Summer Friends took me forever to finish, but that was in part to the extenuating circumstances surrounding this read. I needed a book to read on the plane to California, so I figured a book on my iPad would be best. So, I began Summer Friends and made substantial progress before landing. Then I picked it up again and read on the plane to Hawaii, getting even further into the book before putting it away and not reading for 8 days. I took my Nook to the pool instead of my iPad because I can actually read it in the sunshine. And, I was so close to finishing Tender that I chose to read that on the plane on our return trip, rather than finishing Summer Friends. And then we moved, and then I spent days and days unpacking. Blah, blah, blah...So, finally, last night I finished the book. Phew!
I do think that part of the delay in finishing this novel, other than what is described above, is that it was not a fun book to read. The story is about Delphine and Maggie, two friends who had been friends as children, teenagers, and throughout college, who took different paths in life and had lost touch. Because of various reasons, Maggie finds herself wanting to reconnect with Delphine, but meets with resistance. The bulk of the book recounts their often awkward struggle to remain friends and as you can imagine, it was difficult to read. Awkward. I felt at times as though I was watching a bad lunch date. To make matters worse, nothing ever got better. It was page after page and chapter after chapter of tense conversations and girl drama (which I get enough of in this house--I do not need to read about it in my down time). Because of this, I was not compelled to finish this book in a timely fashion, nor was it a page-turner. It was mostly just sad. (But, I think that was the point.)
However, was the story a good one? Yes. Did the awkward moments mirror the awkward feelings people have in situations like this? Yes. Was the story developed and filled with round characters? Yes. It was even written with some flashback chapters, which are always fun. And once I got to the end, I was met with an epilogue, which I LOVE and which gave me closure.
The bottom line is that female relationships are often a struggle for some (me) and this book hit the nail on the head with how difficult they can often be. I enjoyed reading the interview with the author at the end of the book because she mentioned that the idea for this story stemmed from some relationships she once had that did not turn out as she hoped because she had not treated friends as she should have. Reading this made me glad that I stuck it out and finished the book because it reminded me to take care of your friends. Real ones are few and far between. When you find a good one, don't let her go!
Happy reading everyone!
:) Dodie
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