The Kindness

by Polly Samson

A novel both heartbreaking and hopeful, about love and family, and the major and minor ways we lose people in our lives—from an acclaimed talent.

Julian’s fall begins the moment he sets eyes on Julia, flying a hawk high on a ridge. Julian is an English student, heading toward academia; Julia is married and eight years his senior. And yet, ignoring warnings from family and friends, they each give up all they have to be together. Their new life in London offers immense happiness, especially after their daughter, Mira, is born.

But when Julian’s adored—and remote—boyhood home becomes available, he sets out to re-create a lost paradise for his new family. Once again, he allows love to blind him. Only when Mira becomes dangerously ill does it become impossible for Julia to conceal the explosive secret that she has been keeping.

In this first introduction to American readers, the acclaimed Polly Samson explores how the yearning for the past can affect joy in the present and the future. The Kindness is a haunting story of love, grief, betrayal, and reconciliation—masterfully plotted and exquisitely rendered.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Chick Lit, British Literature, 21st Century, Literary Fiction, Novels

293 pages, Hardcover

First published March 12, 2015

About the author

Polly Samson is the author of three novels and two collections of short stories. Her most recent novel, A Theatre for Dreamers, reached number 2 in The Sunday Times bestsellers list and she has written introductions to new editions of Charmian Clift's Mermaid Singing and Peel Me A Lotus which will be published in April 2021.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This very subtle novel reminds me of works by Tessa Hadley and Lucy Caldwell. Samson takes one seemingly perfect couple – Julia and Julian – and parses out what went wrong between them and the aftermath. The book is so elegantly structured; Samson lets her characters drift in and out of flashbacks with none of the customary warnings (section break or year heading). Instead she leaves it to readers to piece together the jigsaw puzzle of how they met and raised their daughter, Mira, and then how everything fell apart and they ended up with other partners. “You’d think it would be hard to remove every trace of yourself from a life,” Julia thinks, “but really, it isn’t.” The author’s tricksy wielding of foreshadowing had me convinced that a major character had died, until a jump to five years later proved me wrong. The fact that Samson surprised me in this regard, and only late on reveals a secret about a character’s parentage, shows how carefully she maintains control of her plot.

The book requires a patience I’m sure many readers won’t have, which is a shame because this is gorgeous writing. I especially love the long section set at Firdaws, Julian’s country home (presumably pictured on the cover). It’s late summer, and the very language reflects the languid spread of daylight into evening as Julian mourns the departure of his family and turns to drink more often than to his writing. I noted a couple lovely passages about Julian’s dog, Zeph: “an entire orphanage of pleading in his eyes” and “a corsage of goosegrass, burrs and buttercups stuck to his ruff.” Another favorite was this avian comparison between the two women jealously guarding Julian (his mother, Jenna, and former/future girlfriend, Katie) “Jenna’s shoulders slightly raised, a scheming pigeon in her crumpled grey dress beside Katie’s resplendent green cockatoo.”

Samson has published three other books, a novel and two short story collections, and it is common knowledge that her husband is David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. I think she’s flown under the radar for a long time and deserves to be better known. One thing that might not be helping is this novel’s title. What it should be, I’m not sure, but it just doesn’t seem to capture what the book is about. The reference is to a line from the last few pages. The context: Julian wrote a memoir about his split from Julia. “He felt the blood rush to his head. Julia hadn’t read his book? He’d done her the kindness of being generous in his portrayal of her treachery, so sure had he been that she would read it.”

The title is accurate in that Samson is kind to her main characters. I felt close to both Julia and Julian, so that I was genuinely sad to see them struggling and failing to connect. Julian’s encouragement from his stepfather, though, is a good reminder for us all: “It’s not the end of your story, nor is it your only story.”

I was delighted to win a free copy through Goodreads First Reads.


Related reading:
• Clever Girl by Tessa Hadley
• The Meeting Point by Lucy Caldwell

[Heather Hyde · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really don't know what that was all about, it jumps around within the chapters, and doesn't make anything very clear, I now don't know what really happened to the main character, if she had an affair, where she went, what happened to her daughters memory and all sorts of unanswered questions, which I really didn't expect, really didn't go anywhere and has just left me sort of confused and frustrated!

