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Charleston
A gifted writer makes her fiction debut with this lyrical and haunting story of missed chances and enduring love, set against the backdrop of high society Charleston, which probes the eternal question: can we ever truly go home again?
When Eliza Poinsett left the elegant world of Charleston for college, she never expected it would take her ten years to return. Now almost a decade later, she is an art historian in London with a charming Etonian boyfriend who adores her. But the past catches up with her when she runs into Henry, her childhood love, at a wedding in the English countryside.
Already unnerved by the encounter, Eliza's carefully guarded equilibrium is shattered when she meets Henry again in Charleston, where she's come for her stepsister's debut. Set against a backdrop of stately homes, the seductive Lowcountry landscape, and the entangled lives of families who trace their ancestors back for generations, Eliza has to decide if she is willing to risk everything for which she has worked so hard to be with the only man she has ever truly loved.
Charleston is an evocative, melancholy novel about one woman's love - for both a man and an unforgettable city. Emotionally resonant, beguiling in its atmosphere, it illuminates the elusive notion of home, and explores whether we can we truly ever go back to the place-and the people-- that indelibly shaped us.
When Eliza Poinsett left the elegant world of Charleston for college, she never expected it would take her ten years to return. Now almost a decade later, she is an art historian in London with a charming Etonian boyfriend who adores her. But the past catches up with her when she runs into Henry, her childhood love, at a wedding in the English countryside.
Already unnerved by the encounter, Eliza's carefully guarded equilibrium is shattered when she meets Henry again in Charleston, where she's come for her stepsister's debut. Set against a backdrop of stately homes, the seductive Lowcountry landscape, and the entangled lives of families who trace their ancestors back for generations, Eliza has to decide if she is willing to risk everything for which she has worked so hard to be with the only man she has ever truly loved.
Charleston is an evocative, melancholy novel about one woman's love - for both a man and an unforgettable city. Emotionally resonant, beguiling in its atmosphere, it illuminates the elusive notion of home, and explores whether we can we truly ever go back to the place-and the people-- that indelibly shaped us.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published July 29, 2014
294 people are currently reading
1378 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Bradham Thornton
6 books33 followersMargaret Bradham Thornton is the editor of Tennessee Williams’s Notebooks, for which she received the Bronze ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award for Autobiography/Memoir and the C. Hugh Holman Prize for the best volume of southern literary scholarship, given by the Society for the Study of Southern Literature. Her work has appeared in Ploughshares, The Paris Review, World Literature Today, The Seattle Review, Theatre History Studies, and The Times Literary Supplement. She is a native of Charleston, a graduate of Princeton University, and currently resides in Florida.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 262 reviews
September 19, 2014
This is a love letter to Charleston, South Carolina--or a tourist guide. Take your pick. Oh and there is a sappy love story thrown in the mix. The plot is OK, if unoriginal, but the surprise ending that comes way out left field hits the reader over the head with a 2x4. Not good! There were several tantalizing directions I could have seen the story moving into, but it never did. Not a fan.
June 27, 2014
tl;dr this book was bad. it needed some serious editing, and revisions, and even though i was reading an ARC - it seemed far from publishing-ready. I got this book as an ARC from work.
description (from goodreads) When Eliza Poinsett left the elegant world of Charleston for college, she never expected it would take her ten years to return. Now almost a decade later, she is an art historian in London with a charming Etonian boyfriend who adores her. But the past catches up with her when she runs into Henry, her childhood love, at a wedding in the English countryside.
Ok so that description was just the first of 3 paragraphs. And that really should've been a sign: the description needed some serious editing down, and so did this book.
So this book. This book was very obviously a first for this author. It even says its her "fiction debut" on Goodreads. And thats fine. Not everyone will write the perfect book on their very first full story. But There were some SERIOUS issues with this book.
Firstly, you never ever know what Eliza is thinking. The author doesn't really give you a good glimpse into this woman's head, even though its her story. You see that her actions about her old boyfriend are hesitant, but you don't ever get her feelings behind it. You don't really get reasons behind it. When he stomps back into her life, you don't get the emotional side. Its like watching a movie - you see whats up on the outside but you don't know whats going on in their heads.
Second, There was so much of this book when Eliza is researching paintings, and its boring and just TOO MUCH. I don't need 15 different paragraphs of "i researched and got a crick in my neck so i stretched out and looked at the 14 books in front of me. wearily i started on the next book, flipping through pages and pages" and on and on and on for an entire 3 paragraphs. And this happens multiple times. First, we get that its her job to research this stuff and its not exciting or action packed. It doesn't have to be action backed, but it should be interesting. If you're going to include it this many times, you've got to make it interesting and captivating, and seem much more relevant to the story. It really just felt like it was filling up space and making Eliza seem busy, and was just trying to kick up the word count. Not a fan.
