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If I Knew You Were Going To Be This Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let You Go
“Brings to mind the books of Richard Price and the films of Martin Scorsese... I did not want this book to end.” —Julie Klam, New York Times –bestselling author of Friendkeeping
It is the summer of 1972, and Katie has just turned eighteen. Katie and her town, Elephant Beach, are both on the Katie of adulthood, and Elephant Beach of gentrification. But not Elephant Beach is still gritty, working-class, close-knit. And Katie spends her time smoking and drinking with her friends, dreaming about a boy just back from Vietnam who’s still fighting a battle Katie can’t understand. In this poignant, evocative debut collection, Judy Chicurel creates a haunting, vivid world, where conflicts between mothers and daughters, men and women, soldiers and civilians and haves and have-nots reverberate to our own time. She captures not only a time and place, but the universal experience of being poised between the past and the future. At once heartbreaking, mesmerizing, and nostalgic, Chicurel shows us that no matter how beautiful some dreams are, there comes a time when we must let them go.
It is the summer of 1972, and Katie has just turned eighteen. Katie and her town, Elephant Beach, are both on the Katie of adulthood, and Elephant Beach of gentrification. But not Elephant Beach is still gritty, working-class, close-knit. And Katie spends her time smoking and drinking with her friends, dreaming about a boy just back from Vietnam who’s still fighting a battle Katie can’t understand. In this poignant, evocative debut collection, Judy Chicurel creates a haunting, vivid world, where conflicts between mothers and daughters, men and women, soldiers and civilians and haves and have-nots reverberate to our own time. She captures not only a time and place, but the universal experience of being poised between the past and the future. At once heartbreaking, mesmerizing, and nostalgic, Chicurel shows us that no matter how beautiful some dreams are, there comes a time when we must let them go.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published October 30, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews
May 9, 2018
It's 1972 and a group of young girls – not quite women but aching to be so – is learning that life is not always what you expect it to be. Living in a close-knit community on Long Island 18 year old Katie looks to the future whilst longing for Luke to notice her; he is just one of the many young men who've returned from the Vietnam War and are wrestling with the scars , not only physical but emotional, and mental. Katie and her friends do all the things of the 70's – drink, smoke dope, take drugs, have children, get rid of children, cruise the streets and swear – a lot. Why, oh why, does the author feel her characters have to swear so much? It's not smart or clever, and is actually quite sloppy writing as far as I am concerned, and as this occurred within the first few pages of the book I was not impressed. I know it's supposed to be “realistic” but I could have done with less of it.
I felt absolutely nothing but impatience and irritation for the (very many) characters, none of whom evoked any empathy, sympathy or kinship. . The story itself is too busy – too many themes going on at once which added to my sense of confusion; it's as if the author has so much to say about so many things she wants to cram them all into the one book. The same could be said for the title, which is more than a few words too long.
I have really struggled with this book; I've tried four times this week to get past my one-third threshold – if I can't get into a book by then I won't waste my time – unfortunately this is one of those. Life is just too short to struggle with a book that doesn't draw me in. To paraphrase........If I Knew This Book Was So Confusing I Would Never Have Chosen It
This just hasn't lived up to it's promise for me.
Thanks to Amazon Vine for a free copy to review.
I felt absolutely nothing but impatience and irritation for the (very many) characters, none of whom evoked any empathy, sympathy or kinship. . The story itself is too busy – too many themes going on at once which added to my sense of confusion; it's as if the author has so much to say about so many things she wants to cram them all into the one book. The same could be said for the title, which is more than a few words too long.
I have really struggled with this book; I've tried four times this week to get past my one-third threshold – if I can't get into a book by then I won't waste my time – unfortunately this is one of those. Life is just too short to struggle with a book that doesn't draw me in. To paraphrase........If I Knew This Book Was So Confusing I Would Never Have Chosen It
This just hasn't lived up to it's promise for me.
Thanks to Amazon Vine for a free copy to review.
January 6, 2015
If I Knew You Were Going to be This Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let You Go by Judy Chicurel is a first reads win and I am giving my honest opinion. This story takes place in 1972, about a girl named Katie who lives in Elephant Beach. A New Jersey resort close to New York City. It never reached it's full potential and is in hard times. It's the stories that surround Katie's life from school, graduation and beyond. Most of the residents were blue collar workers but Katie's dad wore a suit and tie with a briefcase to work. He caught the train to New York City every work day.
October 26, 2014
I received a copy of this novel, from the publishers, in return for an honest review...
1972. A fictional island near Manhattan. A summer of sex, drugs and not so much rock and roll. A summer of unwanted pregnancies, tripping on a variety of pills and hanging out on street corners. Not a glamorous life for teenager, Kate, but the only life she knows. Along with a posse of girlfriends and a wide circle of local druggies, she remains slightly on the edge of this crazy world, within reason but without any judgment. The village is no longer what it once was, in the roaring 20s, but the kids are conent to be there, regardless of how it drags them down. An unfolding tale of despair, loyalty and hope. This debut novel is a brave look at the hazy, drug filled 1970s, viewed from a different angle to the norm. Less hippy and more street smart. Less 'Flowers in your hair' and more 'Sympathy for the Devil'.
**********************************************
A debut novel with real bite, Tinder Press have landed on their feet by signing this author. The writing is just outstanding, each chapter like a short story, giving the reader glimpses of Kate's life on Elephant Beach, NY. Her patchwork group of friends are all content with their mediocre lives in the grim seaside town. Most girls are dying to lose their virginity, fall pregnant and walk down the aisle, all in that order. They dream of the perfect marriage, sweet little houses and adoring husbands. Unfortunately, they dream of this without really thinking it through. Not many boyfriends stick around, there is no money for dream homes or weddings, and contraception is normally thought of far too late. The girls have seen what teen pregnancy has done to their classmates, but it doesn't deter them.