[Joanne Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as a proof copy sent to me by Bloomsbury. The main ingredients of this novel are deceptively simple. A man; a woman; a house; a child; a long-kept secret to be revealed, not in a fanfare, but in a series of small and somehow terrible revelations, tortuous as the human heart. It is a beautifully-written and intricately-constructed piece of writing; shining, poetic and sumptuous; a portrait of a sunlit lake, which at any moment may reveal itself to be the scene of a tragedy. Polly Samson is a writer of great insight and sensitivity; her novel is moving, wistful, wise and ultimately hopeful; grown-up in all the right ways, but still with a simplicity that comes directly from the heart.

[Daniel Myatt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would never have picked this book up if it wasn't for my Book Club and I'm honestly exhausted from reading it!

A bunch of self centred characters do their best to make themselves miserable (and all those around them)

Constant flashbacks, annoying narrative and boring plot!

We've much to discuss at our next Zoom meeting!

[Kristina Anderson · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Kindness by Polly Samson is one of the worst books I have read this year. The book starts in 1989 with Julia married to Chris. Chris has been away working and Julia (who is twenty-nine) has been having an affair with Julian (who is twenty-one and a working on his Ph. D. in English Literature). When Chris finds out he becomes nasty and abusive. Julia is pregnant and leaves her husband for Julian.

Then the book skips to 1997 and Julian is living at Firdaws. Firdaws was his childhood home and he was happy when the current occupants put it up for sale. He loved this home and was delighted to be living in it again (he does not seem to notice that Julia does not want to live in the country and prefers London). Julia had a miscarriage and it took them four years to get pregnant again. They had Mira Eliana. Mira ends up sick with a tumor. She needs cancer treatments and then surgery. During this time the two do not communicate very well (and Julia makes many incorrect assumptions). The book jumps around during this section (flashbacks) telling the story from Julian’s perspective (how they met, their friends, lack of communication during Mira’s illness). Julian is mostly drunk during this section clutching a shoe (Mira’s).

About two hundred pages later we get to Julia’s side of the story in 2002. Julia is now living in the United States with her husband (this would be her third) and two children (Mira and Ruth). We get to find out what happened between Julia and Julian (from Julia’s perspective) and the lies she told Julian (her “kindness” is very cruel). Then the book jumps to 2012 for the conclusion with Mira coming to Firdaws.

The book does not tell the story in chronological order. It jumps around so you are never quite sure what is going on. The Kindness is very choppy and confusing. I also found it to be very predictable (expected) and sluggish (like slogging through a mud pit). I give The Kindness 1 out of 5 stars (really deserves a zero). I just did not find this book enjoyable (and it really did sound good).

I received a complimentary copy of The Kindness from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The review and opinions expressed are my own.

http://bibliophileandavidreader.blogs...

[Tonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A novel both heartbreaking and hopeful, about love and family, and the major and minor ways we lose people in our lives—from an acclaimed talent.

Julian’s fall begins the moment he sets eyes on Julia, flying a hawk high on a ridge. Julian is an English student, heading toward academia; Julia is married and eight years his senior. And yet, ignoring warnings from family and friends, they each give up all they have to be together. Their new life in London offers immense happiness, especially after their daughter, Mira, is born.

But when Julian’s adored—and remote—boyhood home becomes available, he sets out to re-create a lost paradise for his new family. Once again, he allows love to blind him. Only when Mira becomes dangerously ill does it become impossible for Julia to conceal the explosive secret that she has been keeping.

In this first introduction to American readers, the acclaimed Polly Samson explores how the yearning for the past can affect joy in the present and the future. The Kindness is a haunting story of love, grief, betrayal, and reconciliation—masterfully plotted and exquisitely rendered.