Third, it was very disjointed at times. She's doing one thing, and the author spends a lot of time describing an action, we'll use taking off her shoes as an example and tucking her feet up under herself. Then, a few sentences later, they're walking down the road. Its just been moments, and she was barefoot and curled up like a cat, and now all the sudden they're walking down the road. As if the entire conversation they've been walking around instead of sitting and relaxing on a porch swing or whatever, even though that imagery of the porch swing scene was really well described. Another time, they're on the beach talking then all the sudden he's on her kissing her. Like, wait - what? The way I imagined it in my head was like cutting off practically mid sentence and lunging to kiss her. It was weird, and I had to re-read the exchange about 4 times and every time got that weird disjointed feeling, like there should've been a transition for this supposedly epically romantic moment.
Four, I hated her ex boyfriend. Maybe this is just the way I took it (my sister didn't feel the same was as me) but I did not like how very... forceful he was. He literally kidnaps her when she's buying shoes to sweep her away to some beach cabin, even though she repeatedly tells him she's busy and she has work to do before meeting up with people from her past. Yes, she got in the car - but he said he'd take her to some other shoe place. He does this, and things like it, so many times in the beginning of the book and I absolutely hate it. He never seems to respect what he says, but my sister also made a good point. Because we never really know what she's feeling, and we don't know how she's responded (there was never "I have to work" i sad coldly/coyly/resignedly/hesitantly/adjectively). So maybe she was kind of inviting his advances. We really don't know. I just kind of took her words at face value, that she didn't really want to see him and she was busy but he forced his way back into her life without any respect for what she was saying. So i really hated him.
Five: Once their relationship starts, its like a week later and they're acting like an old married couple with no spark left in their romance. I mean, I get that its weird working around a kid and introducing someone new in his life. But that whole thing was weird too. It seemed like Mr Super Southern Man Dude, Henry didn't really want to introduce Eliza into his son's life as a mother type figure, even though he obviously wanted to spend a LOT of time with her and have her around all the time and probably marry her. I don't remember if they ever got engaged. But still. The way Eliza and Henry's son interacted and the way Henry facilitated it seemed kinda weird to me. And I'm a kid who was introduced to a stepfather at an older age too.
Six: The way she ended things with her long term english boyfriend was just weird. They were together for 5 years? 6? And she just drops him over the phone or whatever? I can't even remember the details, thats how little thought or time was put into ending that relationship. You can't tell me that being with someone for that long and then ending it wouldn't have a bigger impact, even if you knew the relationship was kind of over. You can't tell me you wouldn't feel bad about hurting him even if you didn't feel all that hurt. I've seen plenty of relationships where one party was clearly done, but still was affected by the other person's hurt/reaction/whatever. Whether its anger, sadness, guilt, whatever. There was nothing. Nada. No second thoughts, no remorse.
At the moment, thats all I can remember feeling about this book. I'm sure theres more. But I can't think of what else bothered me about the book. The ending, of course, but I shan't spoil it for anyone who reads it. In case they do like the book, and none of those things above bother them, they may be quite surprised by the end. I wasn't, it was kind of the last big hurrah, and wasn't really shocking, but more confusing than anything i guess. I don't know.
This book sure does have a beautiful cover, though. Oh, and it takes place in the 90s. I had to keep reminding myself of that.
July 9, 2014
It is hard to think of a recent novel that is more haunted and haunting, more brilliantly interested in the dynamic interplay between past and present, gone and here, than Charleston, the debut novel by the scholar Margaret Bradham Thornton. The book aches with longing for what is lost, while still brimming with hope for our power to reorder our lives, if only by engaging with our losses as courageously and compassionately as we can.
At the heart of the story is Eliza, an art historian in her late twenties – old enough to have a past, young enough to maybe do something about it. Eliza is haunted by the ghost of Henry, her first love, from her native Charleston. Their relationship went wrong in their early twenties when Henry committed an act of drunken infidelity. Eliza could not bear the betrayal and moved first to New York and then to London, where she excelled as a student and fell in love with Jamie, a well-bred, charming, and altogether kind man. When Eliza returns to Charleston for her stepsister’s debutante party, she reconnects with Henry and is forced to tackle a set of “equations” between them that “had remained unsolved.” And now Eliza is deeply torn: between Henry and Jamie, Charleston and London, past and present selves, old home and new. Where does she truly belong?
Only by reckoning with her past can Eliza determine her present course. But when is it too late to go back? The more you run, the harder you make your life when you decide to turn around and face what’s been chasing you: “Ten years of such different worlds–wasn’t that enough to shift things between [Henry and her] so that even if they tried, they would never be able to fit together anymore?” That desperate quest to regain what is lost – to reanimate something dead – echoes Eliza’s vividly interesting work as an art historian. Eliza’s work, in turn, reflects that of her creator, whose investigative work in piecing together the notebooks of Tennessee Williams – a project that spanned a full ten years – stands as one of the most impressive projects of theatrical and literary scholarship in recent memory. It is as though by reconstructing Williams’ diaries so thoroughly, Thornton might have brought the man back to life. Yet inevitably a gap remains, and it is that gap that interests Thornton here.
