Sunday, March 1, 2020

A Hundred Small Lessons; Ashley Hay and Such a Fun Age; Kiley Reid


TITLE: A Hundred Small Lessons
AUTHOR:  Ashley Hay
PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster Audio
PUB. YEAR: 2020
SETTING: Australia 

FORMAT: audio
RATING: - 3.5/5


Elsie Gormley, husband Clem, and now adult children have enjoyed a long life and shared history in the family home in Brisbane, AU. Now Elsie is forced to leave it all behind after a fall has her entering a nursing home.  Her home is sold but, her memories of the past remain.

Lucy and Ben and their young son are the new owners of Elsie's former home. They are a young couple trying to adjust to a lifestyle change since becoming parents.  When Lucy finds an item belonging to Elsie, she feels a connection to her and the home's history.

A character driven novel, well written that delves into the personal lives and challenges of the two families: love, motherhood, marriage life and death. Although the story is well written it was very slow for me. It's been compared to Olive Kitteridge; Elizabeth Strout (which I loved) but, I didn't see the connection.  I think this story will appeal to readers who like quiet reflective fiction.

TITLE: Such a Fun Age
AUTHOR:  Kiley Reid
PUBLISHER: Penguin Audio
PUB. YEAR: 2020
SETTING: Philadelphia
FORMAT: eGalley/audio
RATING: - 3/5


Alix Chamberlain is a 30-something, white woman and successful social influencer who knows what it takes to get the attention of others.  Emira Tucker is a 20-something, black woman and college graduate who is trying to figure out a direction for a satisfying future, but for now, she babysits Briar, the young daughter of Alix.

Early on in the novel there is a racially motivated incident at a grocery store where a security guard questions Emira being out late at night with Briar, a white child. Emira is detained while her story is investigated. The whole scene is filmed by a young white man, Kelley.  Alix is horrified when she learns what has happened and wants to make it up to Emira.

This is a character driven novel; I thought the characters was unlikeable and shallow and found them pretty annoying on audio as well. I was disappointed that the Emira character, who I wanted to root for, was so underdeveloped.   I felt this story had potential but, the execution was the issue. I didn't get the hype over this novel.

7 comments:

  1. I'm with you on Such a Fun Age. I felt like it had potential and I missed something when I read it.

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  2. Too bad about Such a Fun Age. I still hope to read it but will dial back my expectations. thanks.

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  3. Neither slow or annoying works for us!

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  4. Thanks for your reviews of these two.

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  5. I've been looking forward to reading Such A Fun Age, but keep reading reviews that are similar to yours. I may take a pass on it.

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  6. Shallow and unlikable characters are just not going to do it for me. I don't have to love the character, but they've got to have some umph to them to keep me reading.

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  7. I've been interested in reading Such a Fun Age but after reading your thoughts I think I'll pass.

    And the comment by "Unknown" is ridiculous! No wonder he/she wants to remain "Unknown!

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