--My thoughts. Knock my socks off. Well I couldn't guess what was going to happen. I can't hardly discuss this book, for fear of spoilers. Let's just say. Wow. So beautifully written. Took my breath away. I don't get amazed very often, but this book left me just saying this is why I read. Love is such a tricky thing. When secrets are exposed, you will be shocked --

I can't believe this author has stayed off of my radar for so long. Please, don't waste a moment. Read this book. If it is the only book you read this year!

[Γιώτα Παπαδημακοπούλου · Rating 2 out of 5]

Το ένα και μοναδικό προτέρημα που έχει αυτό το βιβλίο είναι πως είναι καλογραμμένο (άσχετα αν του εκ του τελικού αποτελέσματος αυτό το στοιχείο πάει χαμένο), διαβάζεται εύκολα και χρησιμοποιεί πολύ εύκολα αγγλικά, πράγμα που κάνει την μετάφραση παιχνιδάκι για όποιον την αναλάβει.
Δεν καταλαβαίνω γιατί το βιβλίο είναι τόσο πολύ μεγάλο σε έκταση. Πραγματικά, μιλάει και μιλάει και μιλάει, χωρίς τελικά να λέει κάτι. Είναι φλύαρο, χωρίς να καταλήγει ουσιαστικά σε κάποιο βαθύτερο νόημα και παράλληλα, παρά τον όγκο του, στο σύνολό του, μοιάζει σαν να είναι τελείως περιγραφικό.
Δεν έχει ούτε δομή, ούτε οργάνωση και φυσικά αναφέρομαι τόσο στην ίδια την ιστορία, όσο και στο στήσιμό της για να παρουσιαστεί σε μας. Σου δίνει την αίσθηση πως μεταπηδάει από το ένα γεγονός στο άλλο, όπως και από τη μία περίοδο στην άλλη, μπερδεύοντάς σε, χωρίς να σου αφήνει χώρο να αναπνεύσεις και χρόνο να καταλάβεις τι πραγματικά συμβαίνει, δημιουργώντας σου συνεχώς απορίες.
Κακά τα ψέματα, η εποχή στην οποία τοποθετείται, στο σήμερα, δεν παρουσιάζει κανένα απολύτως ενδιαφέρον. Είναι βαρετή, είναι άχρωμη, είναι απλώς ενοχλητική! Την έχουμε δει, διαβάσει, κάποιοι την έχουμε ζήσει, δεν υπάρχει κανένας απολύτως λόγος να την χρησιμοποιείς σε σύγχρονη μυθοπλασία χωρίς να υπάρχει πραγματικός λόγος για κάτι τέτοιο. Με πολύ απλά λόγια, πρόκειται για ένα κείμενο πολύ παλαιικό και άνευρο.
Δεν μπορείς να ταυτιστείς με τους χαρακτήρες ακόμα κι αν έχεις κάθε καλή πρόθεση να το κάνεις. Απλά, δεν γίνεται! Το ψυχογράφημά τους είναι ανύπαρκτο και οι πράξεις τους, τις περισσότερες φορές, δεν δικαιολογούνται, δεν στοιχειοθετούνται, δεν καταλαβαίνεις γιατί τους οδηγούν σε αποφάσεις δίχως λογική και νόημα και που τελικά αποδεικνύεται πως δεν έχουν καμία ουσία.
Σου αφήνει συνέχεια υποννοούμενα για μυστικά του παρελθόντος που είτε δεν έρχονται ποτέ, είτε έρχονται αλλά είναι αδιάφορα και κατά πάσα πιθανότητα, τα έχεις υποθέσει πολύ νωρίτερα. Πάσχει από ανατροπές και σασπένς και ακόμα και στο τέλος, δεν καταφέρνει να κάνει εκείνο το twist που τόσο πολύ αναζητάς και ίσως σου αλλάξει τη γνώμη.
Είναι ψυχρό! Υποτίθεται ότι μέσα σε όλα τα άλλα, μιλάει για την αγάπη, το συναίσθημα, αλλά και για την ουσία της αλήθειας έναντι των “λευκών” ψεμάτων που μπορεί τελικά να καταστρέψουν τη ζωή σου. Συγνώμη, αλλά δεν καταλαβαίνω πως περιμένει να στα περάσει όλα αυτά αφού ούτε συναίσθημα, ούτε ευαισθησία υπάρχει, ούτε τίποτα.

