Jane Hamilton

This book was good but not great; it always seemed like it was on the verge of something but never getting there.

I think it would make more sense to read this later in life. Having read it during my senior year of high school, I wish I would have read it later.

I will probably give this a go again in a few years.

Achingly like life, Hamilton writes of pain with beauty. While depressed by the tragedy Alice unwittingly generates for herself and her family, I kept reading; I admit I wanted closure, am slightly compulsive about finishing what I've started, but also found the prose fluid. The story unfolds in a way that allows readers to feel many of the surprises and shocks as the characters themselves do.

Such a frustrating read! I felt so deeply for all of the characters and wanted so badly for things to turn out differently and for the characters to find their way out of the traps they lived in! I cried for them all and it left me feeling helpless.