All through this book, they pop pills and smoke cigarettes non-stop. They drink until they fall down and take risks with their sexual health all the time. The lectures of their parents fall on deaf ears and the local drunk even warns them to watch out. The Vietnam War seems like another world to this group and other than seeing some changes in returning veterans, they seem oblivious to the effects of this War.
The story starts off with a large cast of characters. I had to re-read a few pages to catch up. Then I was hooked. Choppy and realistic, the chapters read like a veritable feast of mini-stories, all blended together to make this delicious tale of a hidden 1970s America. One of no hope, no glory and no ambition. Kate is the only exception. She dreams of a better life. Not one that will remove her too far from Elephant Beach, but one that will raise her spirits and her standards. She is a beacon shining through the dull, lifeless, drug filled personalities of her generation. Judy Chicurel has created a wonderful new voice in fiction. A no-frills approach to a decade of drugs. Racism is rampant and War ignored. It is refreshing to read something so honest, and I applaud both the author, and the publishers for taking this risk. It has paid off. A clever, razor sharp novel that will stay with you long after completion.
1972. A fictional island near Manhattan. A summer of sex, drugs and not so much rock and roll. A summer of unwanted pregnancies, tripping on a variety of pills and hanging out on street corners. Not a glamorous life for teenager, Kate, but the only life she knows. Along with a posse of girlfriends and a wide circle of local druggies, she remains slightly on the edge of this crazy world, within reason but without any judgment. The village is no longer what it once was, in the roaring 20s, but the kids are conent to be there, regardless of how it drags them down. An unfolding tale of despair, loyalty and hope. This debut novel is a brave look at the hazy, drug filled 1970s, viewed from a different angle to the norm. Less hippy and more street smart. Less 'Flowers in your hair' and more 'Sympathy for the Devil'.
**********************************************
A debut novel with real bite, Tinder Press have landed on their feet by signing this author. The writing is just outstanding, each chapter like a short story, giving the reader glimpses of Kate's life on Elephant Beach, NY. Her patchwork group of friends are all content with their mediocre lives in the grim seaside town. Most girls are dying to lose their virginity, fall pregnant and walk down the aisle, all in that order. They dream of the perfect marriage, sweet little houses and adoring husbands. Unfortunately, they dream of this without really thinking it through. Not many boyfriends stick around, there is no money for dream homes or weddings, and contraception is normally thought of far too late. The girls have seen what teen pregnancy has done to their classmates, but it doesn't deter them.
All through this book, they pop pills and smoke cigarettes non-stop. They drink until they fall down and take risks with their sexual health all the time. The lectures of their parents fall on deaf ears and the local drunk even warns them to watch out. The Vietnam War seems like another world to this group and other than seeing some changes in returning veterans, they seem oblivious to the effects of this War.
The story starts off with a large cast of characters. I had to re-read a few pages to catch up. Then I was hooked. Choppy and realistic, the chapters read like a veritable feast of mini-stories, all blended together to make this delicious tale of a hidden 1970s America. One of no hope, no glory and no ambition. Kate is the only exception. She dreams of a better life. Not one that will remove her too far from Elephant Beach, but one that will raise her spirits and her standards. She is a beacon shining through the dull, lifeless, drug filled personalities of her generation. Judy Chicurel has created a wonderful new voice in fiction. A no-frills approach to a decade of drugs. Racism is rampant and War ignored. It is refreshing to read something so honest, and I applaud both the author, and the publishers for taking this risk. It has paid off. A clever, razor sharp novel that will stay with you long after completion.
February 10, 2020
In this nostalgic debut novel, a group of troubled Long Island teenagers navigate the sex and drug filled summer of 1972. Aimless young people haunt Chicurel’s fictional Elephant Beach. Everyone’s doing drugs and having either a baby or an abortion. Yet the inexperienced narrator, Katie, 18, just moons over Luke, a Vietnam veteran. Fast living takes a toll here; “No one has as many dead friends as we do,” Katie laments, what with drunken accidents, car crashes, and police beatings.
Throughout, Katie reflects on the irony that they’re all desperate to escape this dead-end town – by eloping, or joining the army or a "Jesus freak" commune – but still they imagine returning someday. The Starlight Hotel and Eddy’s soda bar, crummy as they are, symbolize this golden summer Katie and her friends hope will never end. As an older Katie reflects, “I’d bought the myth, even when I finally left I still thought I was leaving something behind and kept coming back to find it.”
The unwieldy title phrase is what Katie hopes her mother, who gave her up for adoption, would say; it’s also the name of the last chapter. Each chapter here is like a stand-alone story; along with the ensemble cast, this means the novel feels disjointed. Katie never comes through as a strong character. Evocation of the time period is clumsy: peasant shirts, paisley dresses, and “Layla” on the radio. Still, some might find it a resonant portrait of a generation trapped in the past, doomed to repeat their mistakes.
Throughout, Katie reflects on the irony that they’re all desperate to escape this dead-end town – by eloping, or joining the army or a "Jesus freak" commune – but still they imagine returning someday. The Starlight Hotel and Eddy’s soda bar, crummy as they are, symbolize this golden summer Katie and her friends hope will never end. As an older Katie reflects, “I’d bought the myth, even when I finally left I still thought I was leaving something behind and kept coming back to find it.”