Charleston is a fine addition to the recent spate of novels featuring strong female protagonists engaged in the art world, not least Rachel Kushner’s The Flamethrowers, Claire Messud’s The Woman Upstairs, and Meg Wolitzer’s The Interestings. Yet while those novels tend to focus on the vicissitudes of making, Eliza studies what has already been made as a way of reconnecting with something lost. Her investigations into the works of portrait painter Henrietta Johnston and the slave potter Dave are riveting subplots of genuine sleuthing. They rarely yield conclusive results, but they teach Eliza something she did not expect to learn, and it is less an instruction of fact as one of empathy. For instance, she examines the stunning pots of the slave potter Dave and concludes: “This was what was left of a life, she thought. Sturdy pots that had been made for service, and yet the maker had also made them beautiful.” Why? Why did he do that? Neither Eliza nor we will ever know. What is lost can never be fully recovered or understood, but as we study it, its mysteries can enchant us and even uplift us, reflect something back to us about who we are or who we want to be.
This, perhaps, is what is most affecting in Eliza’s evolution as she explores her relationship with Henry. Things have indeed changed unalterably: Henry now has a nine-year-old son, Lawton, the result of his regrettable affair. The boy cannot but serve as a painful and permanent reminder of the misjudgment that ended Eliza’s and Henry’s relationship. Yet Lawton also stands as copy to the father – a powerful reminder of his beauty and ultimate goodness. And in one of the most poignant reversals I can recall, Lawton becomes a vital ingredient in Eliza’s rapprochement with Henry. And so her provocative conclusion: “There was no point in looking for what once was or might have been because you would never be able to find it. It only made sense to look for what was lost if you were prepared to find something unexpected.” Eliza grows up. She learns that much can never be recovered, yet sometimes there is the chance for a kind of renewal or growth that can be all the more uplifting because of the bitterness that led to it.
At the heart of the story is Eliza, an art historian in her late twenties – old enough to have a past, young enough to maybe do something about it. Eliza is haunted by the ghost of Henry, her first love, from her native Charleston. Their relationship went wrong in their early twenties when Henry committed an act of drunken infidelity. Eliza could not bear the betrayal and moved first to New York and then to London, where she excelled as a student and fell in love with Jamie, a well-bred, charming, and altogether kind man. When Eliza returns to Charleston for her stepsister’s debutante party, she reconnects with Henry and is forced to tackle a set of “equations” between them that “had remained unsolved.” And now Eliza is deeply torn: between Henry and Jamie, Charleston and London, past and present selves, old home and new. Where does she truly belong?
Only by reckoning with her past can Eliza determine her present course. But when is it too late to go back? The more you run, the harder you make your life when you decide to turn around and face what’s been chasing you: “Ten years of such different worlds–wasn’t that enough to shift things between [Henry and her] so that even if they tried, they would never be able to fit together anymore?” That desperate quest to regain what is lost – to reanimate something dead – echoes Eliza’s vividly interesting work as an art historian. Eliza’s work, in turn, reflects that of her creator, whose investigative work in piecing together the notebooks of Tennessee Williams – a project that spanned a full ten years – stands as one of the most impressive projects of theatrical and literary scholarship in recent memory. It is as though by reconstructing Williams’ diaries so thoroughly, Thornton might have brought the man back to life. Yet inevitably a gap remains, and it is that gap that interests Thornton here.
Charleston is a fine addition to the recent spate of novels featuring strong female protagonists engaged in the art world, not least Rachel Kushner’s The Flamethrowers, Claire Messud’s The Woman Upstairs, and Meg Wolitzer’s The Interestings. Yet while those novels tend to focus on the vicissitudes of making, Eliza studies what has already been made as a way of reconnecting with something lost. Her investigations into the works of portrait painter Henrietta Johnston and the slave potter Dave are riveting subplots of genuine sleuthing. They rarely yield conclusive results, but they teach Eliza something she did not expect to learn, and it is less an instruction of fact as one of empathy. For instance, she examines the stunning pots of the slave potter Dave and concludes: “This was what was left of a life, she thought. Sturdy pots that had been made for service, and yet the maker had also made them beautiful.” Why? Why did he do that? Neither Eliza nor we will ever know. What is lost can never be fully recovered or understood, but as we study it, its mysteries can enchant us and even uplift us, reflect something back to us about who we are or who we want to be.
This, perhaps, is what is most affecting in Eliza’s evolution as she explores her relationship with Henry. Things have indeed changed unalterably: Henry now has a nine-year-old son, Lawton, the result of his regrettable affair. The boy cannot but serve as a painful and permanent reminder of the misjudgment that ended Eliza’s and Henry’s relationship. Yet Lawton also stands as copy to the father – a powerful reminder of his beauty and ultimate goodness. And in one of the most poignant reversals I can recall, Lawton becomes a vital ingredient in Eliza’s rapprochement with Henry. And so her provocative conclusion: “There was no point in looking for what once was or might have been because you would never be able to find it. It only made sense to look for what was lost if you were prepared to find something unexpected.” Eliza grows up. She learns that much can never be recovered, yet sometimes there is the chance for a kind of renewal or growth that can be all the more uplifting because of the bitterness that led to it.
