Chrome Suite

by sandra-birdsell

Uncovers the effects of loss and absence, and of the inadvertent damage that can occur withing families. Amy Barber, now in her forties, looks back to a hot summer in the 1950s when death closed in on her childhood, via a marriage when she began to fear for her son's well-being.

Paperback

First published September 1, 1992

Reviews

[Kristi Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard to talk about. Hard to read; it took me a couple of months of off-and-on again reading to get through it. Clearly well-written, prose-wise. (Even if her dwelling on awkward unpleasant details, like Amy's disgusting eating habits or her plastic teeth, rather turned me off.) But the different events didn't seem to fit together into anything like a plot. I couldn't understand why she'd chosen to discuss the particular situations from her character's life that she did. I still feel that I must have been missing something, some resonance that would have made all the disparate happenings fit together. What was the point?

[Jane Glen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am 3/4 of the way through this book, and the only reason I've hung on this long is because I really liked The Russlander. But I finally decided (later than I should have) that this is simply not worth my time. My guide for reading is that books need to be either enlightening or entertaining and this is neither. It is dismal and hopeless, and if there's a better ending, I can't say I really care.

[Adam Lopez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book. Before I purchased it for $1 (a blessing of a discount, I only had $3 on me at the time, I had lost my wallet) I flipped open to a random page and was moved to take it with me. I don’t remember what exactly I read, but I’m thankful I trusted the whole based solely on the part I read. It took me a while to get through only because I did not have book finishing discipline when I started. When I chose to restart the story, I was drawn into the life of Amy Barber and knew I needed to follow this through.
The story is raw and authentic; the storytelling winds through past, present, and future in a way that feels true to how memories are connected. Sandra Birdsell is generous with details but never to the point of unnecessary or gratuitous inclusion. She has created characters that are full people, with all their flaws, motivations, strengths and demerits. In her novel, Birdsell crafts tremendous relationships between ordinary people that truly moved me throughout the experience. Shifting from first to third person at times, we experience the stormy life Amy Barber weathers throughout childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. These are the events that create a person, and this story is who Amy Barber is and how she became. This novel feels turbulent in the way that life truly can be, and Birdsell’s voice that carried me through this read makes me interested in reading more from her.

[Hannah Levy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hmmmm not sure about this one. It took a very long time to get into, then got interesting for a little while in the middle to end, then slowed down again at the way end. I think this is one of those books that the critics really like (lots of descriptions, etc.) but is not so reader-friendly in terms of plot.

[Judith Kulp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intricately woven threads of Amy's life, then and now. It took me a bit to catch the scriptwriting thread, but when I got it, I loved it. It wasn't a bowtie. It was a knot!