What do readers think of The Roots of the Olive Tree by Courtney Miller Santo? Write your own review.

This novel was a good read, but nothing exceptional. It is an intriguing theory which is set forth by the author. Although the author sought to leave the reader with a surprise ending, I thought it was too far-fetched.

If you like a charming multigenerational family story, "The Roots of the Olive Tree" is for you. But I expected more from this book when the theme of a life-prolonging gene mutation present in the five living generations of the female members of this family was introduced. After all, the title does include the word, "roots!" A confirmation of this theory was to be found in Australia, but the author never takes the reader there. So in the end, this book was a pleasant read with characters not particularly memorable, with relationships not particularly interesting and with a plot not particularly engaging. I do want to thank the author for naming her characters in alphabetical order according to their place in the family: Anna, Bets, Callie, Deb and Erin. This did help me to distinguish the characters' storyline one from the other.

I thought this book was boring. The characters were not well developed, and their stories were not fully developed either. I was not interested in the subplot about the doctor's research on aging. This added nothing to the overall story for me. I liked the setting on the olive orchard, but the rest of the book fell flat. I would not have finished it if it wasn't for me writing this review. An average book about a family of women. The author could have done so much more.

This five generation story of women who have a family business growing grapes in California uncovers the source of their longevity. A geneticist becomes interested in how they live so long just as major changes occur in their lives. A heartfelt story of what it takes to live through difficulties and maintain a sense of family.

Being from Northern California, I was very excited to read The Roots of the Olive Tree. I ended up being disappointed. I think there were too many characters and too many secrets to unravel and too many gaps in the story left blank. By the time I got to the end of the book, I had a hard time figuring out what the author was trying to tell me. Was this supposed to be a story about family, women, relationships, longevity, olive growing, prison reform, forgiveness, what? These all make for great elements in a story and when combined can become something special. But more often, it’s best to leave things in their purest form, like many good olive oils, and see what develops.

Well, I hate to disparage a new novelist, but the best thing I can say about this book is that it's a pretty good first draft.
Generational sagas are one of my favorite genre, but this book was disappointing in more than one aspect.
The characters were one-dimensional and unsympathetic, not seeming connected to each other or to their own tedious endless lives.
Trying to avoid 'spoilers', there some story lines that were totally unresolved and the book seemed to end abruptly with no enlightenment or climax.

The roots of the olive tree is not the symbol of this family, but rather the grafting of new species of olives onto established trees. I found this book a disappointment on several levels. I had difficulty becoming engaged in the lives and personalities of the characters, even as old family secrets were revealed, but I do give credit to the author for putting them in alphabetical order--it was very helpful for keeping the five women straight. I also felt that the novel didn't so much as end as it stopped; there were too many threads of the story that were not sewn up. The secondary story about the theory of aging was interesting and believable, and I liked the use of flashbacks to fill out the stories while keeping the present moving along.

SoI really wanted to like this book, and it began with the promise of exploring and developing the relationships among six generations of women.

But, then, nothing much happened. The secrets were hardly remarkable; the research project seemed out of place; and the love affair and subsequent marriage between Callie and the professor had no fire.

I enjoyed the way the story ambled along; it just didn't arrive anywhere. I wish there had been more stories about the olive ranch as a beacon for this family.

Overall, I must give credit for a first offering. I might have enjoyed the story a lot more if the author had concentrated on the stories of the women and left the dollops of fantasy and clinical research for another effort.