September 23, 2014
I feel for writers. I know what it is to put your heart and soul--along with hours and hours of hard work--into a project. The book started with great promise. However, this book just didn't have "it".
The characters fall flat.
The characters and story served mostly as a vehicle to write about Charleston. This story gets diluted and ultimately lost in the author's tight grasp on the nonfiction reins, which fights with the fictional elements that needed to be further explored in order to avoid everything becoming cliche and expected.
I so wanted to love this book. But the interesting parts about these characters got lost in the need to educate and stick to the facts of a place.
The characters fall flat.
The characters and story served mostly as a vehicle to write about Charleston. This story gets diluted and ultimately lost in the author's tight grasp on the nonfiction reins, which fights with the fictional elements that needed to be further explored in order to avoid everything becoming cliche and expected.
I so wanted to love this book. But the interesting parts about these characters got lost in the need to educate and stick to the facts of a place.
February 13, 2015
I'll start w/ a quote from the 2nd chapter (and an apology for doing so):
"On the way into town, Eliza sat back and let herself be soothed by the clunk-clunking of the tires over the sections of concrete, past the acres of factories and worn-out land, until the tip of the Cooper River Bridge appeared over the railing. When the signs pointing to the turnoffs for King and Meeting streets loomed overhead, Eliza asked the driver to follow the sign to Mount Pleasant, and then get off at the East Bay exit. 'Whatever be your pleasure,' he said, as they dipped under the overpass and headed up the ramp toward the Cooper River Bridge, then down the East Bay exit and stopped at the light..........They continued on down East Bay street past the Slave Market, which catered to the tourist trade, and crossed Broad Street...the name changed from East Bay to East Battery."
Admittedly, I was only able to get through two chapters before having to stop reading for fear of severe seizures that might ensue from too much eye rolling. My review is this:
1) Yaaaawwwnnn.
2) I thought this was a novel, but parts of it read like a transcription of a GPS route.
3) You might like this novel if you've not only never BEEN to Charleston, but didn't even know it EXISTED, and are looking for an elementary-level tour-guide strewn with every Southern chiche imaginable, along with a just as cliched "story" line of reunited formerly estranged lovers thrown in. Or, you might enjoy it if you are IN Charleston, for the first time, and can't afford a carriage or ghost or other "real" tour while there, and need a laugh.
4) Otherwise, if you HAVE been to Charleston, have ever considered visiting it sometime in the future, and last, but not least, have ANY prior knowledge of anything having to do with Charleston, or the South, for that matter, and don't want to gag (or get a headache from too much eye-rolling), I strongly advise that you do NOT read this novel. This is for the sake of your health, your sanity, and out of respect for the integrity of a lovely city with many lovely people.
Sorry for such strong negativity, but boy, this one was bad, bad, bad.
"On the way into town, Eliza sat back and let herself be soothed by the clunk-clunking of the tires over the sections of concrete, past the acres of factories and worn-out land, until the tip of the Cooper River Bridge appeared over the railing. When the signs pointing to the turnoffs for King and Meeting streets loomed overhead, Eliza asked the driver to follow the sign to Mount Pleasant, and then get off at the East Bay exit. 'Whatever be your pleasure,' he said, as they dipped under the overpass and headed up the ramp toward the Cooper River Bridge, then down the East Bay exit and stopped at the light..........They continued on down East Bay street past the Slave Market, which catered to the tourist trade, and crossed Broad Street...the name changed from East Bay to East Battery."
Admittedly, I was only able to get through two chapters before having to stop reading for fear of severe seizures that might ensue from too much eye rolling. My review is this:
1) Yaaaawwwnnn.
2) I thought this was a novel, but parts of it read like a transcription of a GPS route.
3) You might like this novel if you've not only never BEEN to Charleston, but didn't even know it EXISTED, and are looking for an elementary-level tour-guide strewn with every Southern chiche imaginable, along with a just as cliched "story" line of reunited formerly estranged lovers thrown in. Or, you might enjoy it if you are IN Charleston, for the first time, and can't afford a carriage or ghost or other "real" tour while there, and need a laugh.
4) Otherwise, if you HAVE been to Charleston, have ever considered visiting it sometime in the future, and last, but not least, have ANY prior knowledge of anything having to do with Charleston, or the South, for that matter, and don't want to gag (or get a headache from too much eye-rolling), I strongly advise that you do NOT read this novel. This is for the sake of your health, your sanity, and out of respect for the integrity of a lovely city with many lovely people.
Sorry for such strong negativity, but boy, this one was bad, bad, bad.
September 19, 2015
This book was terrible. It was so boring and the plot (if there actually was one) was all over the place. There are so many problems, but here are a few of them.