(Αναλυτικό review αν τελικά κυκλοφορήσει...0

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful. Read it in one sitting. Loved the structure. Loved the story. Especially loved Julian and Mira

[L.A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Posted first to Blog Critics as Book Review:' The Kindness,' A Novel by Polly Samson.

Author, Polly Samson, has given us a romance in real terms, one that follows the course of the most basic human characteristics. The Kindness takes us into a romance of passion and need, one that ends one relationship but begins anew in a whole new exciting desire and obsession.

Julian cannot take his eyes off Julia, his brief glimpse of her flying a hawk, has captured his imagination and passion. Searching to find her he is lost as he realizes he may never see her again. Chance brings them back into contact, and it is here that she too realizes the connection. Living an unhappy life, she is ready for more, and Julian is just the one she feels she has been looking for.

Together in London, their happiness only grows with the advent of a daughter, Mira. She completes the circle of love in a way that seems unbreakable.

When Julian has the chance to buy his remote boyhood home, he decides that all they need now is paradise, and he aims to please. His own blindness in the feelings of those around him only makes things more difficult. When Mira becomes ill, he finally learns the truth, a secret that changes everything.

Samson has given us ‘true to life’ characters with feelings. She creates the personalities in such a way that it is difficult to dislike them, creating your own ideas of what is truly going on. She has given us a haunting story of pleasure, disappointment, and family, one that immerses you into their journey. She sprinkles it with grief and betrayal and in her masterful style she delivers a reconciliation of sorts.

This is a work of mystery and romance, of truth and trust, one that a strong dialogue.evolves and moves in waves of feelings. You think you understand and yet she plots the story so well that you are taken aback at the final reveal. If you are looking for that special book for your library this is the one.

The Kindness by Polly Samson would be a great book for a reading or book club. The depth and creative flaws of the characters will create.

[Roger Brunyate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Romance of Missed Connections

Most of the other houses have front paths and gardens but Firdaws is reached across a small meadow of scrubby grass filled at this time of year with yellow wildflowers, cornflowers and dog daisies. Its chimney rises tall and crooked and in the evenings soft mist rolls in from the river to surround it, giving it the appearance of a house in a dream. Of a gentle weathered brick and hanging tile, it was built into a natural nook, so if you lie on the riverbank looking up towards the village it's the first house you see, tucked into the bosom of the landscape with nothing but dark green conifer woods at its shoulders and the spire of St. Gabriel's pointing to the sky.

A picture postcard in words. People who like this kind of Englishness might well enjoy the book, for the romance of Firdaws is at the heart of it. Little more than a simple cottage, it is the house where the protagonist, a young writer called Julian, grew up. His mother has been forced to sell it, but now, with a growing income from a series of historical novels told from the point of view of the dogs of famous people, it looks like Julian can buy it back, restore its former charm, and make it into a home for his wife Julia and daughter Mira. Julia, a garden designer, is almost a decade older than Julian, but she leaves her husband for him. Mira is the love of their lives. But, as the back-cover blurb will tell you, she becomes seriously ill and the couple's idyll turns to tragedy.

The blurb again: "The Kindness is a haunting story of love, grief, betrayal, and reconciliation." Yes, it is all that, but I felt it was also rather contrived, and lacked the intense connections between its characters necessary to make romance work. Samson tells most of the story in flashbacks that might come from any time in the relationship, and it is often quite difficult to get them back into order. No sooner does she bring Julian and Julia together in Chapter 1, than she opens Chapter 2 with Julian alone in Firdaws, wife and child apparently erased from his life. No, this is not the end of the story, but it does mean that we have to spend a lot of time with a potentially alcoholic writer feeling sorry for himself. The blurb will also tell you that Julia has an "explosive secret" that she will be forced to reveal. And indeed she has, but by the time we get to it, we have virtually lost touch with Julia, and may no longer believe in the love we took for granted in the first place. All the same, it makes for one of those endings that makes you see everything before in a new light; with a different build-up, I might have been really moved.