The unwieldy title phrase is what Katie hopes her mother, who gave her up for adoption, would say; it’s also the name of the last chapter. Each chapter here is like a stand-alone story; along with the ensemble cast, this means the novel feels disjointed. Katie never comes through as a strong character. Evocation of the time period is clumsy: peasant shirts, paisley dresses, and “Layla” on the radio. Still, some might find it a resonant portrait of a generation trapped in the past, doomed to repeat their mistakes.
August 12, 2018
A coming-of-age tale told in the 70’s. There was a likable hodgepodge of folks, and I did feel part of the crew. Something did seem lacking, but overall a good read.
June 2, 2016
Interesting story about the lives of young adults in a somewhat ruined town at sea.
It's a completely different world than we know and even though it's the 70's it's still hard to see that life could truly be that way/have been that way, a search for who you are, guided by drugs, sex, war and strange friendships. I liked it, but it did not really make an impact on me. I liked Katie, a girl who accepts everyone and can be tough when she needs to be.
It's a completely different world than we know and even though it's the 70's it's still hard to see that life could truly be that way/have been that way, a search for who you are, guided by drugs, sex, war and strange friendships. I liked it, but it did not really make an impact on me. I liked Katie, a girl who accepts everyone and can be tough when she needs to be.
October 31, 2014
Synopsis
On the outskirts of New York, Elephant Beach to be exact, Katie and her friends are spending their final summer growing up. Having recently graduated from high school, Katie and co should be full of hope and excitement for the future yet they are all festering in a dying seaside town that is dealing with working class problems, teen marriage and pregnancy and the repercussions of the war in Vietnam.
The most hopeful among the residents is Katie, yet she is the least enthusiastic to let her life in Elephant Beach end.
Review
Firstly, I would like to say a massive thank you to Georgina Moore at Headline Books for sending me a copy of this book. I really do appreciate it.
If I Knew You were going to be this Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let you Go is an absolutely stunning novel which is exploding with atmosphere in an oh so subtle way. The story doesn’t fly off the page and make your heart race with desperate need to know what is about to happen, however, Chicurel does make you want to read on, keep reading ahead and find out more about the lives of those who inhabit Elephant Beach.
You could almost argue that it is very Salinger-esque in that it is a novel where almost nothing happens. The story instead focuses on the intricacies of the family unit, the dynamics of friendship and how they have been impacted by the Vietnamese war; a social study of life in 1970s America.
What is tackled throughout the book is the feeling of loss and loneliness – loss of oneself, loss of identity and loss of faith among many things. Our protagonist, Katie, seems to be bombarded with loss throughout the novel. She never really knows who she is being that she is a child of adoption, her friends either keep moving away, getting married or pregnant – therefore her social circle declines rapidly or the people that she wants to know more of are so changed by war that it makes it near on impossible.
Yet, ironically, it seems that Katie is the most comfortable of all the characters to be left at Elephant Beach. She is cleverly juxtaposed as the character with the most potential yet the one most unwilling to let go and move on.
If I Knew You were going to be this Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let you Go is a striking coming of age novel, one that teaches you that life isn’t easy, growing up is hard but we all have to face the future at some point.
If I Knew You were going to be this Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let you Go by Judy Chicurel is available now.
On the outskirts of New York, Elephant Beach to be exact, Katie and her friends are spending their final summer growing up. Having recently graduated from high school, Katie and co should be full of hope and excitement for the future yet they are all festering in a dying seaside town that is dealing with working class problems, teen marriage and pregnancy and the repercussions of the war in Vietnam.
The most hopeful among the residents is Katie, yet she is the least enthusiastic to let her life in Elephant Beach end.
Review
Firstly, I would like to say a massive thank you to Georgina Moore at Headline Books for sending me a copy of this book. I really do appreciate it.
If I Knew You were going to be this Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let you Go is an absolutely stunning novel which is exploding with atmosphere in an oh so subtle way. The story doesn’t fly off the page and make your heart race with desperate need to know what is about to happen, however, Chicurel does make you want to read on, keep reading ahead and find out more about the lives of those who inhabit Elephant Beach.
You could almost argue that it is very Salinger-esque in that it is a novel where almost nothing happens. The story instead focuses on the intricacies of the family unit, the dynamics of friendship and how they have been impacted by the Vietnamese war; a social study of life in 1970s America.
What is tackled throughout the book is the feeling of loss and loneliness – loss of oneself, loss of identity and loss of faith among many things. Our protagonist, Katie, seems to be bombarded with loss throughout the novel. She never really knows who she is being that she is a child of adoption, her friends either keep moving away, getting married or pregnant – therefore her social circle declines rapidly or the people that she wants to know more of are so changed by war that it makes it near on impossible.
Yet, ironically, it seems that Katie is the most comfortable of all the characters to be left at Elephant Beach. She is cleverly juxtaposed as the character with the most potential yet the one most unwilling to let go and move on.
If I Knew You were going to be this Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let you Go is a striking coming of age novel, one that teaches you that life isn’t easy, growing up is hard but we all have to face the future at some point.
If I Knew You were going to be this Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let you Go by Judy Chicurel is available now.
October 26, 2014
Original review can be found at http://kristineandterri.blogspot.ca/2...
I received an ARC through a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
This book follows Katie through the summer of 1972 after she graduates from high school in the town of Elephant Beach.