1. Henry comes across like a stalker. Apparently, the author thinks a romantic male lead should follow you around and kidnap you. I initially thought his actions were going to come out as having some type of sinister ulterior motive, but they don't. That might have made the story interesting.
2. This book is like a tour guide of Charleston. Most of the story is describing how to get to certain places around the city, listing every historic landmark along the way.
3. The most interesting part of the book was Eliza's research into works of art, but it serves no purpose because it goes nowhere. I think the author just needed to fill the book and give Eliza something to do.
4. Eliza has no personality. You never care at all about her or what happens because the author does not even try to get you to care about her.
5. After all of that, the ending is abrupt and poorly executed.
Don't waste your time with this book. From the description, it sounded like it would be an interesting story. It's not. Here is the only positive remark I have - the cover is beautiful.
1. Henry comes across like a stalker. Apparently, the author thinks a romantic male lead should follow you around and kidnap you. I initially thought his actions were going to come out as having some type of sinister ulterior motive, but they don't. That might have made the story interesting.
2. This book is like a tour guide of Charleston. Most of the story is describing how to get to certain places around the city, listing every historic landmark along the way.
3. The most interesting part of the book was Eliza's research into works of art, but it serves no purpose because it goes nowhere. I think the author just needed to fill the book and give Eliza something to do.
4. Eliza has no personality. You never care at all about her or what happens because the author does not even try to get you to care about her.
5. After all of that, the ending is abrupt and poorly executed.
Don't waste your time with this book. From the description, it sounded like it would be an interesting story. It's not. Here is the only positive remark I have - the cover is beautiful.
July 9, 2014
This novel is beautifully written and I was totally engaged from the start. The author does a terrific job in building the characters and I felt as though I knew all of them, particularly Henry and Eliza.
The descriptions of Charleston and Folly Beach made me feel as though I were right there. Eliza's role as an art historian was extremely interesting. I was so curious about the work she was doing on Henrietta Johnson that I really wanted to see a photo of this painting which was discussed in the novel. Similarly, I was fascinated by the pottery by Dave the Slave and looked it up online so as to get a visual understanding of his work.
I strongly recommend this book for the story it tells as well as the beautiful prose. I have chosen not to discuss parts of the book as I do not want to give anything away. Readers will become totally engrossed in the story and feel as though they are right in Charleston. I did not want the book to end and kudos to Margaret Thornton for such a terrific novel. Looking forward to her next book! This book is available on 7/29 and I strongly suggest you pre-order it now.
The descriptions of Charleston and Folly Beach made me feel as though I were right there. Eliza's role as an art historian was extremely interesting. I was so curious about the work she was doing on Henrietta Johnson that I really wanted to see a photo of this painting which was discussed in the novel. Similarly, I was fascinated by the pottery by Dave the Slave and looked it up online so as to get a visual understanding of his work.
I strongly recommend this book for the story it tells as well as the beautiful prose. I have chosen not to discuss parts of the book as I do not want to give anything away. Readers will become totally engrossed in the story and feel as though they are right in Charleston. I did not want the book to end and kudos to Margaret Thornton for such a terrific novel. Looking forward to her next book! This book is available on 7/29 and I strongly suggest you pre-order it now.
August 16, 2014
The story is very loose-ended. It felt as if the author just could not complete one thing before jumping to another. I cannot recommend this book at all.
September 13, 2014
Really? A young woman returns to her home of Charleston after 10 years and spends all her time running around with her old lover instead of reconnecting with family? Especially when the author hits us over the head with the importance of family ties in this city. Loved the descriptions but guess I was expecting an Anne Rivers Siddons or a Pat Conroy. Not even close.
August 8, 2014
Seriously bad. Thankfully I didn't waste too much time with it - just skimmed the second half until it was over.
July 28, 2015
I really feel for the author of this book. I hate to give it a 1 star review and almost gave it 2 stars for effort but couldn't bring myself to do it. I wanted to enjoy this book but felt as if I wished I could've read it prior to publication and offered assistance. I'm by no means an editor but an avid reader who enjoys all types of books and always give a book 20 to 30 pages to draw me in. This book never drew me in but I kept at it because I wanted to see if anything was going to happen. Dialogue didn't move the story along or provide insight. Descriptions of Charleston read more like "We took Church Street to where it intersects with...." rather than anything of the beauty that is Charleston or the Folly Beach areas. The style of writing was very precise and the whole story could very well have been edited down to a short story but as a novel it was utterly boring. I felt like I was reading the skeleton of a story that could've been a wonderful novel but instead read more like an ingredients list on a box of Hamburger Helper.
June 10, 2015
I love Charleston, so I was really looking forward to this book. I was underwhelmed. Slow and kind of boring, and I found it difficult to invest in any of the characters. I don't know if more backstory would have helped, but I found Henry kind of annoying throughout, and Jamie was so underdeveloped. I never even got a clear picture in my mind's eye of what these people look like because there was almost no descriptions of them. So I basically had these dull, faceless people hanging around in my brain as I was reading. I was just glad to get through it so now I can move on to a better book.