And so from endings to beginnings. The book opens with Julia flying a falcon in the English countryside. I remarked that it was unfortunate that this made one think of Helen Macdonald's H is for Hawk, an altogether remarkable book that came out a few months before this one. The author has responded by sending me a story written well before the Macdonald book, so there is no question of imitation. More than that, it is a good story, tougher than most of the writing here, and it shows at some length how Julia and Julian met. Had the entire story been printed as the first chapter of the present book, I think many of my objections would have been reduced.

[Lucille · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the first time that I can remember I wanted to reread The Kindness as soon as I finished it. A beautifully written story of love, loss and redemption, Polly Sampson's prose left me wanting more.

We meet Julian, in whose voice the early sections of the story are told, mourning the woman he loves, Julia, and their yearned for daughter Mira. He is living in his idyllic childhood home, Firdaws, which he lost when he first met Julia, a married woman eight years older than himself. To the consternation of his mother, Jenna, and his best friend, Karl, Julian gives up his studies to be with Julia when he learns that she is pregnant.

Now, deep in his grief he is constantly pestered by his interfering mother, his step-father who is also his agent, and his dogooder ex-girlfriend, Katie, who is coming to terms with her divorce and has two small children who constantly remind Julian of Mira.

Everything that remained of Julia and Mira's existence at Firdaws has been removed except for a baby shoe which triggers Julian's flashbacks to his life with Julia in London where she has a miscarriage and then, after some years, gives birth to Mira. Julia builds up a horticultural business of her own and Julian becomes a successful children's writer.

When Julian learns that Firdaws is for sale he buys it without consultation with Julia and she is resentful. But the family move down to what should be a perfect life and she commutes to London to continue to work The things go wrong when Mira becomes seriously ill with cancer.

This is not your usual tearjerker about the loss of a child or the end of a love affair. Polly Sampson goes much deeper by the hiding of a secret that would tear people apart and illustrates that it can be kinder to keep truth hidden in certain cases.

There are many twists and turn to the plot and the writing moves seamlessly between time frames. The descriptions of life at Firdaws is so realistic that the reader can easily picture herself there. The characters are realistic and, once into the section written from Julia's point of view, I grew to greatly dislike her, Karl and Jenna. I found the novel very moving and would highly recommend it.

[Sandy Hogarth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Polly Samson – The Kindness

A curious choice to name the two protagonists Julia and Julian.
Julia is married to Julian when they meet and eight years older. Julian – ‘the boy lolloping towards her across the Downs…He was tall and lanky with the widest grin she’d ever seen - it didn’t seem possible…. She couldn’t imagine that such a beautiful boy would fall for her.’

Much wonderful language, including ‘greasy bracelets of salami,’ and ‘the light fell like a knife’.

The plot is complex and without giving too much away much of the earlier part of the novel concerns their daughter Mira’s life threatening cancer. Delicate, fragile Mira. Julian is full of guilt over failing to notice the signs. There are some really dramatic shocking moments. But the middle stalls a little with Julian’s grief and with his preoccupation with Firdaws, his childhood home, a preoccupation I couldn’t share.

Late in the narrative Julian disappears until a somewhat perfunctory brief reappearance at the end.

There are complex, changing relationships and surprises but the final plot resolutions I found hurried and implausible. A shame, because so much is beautifully written with insightful characterization.

[Becci · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to win this in a goodreads giveaway and I'm so pleased I got the opportunity to read it.

This is a story about a love affair turned bad between a couple that haven't had the best start. Julia has left her violent husband and ran to a guy that is a few years her junior.

There are two halves to this book, in the first half we read Julian's side of they're love affair, it is clear that something is terribly wrong and you are left guessing what it could be. The second half is Julia's side of the story and everything gradually becomes clear.