I'll start by saying that I did enjoy the time frame of this book. It was interesting to read about the teen/adult population of the 70's. A lot of issues are touched on including the effects of war, drug and alcohol abuse and teenage pregnancy. I did however have many issues with the book. It was extremely busy with too many characters and the story jumped all over the map leaving me confused and frustrated. So many names were mentioned in this book that I couldn't keep them all straight. Just when I thought I had them figured out there would be a new chapter talking about someone new. I had a hard time connecting with the book because of it and found it challenging to get through it. For a book that is so busy it was slow at the same time if that makes any sense. It took me quite a while to get through the first half but it did improve slightly in the second half.
It just didn't have what I need in a book to hold my interest and if I weren't reviewing it I probably would have given up on it part way through.
I received an ARC through a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
This book follows Katie through the summer of 1972 after she graduates from high school in the town of Elephant Beach.
I'll start by saying that I did enjoy the time frame of this book. It was interesting to read about the teen/adult population of the 70's. A lot of issues are touched on including the effects of war, drug and alcohol abuse and teenage pregnancy. I did however have many issues with the book. It was extremely busy with too many characters and the story jumped all over the map leaving me confused and frustrated. So many names were mentioned in this book that I couldn't keep them all straight. Just when I thought I had them figured out there would be a new chapter talking about someone new. I had a hard time connecting with the book because of it and found it challenging to get through it. For a book that is so busy it was slow at the same time if that makes any sense. It took me quite a while to get through the first half but it did improve slightly in the second half.
It just didn't have what I need in a book to hold my interest and if I weren't reviewing it I probably would have given up on it part way through.
August 25, 2015
Thanks to Tinder Press for the ARC, and I'm really glad they shared this book with me. I really enjoyed these tales of life in 1972 on Elephant Beach (fictional place) on Long Island.
Being from the UK and never having been to Long Island I've no idea if there were or are areas with such a cast of characters like this novel portrayed. The novel was set during the Vietnam War but it was Katie's (the main character) yearning for Luke, a Veteran from the war, that was the main thread throughout the stories. He'd arrived home lost and a changed character from the laid back surfer and she struggled to make contact with him.
Each chapter told the tale of a different set of characters (who appeared in other character's stories). These tales were gritty and best avoided if you are uncomfortable reading about drug taking, teen pregnancy, abortion, and alcoholism. I also thought they were very compelling and thought the stories were written very well.
And the reason for the book title becomes clear in the last chapter!
Being from the UK and never having been to Long Island I've no idea if there were or are areas with such a cast of characters like this novel portrayed. The novel was set during the Vietnam War but it was Katie's (the main character) yearning for Luke, a Veteran from the war, that was the main thread throughout the stories. He'd arrived home lost and a changed character from the laid back surfer and she struggled to make contact with him.
Each chapter told the tale of a different set of characters (who appeared in other character's stories). These tales were gritty and best avoided if you are uncomfortable reading about drug taking, teen pregnancy, abortion, and alcoholism. I also thought they were very compelling and thought the stories were written very well.
And the reason for the book title becomes clear in the last chapter!
November 21, 2021
I own this book.
"We're all lost children at some point in time."
This book is set in 1970s New York, in an old dilapidated seaside town that has met the same fate as most seaside towns...Drugs, drink, boredom, teen pregnancies, secret abortions, adoptions and so on. This book centres around a group of friends who hang about in an old pub and each have their own dreams and dark experiences. This feels like a coming of age book in many ways. Each character seems to be on the edge of the next phase of something in their lives. The narrator Katie has dreams yet doesn't know how to achieve them and maintain her life in Elephant Beach, and her obsessive crush on Luke who has just returned home from the Vietnam War.
This book was fine ultimately. I don't feel like I have a lot to say about it because really, while stuff did happen, it didn't make it feel any kind of way. It felt a little lacklustre most of the time. I was constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop and it didn't at all in my opinion. This book is very well written, it's airy and feels nostalgic, just what you want from a COA book but again, the lack of real ANYTHING made me a bit passive on this book. I liked it. Nothing more.
"We're all lost children at some point in time."
This book is set in 1970s New York, in an old dilapidated seaside town that has met the same fate as most seaside towns...Drugs, drink, boredom, teen pregnancies, secret abortions, adoptions and so on. This book centres around a group of friends who hang about in an old pub and each have their own dreams and dark experiences. This feels like a coming of age book in many ways. Each character seems to be on the edge of the next phase of something in their lives. The narrator Katie has dreams yet doesn't know how to achieve them and maintain her life in Elephant Beach, and her obsessive crush on Luke who has just returned home from the Vietnam War.
This book was fine ultimately. I don't feel like I have a lot to say about it because really, while stuff did happen, it didn't make it feel any kind of way. It felt a little lacklustre most of the time. I was constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop and it didn't at all in my opinion. This book is very well written, it's airy and feels nostalgic, just what you want from a COA book but again, the lack of real ANYTHING made me a bit passive on this book. I liked it. Nothing more.
August 25, 2015
The early ‘70s, Comanche Beach, Long Island. An American rural seaside community where the teens hang about and young men return home from Vietnam. Jobs are scarce, the young are leaving for the city, and teenager Katie loves a veteran who seems disconnected from the world.
This novel has the longest title I’ve ever come across. The full title is ‘If I Knew You Were Going to be This Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let You Go’. I’m intrigued whether it was the author’s choice or the publisher’s. I can just hear the conversations about front cover design.