August 12, 2014
This was a terrible book. I know the name of the book is Charleston BUT in order for the author to appeal to everyone she needs to leave out all of the references to the city that only people who grew up in Charleston or have spent a lot of time there would get.
Also the character development was horrendous and the ending was just terrible.
Also the character development was horrendous and the ending was just terrible.
September 14, 2015
Just didn't care! Page after page of descriptions of everything but what was happening inside the character's head. Kept reading hoping it would get better, but at 170 pages I kept finding things to do besides open the book. Back to the library it goes!
July 29, 2019
I was shocked at how terrible this book was. It reeked of privilege, lacked a solid story line and reasons behind the characters action. I should have abandoned it but I thought it was going to turn around. Spoiler alert: It did not, and ended even worse than I could have anticipated.
November 8, 2015
A woman with everything she could ever want and an affluent background must choose between two pretty great men. Oh no!
At least, that's what this books seems to be about until the beginning of the debutante event, the latter a nauseating enough reason to bring the main character back into the bosom of her perfect world. After that, I gave up. Too early? No, probably not.
The first problem with this book, besides its shiny depiction of simply everything, is its incoherency/pacing. Who schedules an international flight to arrive only a few hours before her little sister's important event when she has a place to stay and any delay could make her miss the very reason for her visit? Who dreams of a hot bath then spends five minutes in it (and why do we get a description of it at all, if it's just a quick dunk in the water where nothing of import happens?).
The second problem is superfluous information that acts as word padding rather than moves the story forwardd. Henry's long-winded descriptions of all the lovely neighborhood residents feels like the recitation of a roster and, on top of that, insincere--the main character really does not know *all* those people? And why do *we* need to know about them? At this point, shouldn't we be getting more information about the people who really matter to the story, like Henry or Jamie?
Third, the characters are two-dimensional. They awkwardly go through the motions of life in their too-idyllic setting of old houses and hometown romanticization. And they certainly don't seem real. Internal and external conflict is almost absent in the first scenes, and the main character's indecision between two eligible men who want her is so tepidly depicted she doesn't seem strongly drawn to or repelled by either. They seem to simply exist in her world, more choices on a platter in the banquet of fulfilled wishes that seems to be her life, which includes degrees in art history and the rare and coveted gallery job for graduates of such discipline, a life in London, financial stability, and a family and community waiting to embrace her even though she has chosen life elsewhere.
At least, that's what this books seems to be about until the beginning of the debutante event, the latter a nauseating enough reason to bring the main character back into the bosom of her perfect world. After that, I gave up. Too early? No, probably not.
The first problem with this book, besides its shiny depiction of simply everything, is its incoherency/pacing. Who schedules an international flight to arrive only a few hours before her little sister's important event when she has a place to stay and any delay could make her miss the very reason for her visit? Who dreams of a hot bath then spends five minutes in it (and why do we get a description of it at all, if it's just a quick dunk in the water where nothing of import happens?).
The second problem is superfluous information that acts as word padding rather than moves the story forwardd. Henry's long-winded descriptions of all the lovely neighborhood residents feels like the recitation of a roster and, on top of that, insincere--the main character really does not know *all* those people? And why do *we* need to know about them? At this point, shouldn't we be getting more information about the people who really matter to the story, like Henry or Jamie?
Third, the characters are two-dimensional. They awkwardly go through the motions of life in their too-idyllic setting of old houses and hometown romanticization. And they certainly don't seem real. Internal and external conflict is almost absent in the first scenes, and the main character's indecision between two eligible men who want her is so tepidly depicted she doesn't seem strongly drawn to or repelled by either. They seem to simply exist in her world, more choices on a platter in the banquet of fulfilled wishes that seems to be her life, which includes degrees in art history and the rare and coveted gallery job for graduates of such discipline, a life in London, financial stability, and a family and community waiting to embrace her even though she has chosen life elsewhere.
January 16, 2016
I loved this book! I always enjoy reading novels set in Charleston, SC. (Karen White's Tradd Street series is one of my all time favorites!) This book did not disappoint, it weaves a rich story of love and loss, and demonstrates that you can go home again. Thornton's writing is very elegant, and I love how she takes the reader to Charleston with her graphic descriptions of the streets and neighborhood "South of Broad."
September 15, 2014
I wanted to love this book. I was SO looking forward to it. But I can't recommend it at all. There's just something missing here, even though theoretically it has everything I could possibly want in a novel. Really disappointed. If you feel the need to try, get it from your library.
October 18, 2020
Everything about this book—except maybe for the setting—was pretty awful. I have no idea where I heard about this book, or why I kept reading until the end.
September 18, 2019
SPOILER BELOW:
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Well. I picked the wrong f*cking palate cleanser.
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Well. I picked the wrong f*cking palate cleanser.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 22, 2019
I could not recommend this book.
