The book blurb reads
"For years Helen Knightly has given her life to others: to her haunted mother, to her enigmatic father, to her husband and now grown children. When she finally crosses a terrible boundary, her life comes rushing in at her in a way she never could have imagined. Unfolding over the next twenty-four hours, this searing, fast-paced novel explores the complex ties between mothers and daughters, wives and lovers, the meaning of devotion, and the line between love and hate. It is a challenging, moving, gripping story, written with the fluidity and strength of voice that only Alice Sebold can bring to the page."And even that doesn't even really begin to describe how this book pulls you in from the opening sentence and really just doesn't let you go. (The opening line is like a slap across the face in its bluntness.) It's a mess of emotions, mostly from the perspective of mother/daughter. Whether you hate your mother (I do not) or love her (I do) it's a hell of a book!
If you're not a fan of books that are more introspective than dialogue, or that flip easily from present to past, you might not enjoy the format. I like seeing how the past impacts on the present/future. The author does a good job of moving seamlessly between the events. One or two moments I thought "Whoa, bit crass/too much detail" but then, the protagonists life is essentially unraveling (as is she!) quite rapidly, so it's believable. I like how you're really seeing every other character through one person's eyes, and what little she does reveal is so telling about everyone else, and herself. How much alike mothers and daughters are, whether we recognize it or not, and the patterns/behaviors that repeat one to another.
I just want to say, if I ever, ever get like the protagonists mother (trying not to give too much away!), you have my permission to put me (and everyone else) out of my misery. [grimace]
