book club

Thanks,Katie and Heather!

This week I slowly struggled with Alyson Richman's The Rhythm of Memory


Weaving together two stories of political exile, The Rhythm Of Memory is a sweeping saga that explores the lives of two couples whose fate and love for each other is irrevocably changed against the landscape of war and political upheaval.
(thanks to her website)

I read her most recent novel, The Lost Wife last year and adored it along with her writing so I was so excited to read another book by her...but I was sorely disappointed. It was promising for the first 30+ pages then it just got to be too confusing and depressing. I didn't like the constant changing of not only years but also of characters and locations;I literally thought I was reading a different book by the time Finland came around. It was just overwhelming and hard to stay focused on just one main story/character line. By the end of the book I not only disliked Octavio but I also didn't like Salome or Samuel. It was as though none of these characters had heard about communication and honesty making a marriage work. Sure, it was at least interesting to learn about Chile and their own political issues back in the day but that just made me more sad. I was just annoyed by the ending,such a waste of time for these characters. I give this book a D (it would have been an F but I learned things about Chile and Sweden).

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Hope you read something better :)
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Happy Weekend!