Katie has finished school and is hanging around town for the summer, drinking egg cream sodas at Eddy’s during the day, spending lazy nights at the lounge in The Starlight Hotel. As she and her friends worry about ‘doing it’ and hickeys and mascara, their love interest is split into boys and soldiers. The girls continue to have crushes on the best-looking guys with bleached hair and suntanned arms, but they struggle to connect with these flawed men [mentally and physically flawed] who have seen American and Vietnamese blood bloom in rivers so it looks like lilies. “I see this, like… this giant… blossom, the biggest blossom I’ve ever seen, right on the river, like this unbelievably beautiful flower just floating on the river, getting bigger and bigger, like it was taking over the river, right?” Like the river was a big, fucking, flowing flower!”
The narrative spine of the book is Katie’s longing for Luke, a crush on an older boy who goes away to fight and comes back a man, solitary, silent. As her friends get pregnant and marry, Katie continues to long for Luke to look at her, to speak to her. This is a tender picture of growing up, becoming an adult, slowly like Katie or suddenly like Luke. Cut into Katie’s narrative are the stories of the people around her, all come together to draw a picture of a decaying seaside community in 1972 at a time when America struggled to cope with returning veterans maimed in mind and limb. A well-written debut. I will watch out for the next novel by Judy Chicurel.
This novel has the longest title I’ve ever come across. The full title is ‘If I Knew You Were Going to be This Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let You Go’. I’m intrigued whether it was the author’s choice or the publisher’s. I can just hear the conversations about front cover design.
Katie has finished school and is hanging around town for the summer, drinking egg cream sodas at Eddy’s during the day, spending lazy nights at the lounge in The Starlight Hotel. As she and her friends worry about ‘doing it’ and hickeys and mascara, their love interest is split into boys and soldiers. The girls continue to have crushes on the best-looking guys with bleached hair and suntanned arms, but they struggle to connect with these flawed men [mentally and physically flawed] who have seen American and Vietnamese blood bloom in rivers so it looks like lilies. “I see this, like… this giant… blossom, the biggest blossom I’ve ever seen, right on the river, like this unbelievably beautiful flower just floating on the river, getting bigger and bigger, like it was taking over the river, right?” Like the river was a big, fucking, flowing flower!”
The narrative spine of the book is Katie’s longing for Luke, a crush on an older boy who goes away to fight and comes back a man, solitary, silent. As her friends get pregnant and marry, Katie continues to long for Luke to look at her, to speak to her. This is a tender picture of growing up, becoming an adult, slowly like Katie or suddenly like Luke. Cut into Katie’s narrative are the stories of the people around her, all come together to draw a picture of a decaying seaside community in 1972 at a time when America struggled to cope with returning veterans maimed in mind and limb. A well-written debut. I will watch out for the next novel by Judy Chicurel.
October 26, 2014
This was a beautifully written novel for the most part to be sure but for me it did have its ups and downs – We follow Katie in the 70’s along with a group of eclectic and sometimes engaging, sometimes confusing characters on the brink of growing up in a place that is also teetering on the brink of change.
On the hugely plus side, Judy Chicurel has captured the sense of the decade brilliantly – firmly placing the reader in the place our characters inhabit and giving a sense of the differences in attitudes then and now. However to be honest I really struggled with the first half of this story – too many people, too much going on and WAY too much swearing, perhaps an attempt to give the characters flesh and bones but for me it just kept kicking me out of the tale…
Having said that I am very glad I stuck with it, because from about the halfway point I suddenly realised I was immersed in this world with these people and really did want to know what happened to them – the flow suddenly kicked in for me, perhaps as I got used to the style – and I went from picking this up and putting it down again to avidly reading through to the end.
It is an evocative tale with some intriguing insights and some cleverly drawn relationships, the best part of it being Katie who the author captures perfectly, but I think perhaps the pudding has been over egged slightly which caused me the initial issues – over wordy sometimes, considering the book itself is not that long, I admittedly skim read over some of the longer paragraphs that did not seem to be getting me anywhere.
I would definitely recommend trying this novel for yourself, especially if you like a good coming of age tale and would recommend that you stick with it if you find yourself reacting as I did at the start, because ultimately there is a pay off for the reader that is surprising and engaging and the heart of the story, the ambience and the premise is really very good.
Happy Reading Folks
On the hugely plus side, Judy Chicurel has captured the sense of the decade brilliantly – firmly placing the reader in the place our characters inhabit and giving a sense of the differences in attitudes then and now. However to be honest I really struggled with the first half of this story – too many people, too much going on and WAY too much swearing, perhaps an attempt to give the characters flesh and bones but for me it just kept kicking me out of the tale…
Having said that I am very glad I stuck with it, because from about the halfway point I suddenly realised I was immersed in this world with these people and really did want to know what happened to them – the flow suddenly kicked in for me, perhaps as I got used to the style – and I went from picking this up and putting it down again to avidly reading through to the end.
It is an evocative tale with some intriguing insights and some cleverly drawn relationships, the best part of it being Katie who the author captures perfectly, but I think perhaps the pudding has been over egged slightly which caused me the initial issues – over wordy sometimes, considering the book itself is not that long, I admittedly skim read over some of the longer paragraphs that did not seem to be getting me anywhere.
I would definitely recommend trying this novel for yourself, especially if you like a good coming of age tale and would recommend that you stick with it if you find yourself reacting as I did at the start, because ultimately there is a pay off for the reader that is surprising and engaging and the heart of the story, the ambience and the premise is really very good.
Happy Reading Folks
June 19, 2015
This was a coming of age book set in the 70’s. Kate is 18 and lives in Elephant Beach, near Manhatten. The book tackles the drugs scene and teenage pregnancy. It also deals with the teenage lads back from war in Vietnam and the way they struggle to return to normal teenage carefree lives again.