This is a nice story that trundles along at a gentle pace, even though I worked some of the story out some bits were a surprise to me. I liked the characters and felt i really got to know them, I also enjoyed the authors writing style, it was very easy to follow.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been a little disappointed with this one.
It is beautifully written and very engaging in parts, but frustratingly obscure in general.
It jumps around a little too much in time, moves along a little too slowly in some stages and ultimately lacks any clear resolution with too many parts of the story line just petering out or, in the case of Mira and her amnesia & eating disorder, being revealed but left unscrutinised at the end.
New partnering of peripheral characters and new families popping up in the last few pages is no way to end a story, IMHO.

[Chloë Fowler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I wasn't enjoying this book...until I realised I really really was. I thought it was 'just me' to kind of hate the characters, the houses...then I realised I was probably meant to. It's probably not a bad one to read on beach chair, sweaty. A weird sort of not totally thrilling but chilling novel if you tire of people just being nice to each other all the time. Nice can be boring. I guess Polly Samson figured that out.

[Aimee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was hard work, but I refuse to leave a book I start unfinished. It seemed all over the place, switching backward and forwards. Even after finishing I’m still thinking what was that all about!

[Anne-Katrin Schumann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast weggelegt, aber zum Glück dran geblieben. Springt oft in der Zeit, aber trotzdem eine spannende Geschichte

[K. L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book went on and on, like the tide. The meat of the story was interesting and then a character sort of spaced out for many pages of flashbacks, and then oh! there we are! back in the moment.
It wouldn't be so abrupt if the flashbacks were more discernible; but it was difficult to realize when you were pulled in and out of them, as the format was paragraph after paragraph with little-to-no indication that you were time-traveling. Paragraphs assumed you wanted to care that much about past stories of details that seemed not fully relevant except a trifle.

And then the ending is a quick purge, and over. Could we have enjoyed knowing more of what went on as a 'resolution' at the end, instead of so often dwelling in the headspace of characters' past memories throughout the book?
Yes. I'd have preferred the main timeline itself be featured more in the book, but if anything, the ending could have saved much of that disjointedness.