July 18, 2014
CHARLESTON by Margaret Bradham Thornton
We only regret the chances we did not take, not those we did
Going home for Eliza was one bitter sweet experience that she knew to expect but had to have. Eliza knew that her first and only love, Henry was waiting there for her and had been patiently all these 10 years she has been gone. He may have married another and quickly divorced but his love for Eliza had always been there waiting for her, but did she want it?
When they are reunited each day is an adventure and each moment felt as if it was being stolen from a romance novel. Sweet kisses, heartfelt touches, and wonderful stolen moments of just falling asleep in each other arms. Even with Henry’s son in and out of the mix and some serious left over baggage between them the walls come down and the ember of love starts to burn so strong it may over whelm them.
The problem with plans, great ideas, and reconciliations is they don’t always go as planned or maybe they do and we just have to learn to accept how things are going to turn out. You love who you are supposed to and in the end everyone will know that the love was right, true, and something rare.
We only regret the chances we did not take, not those we did
Going home for Eliza was one bitter sweet experience that she knew to expect but had to have. Eliza knew that her first and only love, Henry was waiting there for her and had been patiently all these 10 years she has been gone. He may have married another and quickly divorced but his love for Eliza had always been there waiting for her, but did she want it?
When they are reunited each day is an adventure and each moment felt as if it was being stolen from a romance novel. Sweet kisses, heartfelt touches, and wonderful stolen moments of just falling asleep in each other arms. Even with Henry’s son in and out of the mix and some serious left over baggage between them the walls come down and the ember of love starts to burn so strong it may over whelm them.
The problem with plans, great ideas, and reconciliations is they don’t always go as planned or maybe they do and we just have to learn to accept how things are going to turn out. You love who you are supposed to and in the end everyone will know that the love was right, true, and something rare.
August 21, 2014
Charleston
by
Margaret Bradham Thornton
My " in a nutshell" summary...
Eliza Poinsett sort of has an English boyfriend but Eliza Poinsett sort of has feelings for her old Charlestonian boyfriend. This is the summer that decides it all.
My thoughts after reading this book...
This book contained lots of Charlestonian history...lots of family history...lots of lovely ideas of what life is like if you had tons of money, lived in houses that had been in your family for generations and had other people taking care of those houses. Eliza and Henry have not seen each other for almost ten years and quite by "accident" they are back together. The summer gives Eliza the chance to sort through her feelings and deal with old hurts. She also gets the chance to spend time with Henry's almost ten year old son. There is mama drama and a health drama...which I wasn't prepared for.
Final thoughts...
I was not taken by this book. It was fine...parts of it were lovely but I didn't feel strongly about either Eliza or Henry. I thought that I would love this book much more than I did but I could not get last the disconnect I felt with it.
by
Margaret Bradham Thornton
My " in a nutshell" summary...
Eliza Poinsett sort of has an English boyfriend but Eliza Poinsett sort of has feelings for her old Charlestonian boyfriend. This is the summer that decides it all.
My thoughts after reading this book...
This book contained lots of Charlestonian history...lots of family history...lots of lovely ideas of what life is like if you had tons of money, lived in houses that had been in your family for generations and had other people taking care of those houses. Eliza and Henry have not seen each other for almost ten years and quite by "accident" they are back together. The summer gives Eliza the chance to sort through her feelings and deal with old hurts. She also gets the chance to spend time with Henry's almost ten year old son. There is mama drama and a health drama...which I wasn't prepared for.
Final thoughts...
I was not taken by this book. It was fine...parts of it were lovely but I didn't feel strongly about either Eliza or Henry. I thought that I would love this book much more than I did but I could not get last the disconnect I felt with it.
November 14, 2021
⭐️Beautiful cover.
⭐️One of my very favorite places in the whole world.
Not so great story. So half a ⭐️…
I wanted to like it more than I actually did.
There is lots of love for Charleston in this book - the physical descriptions, the family names, historical facts. Those are all things that make Charleston so special. I’m not sure they translated completely however.
The characters were not really great. Charleston has so many amazing stories and people, yet these characters didn’t feel that likable. (Well, maybe just Henry? Maybe just me?)
I feel like this may have been autobiographical…
There were lots of poetry and art references that I didn’t completely understand why. There were times it dragged and times it rushed and jumped around. Why was it published in 2014 but based in 1990? (I don’t think there is a Laura Ashley on Kings anymore…) There were lots of random things that were not really unexplained, so I’m guessing the author was taking us back to her day in Charleston.
The one thing she for sure got right was Charleston is special and once it has your heart, it stays there.
⭐️One of my very favorite places in the whole world.
Not so great story. So half a ⭐️…
I wanted to like it more than I actually did.
There is lots of love for Charleston in this book - the physical descriptions, the family names, historical facts. Those are all things that make Charleston so special. I’m not sure they translated completely however.
The characters were not really great. Charleston has so many amazing stories and people, yet these characters didn’t feel that likable. (Well, maybe just Henry? Maybe just me?)
