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(Hardcover)
For as long as she can remember, they were Cam and Lilly--happily married, totally in love with each other, parents of a beautiful family, and partners in life. Then, after decades of marriage, it ended as every great love story does...in loss. After Cam's death, Lilly takes a lone road trip to her and Cam's favorite spot on the remote coast of
It is a journey begun with tender memories and culminating in a revelation that will make Lilly re-evaluate everything she thought was true about her husband and her marriage.
In Siddons's stirring novel, the recently widowed Lily Constable returns to her childhood summer home in Maine to sift through formative memories of her parents and her first love. It's difficult to imagine a more marvelous performance than Jane Alexander's. Alexander captures the strength and vulnerability of Lily from childhood to late middle age, and perfectly renders the physical weight of Lily's grief at her losses. She skillfully navigates the novel's cast of characters, from the slow, deep and thoughtful drawl of Lily's father to the high-pitched, false charm of the vicious young neighbor whose poison darts put tragic events in motion. Alexander also brings to life the great unnamed character in the book-the natural world, giving voice to birds and even a talking cat, and intuitively understanding the life-giving power of the sea. This is an example of how a good novel can become magnificent when it is beautifully told. A Grand Central hardcover (reviewed online). (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. More Reviews and RecommendationsAnne Rivers Siddons' books are firmly rooted in the culture of the modern South, but ultimately fans love her books because they portray -- with compassion and truth -- women who transcend the difficulties of love, friendship and growing up.
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November 02, 2008: My first ARS book was Colony. I thought this book would remind me of Colony, because of the coastal Maine affluent cottages. Colony had much better character development and plot. ARS characters always experience death, loss, grief and sometimes their lives resolve to a new level. I agree with anonomous, that David is the Son of Peaches and Cam, this explains the confusing ending. I like how ARS wrote the ending for Silas, the cat. I had a cat that almost seemed to talk to you, and I can understand how picky cats can be. The happiest part of the ending is learning that David and Silas have bonded, and the grouchy cat will not be abandoned. Not enough character development of Cam and of the daughters of Cam and Lily. Most of ARS's latest books are short, and she does not seem to want to write three generations of characters in her books anymore. I would say this was an interesing, quick read.
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November 01, 2008: I finished this book last night and was SO disappointed and confused with the ending. Although I enjoyed most of the characters, Peaches seemed mysteriously evil and it was difficult to understand her lifelong motivation and accomplishment to "get" Lilly. Also, the David character, although an interesting element, seemed to come out of left field, kind of like an added incidental. I enjoyed reading most of the book, it was good light fare; but, the ending really felt like too many characters were introduced all at once in an effort to explain a story line gone awry. I like to suspend belief when reading a novel, but, I'm really sorry to say that this ending didn't allow for that, consequently leaving me puzzled and unsatisfied.