It was an insight into the teenage world of the time and certain life issues it deals with.
There is a large cast of characters that can be a little difficult to keep track of, initially.
With thanks to Net Galley for the chance to read this one
It was an insight into the teenage world of the time and certain life issues it deals with.
There is a large cast of characters that can be a little difficult to keep track of, initially.
With thanks to Net Galley for the chance to read this one
October 1, 2014
I started this book thinking it was going to be a typical rom com, boy meets girl, they fall in love, they split up and get back together, but it wasn't. It followed katie threw her last summer before college and all the ups and downs of living in a run-down long island town set in the early 70s. It really gives you a view on what it was like in those days and how different a life we live today. The title of the book was used in a completely different content than i was expecting even half way through the book i wasn't expecting the ending!
April 5, 2017
Encore une fois Robert Lafond me fait découvrir une belle histoire que je ne me serais pas forcément pris.
Sans être aussi trash, le livre me fait beaucoup pensé à Requiem for a Dream de Hubert Selby Jr., entre les drogues et ce village glauque en bord de mer.
Je me suis un peu emmêler les pinceaux entre tous les personnages mais on se cramponne sur les principaux.
Assez surprise par la fin même si au final cela était prévisible, on apprend à ce moment là d'où vient le titre. Reste sur une question en suspend, nous ne saurons jamais et justement j'ai apprécié car elle représente très bien le livre : elle est vraie comme la vie, authentique et cruelle !
Sans être aussi trash, le livre me fait beaucoup pensé à Requiem for a Dream de Hubert Selby Jr., entre les drogues et ce village glauque en bord de mer.
Je me suis un peu emmêler les pinceaux entre tous les personnages mais on se cramponne sur les principaux.
Assez surprise par la fin même si au final cela était prévisible, on apprend à ce moment là d'où vient le titre. Reste sur une question en suspend, nous ne saurons jamais et justement j'ai apprécié car elle représente très bien le livre : elle est vraie comme la vie, authentique et cruelle !
May 10, 2018
I enjoyed stepping back in time to an era that was truly all about sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. If you didn't live it, you probably can't really imagine these crazy times. This book was "right on" in describing that but I did find it a little all over the place.
May 24, 2015
If I Knew You Were Going To Be This Beautiful I Never Would Have Let You Go, by Judy Chicurel, is a coming of age story set in 1970’s Long Island in the USA. Despite being populated by chain smoking, hard drinking, drug taking teenagers it has a poignancy that transcends the antipathy these activities may evoke in some readers who have perhaps led more sedate lives. The characters are universal in their hopes and dreams for a better future, their feelings and frustrations portrayed vividly despite the veneer of their rebellious lifestyle.
The protagonist, Katie, is the adopted daughter of parents who frown upon many of her choices, from friends, to habits, to the places she chooses to hang out. In her desire to find a place where she can belong she has taken to frequenting the down at heel cafes and bars, a result of the economic fragility of an area abandoned by the rich when they discovered cheap air travel. The story is set in the summer when Katie and her friends graduate from High School. They are on the cusp of the rest of their lives.
Katie has grown up in this area. She has had friendships at elementary school with the Puerto Ricans who are now drug dealers. She has watched from afar the privileged Dunes with their cashmere sweaters, their clothes never to big, their teeth never crooked.
“Those girls from the Dunes! We envied them, hated them, and wanted to be them, isn’t that always the way? It’s an old song, because those girls are everywhere, in every story, in every life; fairy tale princesses […] Prettier, brighter, lovelier than everyone else, or at least they think so, and they are never fearful of ridicule or laughter or life.”
Katie and her eclectic group of working class compatriots dream of escape from parental displeasure and the confines of a community where they are so well known. Some dream of marriage and babies, a fate which several achieve early. Others eschew this result of unwise couplings seeking abortions. Sex is a hot topic of conversation as they make out on the beach or in the back of cars. This is teenage life at its most raw.
Alongside the growing up and getting out is the shadow of Vietnam which only those who have experienced it can fully understand. The vets are welcomed home but then silently resented when they fail to slot back into the places they once held. Katie has long held a candle for one such boy, Luke, who she dreams of seducing. As she bides her time, believing this summer to be a beginning rather than an ending, she watches as her friends, one by one, move on with their lives.
There were things about this story that I felt were overdone: the constant smoking, the drinking and drugs; but what do I know of the reality of the time?
However, the teenage dreams were memorably intangible yet painfully authentic. The generational disconnect, the importance of friends and the aching need for something more were evoked perfectly.
I loved the denouement. The author wove together all the stories told; treasured memories of experiences, good and bad, that can never be repeated. Who does not look back on this period in their lives with both fondness and regret? Katie’s story reminds the reader of the transience of the present, no matter how important it may seem at the time.
My copy of this book was provided gratis by the publisher, Tinder Press.
The protagonist, Katie, is the adopted daughter of parents who frown upon many of her choices, from friends, to habits, to the places she chooses to hang out. In her desire to find a place where she can belong she has taken to frequenting the down at heel cafes and bars, a result of the economic fragility of an area abandoned by the rich when they discovered cheap air travel. The story is set in the summer when Katie and her friends graduate from High School. They are on the cusp of the rest of their lives.
Katie has grown up in this area. She has had friendships at elementary school with the Puerto Ricans who are now drug dealers. She has watched from afar the privileged Dunes with their cashmere sweaters, their clothes never to big, their teeth never crooked.
“Those girls from the Dunes! We envied them, hated them, and wanted to be them, isn’t that always the way? It’s an old song, because those girls are everywhere, in every story, in every life; fairy tale princesses […] Prettier, brighter, lovelier than everyone else, or at least they think so, and they are never fearful of ridicule or laughter or life.”