I feel like this may have been autobiographical…
There were lots of poetry and art references that I didn’t completely understand why. There were times it dragged and times it rushed and jumped around. Why was it published in 2014 but based in 1990? (I don’t think there is a Laura Ashley on Kings anymore…) There were lots of random things that were not really unexplained, so I’m guessing the author was taking us back to her day in Charleston.
The one thing she for sure got right was Charleston is special and once it has your heart, it stays there.
January 7, 2016
This book had a lot of promise that it didn't deliver on. The descriptions of Charleston and the surrounding islands goes into great detail, however the actual characters don't get nearly as much attention. As another review mentions they are all somewhat faceless.
The pacing is slow and I kept waiting for something to move the story forward and tie everything together. This doesn't happen. The book starts off with the cliche girl has lost boy and runs into him unexpectedly ten years later. Girl returns home and allows herself to be swept off her feet by old flame who actually seems like a decent guy who made one big mistake.
Eliza the main character returns to Charleston to attend her step sisters debut but has very little interaction with her or her mother and is only focused on the long lost love Henry.
If you are headed Charleston and want a feel for the city it is worth skimming, if you are looking for a good novel with story telling you will be disappointed
This is a book you will want to like but probably won't be able to.
The pacing is slow and I kept waiting for something to move the story forward and tie everything together. This doesn't happen. The book starts off with the cliche girl has lost boy and runs into him unexpectedly ten years later. Girl returns home and allows herself to be swept off her feet by old flame who actually seems like a decent guy who made one big mistake.
Eliza the main character returns to Charleston to attend her step sisters debut but has very little interaction with her or her mother and is only focused on the long lost love Henry.
If you are headed Charleston and want a feel for the city it is worth skimming, if you are looking for a good novel with story telling you will be disappointed
This is a book you will want to like but probably won't be able to.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 29, 2016
This novel wasn't very good at all. The author lends no insight into the psyche or emotions of any of the characters, to the romantic relationship seemed hollow. I had no understanding of her reasoning for any decision she made. We didn't know enough about her relationship with her boyfriend or her past relationship with her past love to even begin to comprehend why she would dump one or restart a relationship with the other. Not to mention that her past love was obnoxiously corny-creepy, disrespecting her boundaries by picking her up and driving her for day-long excursions after she protests and tells him she has all these things to do, work to complete, errands to run before a certain time. The author also spends so much time describing families who aren't relevant to the story, navigating the city, and describing irrelevant processes of art history research. I had to force myself to pick this book up and read it. I wish I'd passed on this waste of a week.
June 13, 2016
this book. ugh. no, just no. first of all the inside flap description of the story has very little to do with the actual "plot". second the characters were so. freaking. boring. third, time transitions were so BAD and just awkward. forth, it didn't make Charleston seem charming or beautiful at all. it made it seem like a city filled with petty people only concerned about status and money. fifth, all the Mumbo jumbo of her researching these paintings and bowls was not only boring, but it literally added absolutely nothing to the story. last but not least, this books takes place in the 90's?!? lololol. absolutely not what it reads like, at all. I literally had to keep reminding myself the entire time it was set in the 90's.
I actually really don't even know why I finished this book. it was not worth it. no, just no.
I actually really don't even know why I finished this book. it was not worth it. no, just no.
October 16, 2014
This novel needed a good editor before it was published. I read the first 7 chapters, and realized that, so far, much of the writing was just filller and that the story at this point could have been pared down to 3 chapters.
At this point I wasn't interested in reading the rest of the book just to find out if the main character chose to stay with her old flame in Charleston, or if she decided to fly back to England to spend the rest of her life with her new boyfriend. So I skipped everything after ch.7 and read the last 2 chapters to see how the author ended the dilemma.
A lot of readers just loved this book, but I'm glad that I didn't invest the time to read the in between pages - Hah!
At this point I wasn't interested in reading the rest of the book just to find out if the main character chose to stay with her old flame in Charleston, or if she decided to fly back to England to spend the rest of her life with her new boyfriend. So I skipped everything after ch.7 and read the last 2 chapters to see how the author ended the dilemma.
A lot of readers just loved this book, but I'm glad that I didn't invest the time to read the in between pages - Hah!
December 4, 2014
2 1/2 stars. FATE...Do you believe in fate? Eliza left Charleston, S.C. 10 yrs ago and now works in London at an art historian. She leaves England to return to Charleston. Do Charleston and an old boyfriend, Henry, still tug at her heart? How does her art history background play into their relationship? A predictable story than was just OK. The book was recommended by USAToday as a summer/fall book selection.
March 26, 2016
I read this for a book club that she is speaking at. I now wish I wasn't going. This book has nothing to recommend it, inconsistent is a generous term. It is lacking in character development, the speech is childish and stilted and the CONSTANT name dropping is boring. BTW author insulting the people who live on Kiawah and then speaking there is probably not the way to win friends. I believe that this is the first book I have given a one star rating.
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