Maine is a book about families.I had to stop about 30% into the book (I'm reading it on a Kindle and it doesn't show page numbers but percentage) because well, it's just not very good writing. I finished the book. It didn't happen.
First, the characters were either out and out unlikeable, insipid, or downright annoying. Why, people asked, do his books get so much attention when they are "just" domestic novels, not unlike so many similar novels written by women? I found myself nodding along with the characters at several points, which usually leads me to label something a good read. Why, people asked, do his books get so much attention when they are "just" domestic novels, not unlike so many similar novels written by women? I admit, I didn't like a single character. She has a Maeve Binchy sort of style except Sullivan's writing is usually in the East Coast in the United States versus Ireland. J. Courtney Sullivan, Autorin und Journalistin, lebt in New York und schreibt u.a. Despite the dust-jacket blurb, I didn't find anything "wickedly funny or achingly sad" in this book. I feel badly leaving this on my shelf for so long--a great summer read! The characters were not well-developed and I found myself only mildly curious about them. This is certainly very different from her first novel and I love it!I thought a book with the title "Maine" would portray the state as an integral part of the story. Her husband is a gentler man who restrains her and keeps her centered and in check. The characters were all thin, 1-dimensional angry/bitter or victims with NO redeeming qualities and few redeeming actions (which were performed grudgingly at best.) Both editions have hit the New York Times Bestsellers list, and the novel was named a Best Book of the Year by Time magazine. There was no good news. While the book IS set mainly on a beach in Maine, there's not too much that's lighthearted about this novel. Yes, it's over 500 pages and a cover that doesn't represent it well, so those were factors in why I kept passing it over. I had an odd reaction to this book. So it was fun to visit since I haven't gotten up there yet this year! The premise is simple - a beach house in Maine where the family matriarch, her daughter, her daughter-in-law, and granddaughter converge with a variety of personal problems. It's so much more than that. I felt like I read a different book/story than the one the jacket made me believe I was going to get. I was thinking about how Jonathan Franzen (and many of his reviewers) were widely criticized. She was horrible from youth to adulthood, why would I feel bad for her at all? The same old patterns are fallen into, and the same old judgments prevail. Five days later, I finished the book in tears, and missed the characters who I’d gotten to know and love in spite of their flaws.“Maine”, by J.Courtney Sullivan, is largely the story of Alice Kelleher, a very direct, headstrong and outspoken matriarch, and three generations of her family who seem to become weaker with each successive generation. (I got the feeling that as readers we were supposed to feel bad for her but maybe I'm wrong). I had an odd reaction to this book. Her characters always have the Catholic faith instilled into them even with their evident flaws and dark pasts; the struggle to be good but still hating most of your family and loving them enough to come back. Points of view are Alice the matriarch,daughter Kathleen,daughter in-law Ann Marie and grand-daughter Maggie.Many of you may remember by review of the author's first novel "Commencement". The characters in this family are examined with illuminating detail, and their life experiences are explored. This book was an exercise in schadenfreude. The storyline was slow and I felt that it took a long time to find out what the significant events were that had shaped the characters. The Engagements was one of People Magazine’s Top Ten Books of 2013 and an Irish Times Best Book of the Year. The book is well-written with richly drawn characters that aren't particularly likeable, yet are each fascinating in their own way...and I found that interesting and readable, but also ultimately unsatisfying. Published I wish the author could have allowed at least some of the characters to connect a little more than they do. I truly loved the characters in this book and felt invested in them, and enjoyed the story-telling aspects that took us into the earlier part of the 20th century. New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2013 LOL The characters were not well-developed and I found myself only mildly curious about them. A solid 3.5. Don't tell me Alice is a self-conscious, judgmental, unsupportive mother. 4 women angrily glaring at each other? The cover of this book is misleading -- I think that's upsetting a lot of readers, and that's probably fair. She is a devoted Catholic, driven by an almost religious fanaticism to do her duty and perform some act of kindness before she dies, in order to make up for her sins and ensure that she is not consigned to Hell. MAINE, by J. Courtney Sullivan, was published in hardcover in June of 2011, and just came out in paperback. I think it would have made for a richer book, without sacrificing the main theme. While I didn't give it that great of a review, I did mention that I was looking forward to reading her books in the future as I thought she had some potential as a writer. I always see women reading these on the ferry or on planes, they seem like the kind of women who get asked to book clubs, and you've really wanted to be part of a book club.