Katie and her eclectic group of working class compatriots dream of escape from parental displeasure and the confines of a community where they are so well known. Some dream of marriage and babies, a fate which several achieve early. Others eschew this result of unwise couplings seeking abortions. Sex is a hot topic of conversation as they make out on the beach or in the back of cars. This is teenage life at its most raw.
Alongside the growing up and getting out is the shadow of Vietnam which only those who have experienced it can fully understand. The vets are welcomed home but then silently resented when they fail to slot back into the places they once held. Katie has long held a candle for one such boy, Luke, who she dreams of seducing. As she bides her time, believing this summer to be a beginning rather than an ending, she watches as her friends, one by one, move on with their lives.
There were things about this story that I felt were overdone: the constant smoking, the drinking and drugs; but what do I know of the reality of the time?
However, the teenage dreams were memorably intangible yet painfully authentic. The generational disconnect, the importance of friends and the aching need for something more were evoked perfectly.
I loved the denouement. The author wove together all the stories told; treasured memories of experiences, good and bad, that can never be repeated. Who does not look back on this period in their lives with both fondness and regret? Katie’s story reminds the reader of the transience of the present, no matter how important it may seem at the time.
My copy of this book was provided gratis by the publisher, Tinder Press.
May 2, 2016
This book, with its rather clunky title, is a coming-of-age story set in Elephant Beach, a small town on Long Island, New York in the early 1970s. This is the gritty, poor version of Long Island, not the moneyed wealth that exists there now.
The story doesn't have a strong plot line but rather follows the teenage Katie and her friends through one summer near the end of their school years. It is another example of a collection of linked stories pulled together as a novel, which seem to be gaining popularity, particularly in the US at the moment.
There are a couple of young Vietnam war veterans, struggling with their demons, and the staples of the genre, including losing your virginity, teenage pregnancies, drug use and finding out what you want to do with your life.
But mainly this is the story of a small town, the characters that live there and the different groups of have's and have nots. There are many lovely scenes, such as a very sad one where a local woman loses her job through no fault of her own and the slow but inevitable breaking away from the past and moving to Manhattan.
The strongest part of the story for me was the interaction between the young girls, the way they confided in each other but also how they could turn on each other too. The realisation that some of the girls have made choices that they are starting to regret was also painful and realistic.
But when the time comes, Katie finds it hard to leave because she doesn't want to accept that she is not leaving something behind that she will keep coming back to find. I felt that Katie's exploration of her adoption and what it meant to her was potentially the most interesting theme of the book but it felt under done to me. Her feelings of wanting to belong were related to this, but somehow not fully realised.
Reading a series of stories makes for a less compelling narrative, but the writing in this story is lovely and Chicurel completely immerses the reader in the life of a small town in the 1970s.
The story doesn't have a strong plot line but rather follows the teenage Katie and her friends through one summer near the end of their school years. It is another example of a collection of linked stories pulled together as a novel, which seem to be gaining popularity, particularly in the US at the moment.
There are a couple of young Vietnam war veterans, struggling with their demons, and the staples of the genre, including losing your virginity, teenage pregnancies, drug use and finding out what you want to do with your life.
But mainly this is the story of a small town, the characters that live there and the different groups of have's and have nots. There are many lovely scenes, such as a very sad one where a local woman loses her job through no fault of her own and the slow but inevitable breaking away from the past and moving to Manhattan.
The strongest part of the story for me was the interaction between the young girls, the way they confided in each other but also how they could turn on each other too. The realisation that some of the girls have made choices that they are starting to regret was also painful and realistic.
But when the time comes, Katie finds it hard to leave because she doesn't want to accept that she is not leaving something behind that she will keep coming back to find. I felt that Katie's exploration of her adoption and what it meant to her was potentially the most interesting theme of the book but it felt under done to me. Her feelings of wanting to belong were related to this, but somehow not fully realised.
Reading a series of stories makes for a less compelling narrative, but the writing in this story is lovely and Chicurel completely immerses the reader in the life of a small town in the 1970s.
April 24, 2015
This is a bleak, compelling and moving debut novel about 18-year-old Katie who lives on Long Island in the 1970s in a poor neighbourhood with a group of other lost and aimless young people, all waiting for whatever the future might bring to them, and mostly spending their days in a haze of alcohol, drugs and sex. The Vietnam War is raging not only in the background but also in the hearts and minds of some of the young men who have returned from it. It’s neither a happy time nor a happy place, and Chicurel has poignantly and vividly captured the atmosphere. Beautifully written, well-paced if slightly rambling at times, and with authentic dialogue, it’s a gentle and tender book which deals with a harsh and often hopeless environment where sometimes the odds are pretty much stacked against this group of youngsters. Evocative and powerful, it’s a book I found myself caught up in, sympathising with these lost and damaged kids and hoping for a brighter future for them.
August 4, 2014
I could not get on with this book. I really wanted to based on the blurb but it wasnt the style of writing i liked. Why an author feels the need to include swearing all the time i dont know. Our ears get assulted by foul language on a day to day basis i dont really want to have it when im trying to relax. Just my opinion but i feel that as an author you should have the skill to use other words to convey what you want without using swear words. Anyway rant over! :-) I felt the story was a little all over the place. Even though there is a narrator i got confused at times as to who was speaking and had to keep reminding myself who characters were i felt there were quite a few introduced. This is just my opinion and i didnt finsh the book so cant say that i disliked it totally but based on what i read i had no motivation to finsh it.