It was a normal length book in actuality; but in one's soul, days of reading felt like weeks... Trudging through a timeline where you weren't certain if all memory pieces you were reading propagated the current story, and if not, why in the world were you reading it? The story itself was good, but the writing style is not the best presentation.

~~~
Annoying scene around the beginning: Heavily using/ checking email in 1997... hm.
Did he work tech? (no) Was he rich? (not really) Email is not a believable normal habit of people in the late 90s.. From 96 - 98, what email existed for common folk to be so accessible, outside of BBS, or maybe noob Yahoo or AOL? This is frustrating to fit into the story, as he seems strapped for cash, and yet there's this whole email thing that's a borderline anachronism.

[Sandie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julian had a stellar academic career ahead of him. But he threw that all away once he met Julia. It was an instantaneous connection and he couldn't imagine anything he'd ever want more. They scrape by and things get better as time goes on. Julian becomes an author of children's books and Julia becomes a landscape architecture. They have a child, Mira, who is the center of their existence. When Firdaws, Julian's ancestral home, comes on the market, they even find a way to purchase it and move there.

But paradise rarely lasts. It all falls apart when Mira is diagnosed with a life-altering disease and it isn't clear whether she will even survive. The two turn to anything that will help them through and do things that are unforgivable in a relationship. They split and Julian removes all traces of Julia and Mira from Firdaws. His family and friends rally around him to help him get through the breakup and the loss of all he holds dear.

Samson has written a book that slowly uncurls and reveals the dark secrets that tear families apart. As the reader discovers each secret, it becomes clear how little communication Julia and Julian ever had and how the secrets have ruined any chance they ever had together. Each secret is as surprising to the reader as to the people learning them for the first time. Samson is an English author and not well known here in the States. Those that read The Kindness will make sure that she becomes more well read as her books become available here. This book is recommended for readers about family relationships and those who prefer literary fiction.

[MargCal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finished reading … The Kindness / Polly Samson …. 08 Feb. 2016
ISBN: 9781408861882

I borrowed this from the local library after reading a review about how beautifully written it was and how things could turn out alright in the end, when people did wrong things for right reasons. It sounded worth a try.
It was beautifully written but ⅓ into the book I was wondering when the story was going to emerge. There had indeed been beautiful, descriptive passages, page after page, until then as the setting for Julian’s grief, reasons only hinted at. Fortunately, the pace picked up: manipulative mother, scheming and manipulative ex girlfriend, promiscuous best friend, serially monogamous and morally questionable partner …. all of which other readers might disagree with!
There were some unexpected outcomes and a definitely unexpected twist at the end, but even though the pieces were made to fit, there still seemed too much unhappiness for me to think of this as a, finally, “happy ever after” tale. Much more like, “Oh what a tangled web we weave ….”

[Jenny Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts out as a fairly pedestrian love story but it soon becomes apparent that all is not what it seems. It almost comes into the category of what I call an “onion” book – one in which an event is relived/revisited many times, but on each occasion the next “layer” has been peeled back, revealing additional information and changing perspectives along the way, requiring the reader to re-evaluate the whole situation over and over again. In this sense, the book is interesting and cleverly constructed but not necessarily easy to read. The problem for me was that I don’t think this aspect of it was entirely successful as the way the information was withheld from the reader seemed contrived at times. In addition, the constantly jumping timeframes made it confusing in places. Whilst I did quite enjoy it while I was reading it, despite it being a little hard-going and unclear in places, I don’t think this is one of those books that will stay with me for any length of time. Worth a read but don’t expect miracles.

[Ionia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very introspective, character driven story. It is not told in chronological order, so if stories that jump around bother you, this might not be a book that you will immediately love.

For me, the writing was clear and concise and the words the author chose to convey the emotions of the characters were excellent, but I struggled to make sense of the book at times and to find a character I could relate to and want to support.

This story takes a lot of unexpected turns, but they are not the kind that build suspense, but rather startle you, leaving you feeling as if you are suddenly reading a different book.

I would recommend this book to those who enjoy heavily thoughtful and literary novels. This book will give you a lot to consider about life, love and what commitment means.

This review is based on a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Shawna Briseno · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC provided by NetGalley:
I'm a little bit torn on this one. On the one hand, it's a beautifully written story full of imagery and lyrical text. On the other hand, that tended to be somewhat of a distraction for me for the better part of the story. It starts off as a love story and then delves into family tragedy, grief, and healing. Decent enough story but not one that compelled me to keep reading.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't hate this book but didn't much like it either or warm to the characters. The timeline was disjointed and at times a tad confusing. The plot would lead the reader to make certain assumptions, that would later be overturned (difficult to give examples without spoilers) and I kind of felt... so what? Many of the events where pretty improbable. When I finished was left feeling a bit... "meh!"

[Jeanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

So I am going on a trip waiting with anticipation to arriving at my destination...the thing is, I never arrive. That is how I feel regrettably. I just could not get it, get into it, or get thru it. I am sorry.

A special thank you, Bloomsbury USA
and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

[Tucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sensitive examination of secrets and the consequences of keeping them from the people we love, with many passages of shimmering prose. Overall a good read, but not as compelling as I’d hoped for.

Thank you to Bloomsbury USA and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite finding this a rather irritating read it was also strangely compelling. Actual events were minimal and all told in seemingly minute detail and the relationships were complex to say the least. A good summer read potentially but I wasn't blown away.

[Theresa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave up on this book. It was so muddled and confusing and I simply couldn't get to grips with the plot or the characters. Some reviewers say it's a hard book to read. Yes, it is. Sorry, life is too short and there are too many other books waiting to be read!

[Carol Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great page turner, lovely writing. Read it in a day and enjoyed myself greatly. Found plot a little muddled at times but the quality of the writing carried me along.

[Rhonda Lomazow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful novel full of love and heartbreak.Sat down to read it didn't want to,put it down.highly recommend.