Beth F
bermudaonion (Kathy)
Sandy
Stephanie
Trisha
Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman
Published by Doubleday, an imprint of Random House
Becca and John’s wedding is a gorgeous and happy event despite everything that goes wrong, like the flower girl losing her basket before pictures, Becca’s father wearing sneakers because he packed two left dress shoes, and the fact that their mothers don’t really get along well. When the group pictures are finished, Becca and John stay behind for more pictures while the rest of the wedding party and guests move on to the reception. Everyone begins to get antsy when the bride and groom take an inordinately long time to arrive, until it finally becomes clear that tragedy has struck what should have been such a happy day, and both families will have to figure out a way to live with their grief.
I’m not sure there is a single thing I would change about “Red Hook Road,” it just captivated me and held me rapt, letting me experiencing the grief and anger of Becca and John’s without putting me so deep into their emotions that I couldn’t bear to pick up the book.
The prelude of the book was perfectly done. Waldman described the wedding in impersonal terms: the bride, the groom, the flower girl, letting the reader watch what was unfolding without yet being sure who these characters were and how they would play into the story. It was very well done, and I think a good decision since the bride and groom were obviously very central characters in the wedding, but in the rest of the book served as more of catalysts for emotion and action than as actual characters.
It would have been easy for a novel about four summers of grief and attempts at healing to seem drawn out and perhaps even obnoxious. Not so with “Red Hook Road.” Waldman’s characters continued to evolve and deal with their pain in different ways, even as they clung to the memories of their lost family members, and even as their loss exacerbated other problems in their lives.
Waldman hit every note perfectly with “Red Hook Road.” After reading it I feel the need to read her previous novels as soon as possible. Very highly recommended.
Buy this book from:
Powells.*
A local independent bookstore via Indiebound.*
Amazon.*
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.
Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2010
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Generally, I really enjoyed this book. But I would have changed the ending…it wrapped up way too fast and too clean for my tastes!
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I’m looking forward to reading it. I LOVED her previous one–Love and Other Impossible Pursuits!
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I have been desperately wanting to read Red Hook Road, so I am keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks for the opportunity.
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Oh, now I’m intrigued! Thanks for a review that helped me decide to take this off the “maybe” pile and onto the TBR.
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I obviously need to move this one up in my TBR pile now. Great review!
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I can’t wait to read this as well. I think the prelude and premise are very original and not the same old retread of other stories.
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I haven’t read any Waldman yet, but this book has been highly recommended by a couple of trusted sources now. Thanks for the giveaway
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Sounds like a wonderful book and one that I’m going to have to read someday.
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I have this and you just made me want to read it.
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Waldman just made my TBR list with Bad Mother. This one sounds fun too.
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Now I’m glad I got this one for review – it sounds great! Wonderful review, Jen.
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I’ve heard alot of buzz about this book. After reading your review I now see why. It was a selection for Amazon Vine and I decided not to pick it. Kicking myself now! Great review. It’s definitely on my TBR List.
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This is in my ARC stack and now I want to pull it out and read it next!
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Wow, that is a heartbreaker, and it definitely could have sucked you right into the mire. I’m impressed that the author kept everything afloat through all of that. Nice review.
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devourerofbooks Reply:
July 21st, 2010 at 10:30 pm
For the first half of the book or so, every single page had me feeling like I was about to cry, but never quite crying. Perfect!
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I’m listening to this on audio right now – and it is so good!
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Wow. I need to read this one sooner than later. Sounds like a book made for me.
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I just checked this one out from my library earlier this week and I can’t wait to read it. If I didn’t have other obligations, I would have started it right away!
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Wow. How incredibly sad. This doesn’t sound like something I’d normally pick up, but you’ve caught my interest with this review.
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I definitely want to pick up this one. I have seen many positive reviews and I think the premise of the story really sounds interesting.
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I’ve read some of her earlier books, the Mommy mysteries, which were snappy and fun, but none of her later books. Your review is making me want to pick this one up, right away!
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I hadn’t paid any attention to this book (not sure I even heard of it) but your review has me wanting it.
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I’ve been eager to read this one and it sounds like my anticipation was warranted. Now I’m positively salivating!
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This sounds like a good read. Want to read it one way or another and it has been added to my TBR list.
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I have an ARC of this one and with your review, I want to read it ASAP!!! It sounds like it is right up my alley. Thanks for keeping this one on my radar screen!
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I read this book last week. I know this won’t make sense but I agree with your review yet I didn’t love the book. I’m nuetral. I didn’t feel a connection to the characters, didn’t care what happened.
I wonder if this is because I listened rather than read.
The writing is beautiful and I also loved the beginning and the end.
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devourerofbooks Reply:
August 2nd, 2010 at 10:32 am
How interesting! I guess I didn’t have a strong connection to the characters either, but I was fascinated in watching their lives unfolded. I guess I didn’t really care what it was that happened to them, but I wanted to see it. Very interesting.
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