August 18, 2015
I was happy to bring this book along to my trip to the lake this summer. I found it was an interesting story, and really captured what living in the 70s was like. I enjoyed the main character, Katie, and thought she was well-portrayed.
The book did drag a bit in parts, and it seemed to me to be more of a reflection of a certain point in time rather than having a story full of action and drama. I felt sad for the characters as their lives seemed predictable, and not very fulfilling.
I liked the author's writing, and how descriptive and accurate she was.
Overall, I liked this book but wished there had been more to the story.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. Thank you!
The book did drag a bit in parts, and it seemed to me to be more of a reflection of a certain point in time rather than having a story full of action and drama. I felt sad for the characters as their lives seemed predictable, and not very fulfilling.
I liked the author's writing, and how descriptive and accurate she was.
Overall, I liked this book but wished there had been more to the story.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. Thank you!
September 25, 2014
Katie, the main character in this novel is an 18 year young woman who obviously ha a good head on her shoulders. But it's the early 1970ies, and she surrounds herself with a bunch of burnt out losers who seem to do nothing but hang out at the beach, or in a bar, drinking way too much, taking too many drugs, and having too many unwanted pregnancies. At first I said to myself, C,mon Katie, you can do better than this. But slowly but surely, I was also won over by these "losers". Some of the most endearing,fascinating, and memorable characters I have come across in a work of fiction for quite awhile.
September 21, 2014
They were all my friends, and they died...this book reminded me of Jim Carroll, and also a little of Mystic River, in the tight-knit lower class neighborhood. I liked the loosely connected chapters, the friendships, and the sense of time and place.
I didn't even notice the cursing till I read other reviews. The only thing that made me uncomfortable was how much this reminded me of what I might have written an 18-year-old. It made me cringe, in places, the earnestness. But that's a reflection of myself, not of the book.
I didn't even notice the cursing till I read other reviews. The only thing that made me uncomfortable was how much this reminded me of what I might have written an 18-year-old. It made me cringe, in places, the earnestness. But that's a reflection of myself, not of the book.
December 29, 2014
*Got a free copy to review through netgalley.com*
First of all, a little note to the publishers, I do think the title is a bit of a risk take as it is too long.
Other than that, the protagonist Kate was brilliantly created. I thought the book was beautifully written, it almost made me feel like I was watching the story line unfold in front of my eyes. However, the reason it does not get a higher rating from is because it took until the second half of the novel for me to really understand what was going on and for me to really start enjoying what I was reading.
First of all, a little note to the publishers, I do think the title is a bit of a risk take as it is too long.
Other than that, the protagonist Kate was brilliantly created. I thought the book was beautifully written, it almost made me feel like I was watching the story line unfold in front of my eyes. However, the reason it does not get a higher rating from is because it took until the second half of the novel for me to really understand what was going on and for me to really start enjoying what I was reading.
June 16, 2016
Blah...
I had a really really hard time staying involved in this book... and I found my mind wandering a bit. I would have known if I read the synopsis before I read the book because I tend to not like "historical" books or books about WWII etc..
The cover and the title is what drew me in, I am pretty sure that is one of the longest titled books I have ever read.
There isn't going to be anything about this book that I remember I can see it now... Even writing about it makes my eyes gloss over... lol
Boring Read!
I had a really really hard time staying involved in this book... and I found my mind wandering a bit. I would have known if I read the synopsis before I read the book because I tend to not like "historical" books or books about WWII etc..
The cover and the title is what drew me in, I am pretty sure that is one of the longest titled books I have ever read.
There isn't going to be anything about this book that I remember I can see it now... Even writing about it makes my eyes gloss over... lol
Boring Read!
August 3, 2017
What I loved the most about this novel was just how natural the plot read; it did not fall into cliched territory, common narratives or story arcs. Every single voice feels achingly real, so much so that I found myself nostalgic for an era that I did not even experience firsthand. This is an earnest novel, that made me feel as though I was gaining a glimpse into the lives of my mother and aunts and uncles in the early 1970s. It is striking in its authenticity, and though full of longing, it is unsentimental. I wish there were more just like it.
dnf
November 25, 2014This book isn't for me. The title is really the reason I wanted to read this, and then I won it in a giveaway so YAY for me.
The writing is really lovely and the setting is neat. I felt what Katie is feeling and I love the time set of the book which is the 70's. I stopped reading because I started feeling that the story was dragging and that I know how this ends anyway. And the characters started to get REALLY really annoying that I can't read another chapter anymore.
The writing is really lovely and the setting is neat. I felt what Katie is feeling and I love the time set of the book which is the 70's. I stopped reading because I started feeling that the story was dragging and that I know how this ends anyway. And the characters started to get REALLY really annoying that I can't read another chapter anymore.
June 22, 2014
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Took me a while to get into it but found 2nd half of the book was better. Beautifully well written but not a novel I've spent time thinking about after I finished it.
Full review to follow nearer the publication date.
Took me a while to get into it but found 2nd half of the book was better. Beautifully well written but not a novel I've spent time thinking about after I finished it.
Full review to follow nearer the publication date.
January 8, 2015
Some excellent writing, very atmospheric - reminded me of Joan Didion's essays about disaffected youth in the 1960s. A little grim at times but very interesting - a portrait of a time.
Review here: http://theselittlewords.com/2014/09/2...
Review here: http://theselittlewords.com/2014/09/2...
March 9, 2015
Lovely writing but the story didn't do much for me. Quite meandering and lots of characters I never connected to.
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