Spiderweb: A Novel by Penelope Lively
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Reminded me a bit of Barbara Pym's work; both in tone and in content. There were a lot of documents (letters, newspaper clips, etc.) mixed into the narrative which worked well with this story. There was a second thread of the novel about a neighboring family which turned the book in a darker direction than I had expected. I didn't feel like the ending worked which diminished my rating. If you are a person who can't read about bad things happening to animals this is not a book for you.
This was a book from my owned-but-not-read shelf and I chose it for the January Unread Shelf theme of "comfort." I didn't find it particularly comforting but it is a good novel. I have read 2 other books by Penelope Lively (How it All Began, and Life in the Garden) both of which I liked but didn't love. Not sure if she is a writer for me to keep reading or not. Any suggestions of standout Lively novels I should consider?
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Reminded me a bit of Barbara Pym's work; both in tone and in content. There were a lot of documents (letters, newspaper clips, etc.) mixed into the narrative which worked well with this story. There was a second thread of the novel about a neighboring family which turned the book in a darker direction than I had expected. I didn't feel like the ending worked which diminished my rating. If you are a person who can't read about bad things happening to animals this is not a book for you.
This was a book from my owned-but-not-read shelf and I chose it for the January Unread Shelf theme of "comfort." I didn't find it particularly comforting but it is a good novel. I have read 2 other books by Penelope Lively (How it All Began, and Life in the Garden) both of which I liked but didn't love. Not sure if she is a writer for me to keep reading or not. Any suggestions of standout Lively novels I should consider?
I have Life in the Garden but I have only read a bit of it. I have been wanting to read some fiction by this author but I don't wan to read about something bad happening to an animal so I won't pick this one. Thanks for the warning.
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