. You will think about these people and their lives and how so many are set up to fail from the very beginning. This one will definitely punch you in the gut but it's worth it. I won't even try to describe what happens because I'm too afraid to accidentally provide spoilers. Highly recommend!

I picked this up as a reader in a book club but I also work as a bookseller for Linden Tree Books in Los Altos, CA, so I often read pre-release books and consider whether or not I would recommend a book to customers. This, unfortunately, would not be a recommendation. I found the characters, with only one exception, to be harsh caricatures rather than real people. I am Jewish, of the same age, educational background, socioeconomic status, and even from the same geographical area as most of the main characters, and I did not find them believable. As disturbingly prescient as the premise of the book might be given the current political climate, I did not feel the author hit the right notes (or maybe I missed a key theme?) with this one.

This is such a wonderful book -- the emotions leap off the page from the extremely sympathetic characters. I loved the structure of the book, the writing, the pace of the story, the arcs of the characters, the unexpected (and even the predictable) plot twists, and the overall themes. This book deserved every award it's won so far. Good for older teens and up, but great for adults, who will be able to appreciate what we learn as we look back over our lives, and those pivotal decision points and moments that made such a difference.

Maybe I've just read too many books where they describe the same sequences of events through different characters' eyes, or maybe I felt like he chose the wrong characters to describe the events, but there was something about the structure and pacing of this book that missed the mark for me.

It definitely grabs you from the very beginning, and I found the two main male characters intriguing and heartbreaking in their own way, but the female voice I found unrealistic and deeply unlikable. I was hoping for a book that would be good for book group discussion and this was 2/3 of the way there.

Can partially recommend for individuals, might prove difficult for a group.

I led a book club discussion on this book in May 2014. We read mostly literary fiction, and this is definitely right up our alley. To be honest, I had read the book, quickly, a couple months earlier, was confused on several plot elements, and would have given it about a 7/10 for some of the more unrealistic aspects. When I re-read and took notes to keep the timelines and characters straight, I realized what the author was doing. I was in possession of a real gem and my score moved to 9/10).

The writing is absolutely superb. The characters breathe. The story line/s (you will understand that /s after you read it) grab you so you actually care about what is going to happen to them.

One of our more erudite members referred to the novel as a whole as "picaresque" (a term the rest of us had to look up).

I really can't describe the plot without giving the whole thing away. I will be first in line to buy the next book Jansma writes. Just ordered two copies of the paperback from my local independent in hopes that they will stock and so I always have a copy to hand someone to borrow!

Highly recommend with the caveat of not reading it too quickly and to re-read the first chapter (at least) after you finish.