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The Years That Followed
Acclaimed international bestseller Catherine Dunne’s thrilling US debut is the story of two wronged women bent on revenge at all costs, and “a page-turner that’s both poignant and satisfying” ( Booklist ).
Revenge is sweeter than regret…
Dublin. Calista is young, beautiful, and headstrong. When she falls in love with the charming, older Alexandros and moves to his native Cyprus, she could never imagine that her whirlwind courtship would lead to a dark and violent marriage. But Calista learns to survive. She knows she will find peace when she can finally seek retribution.
Madrid. Pilar grew up with very little means in rural Spain and finally escaped to a new life. Determined to leave poverty behind her, she plunges into a life of working hard and saving money. Enchanted by an older man, Pilar revels in their romance, her freedom, and accruing success. She’s on the road to achieving her dreams. Yet there is one thing that she is still searching for, the one thing she knows will make her truly happy.
Sweeping across the lush European backdrops of Spain, Greece, and Ireland, The Years That Followed is a gripping, modern telling of a classic story. As two wronged women plot for revenge, their intricately crafted schemes send shockwaves through their families that will echo for many generations to come.
Revenge is sweeter than regret…
Dublin. Calista is young, beautiful, and headstrong. When she falls in love with the charming, older Alexandros and moves to his native Cyprus, she could never imagine that her whirlwind courtship would lead to a dark and violent marriage. But Calista learns to survive. She knows she will find peace when she can finally seek retribution.
Madrid. Pilar grew up with very little means in rural Spain and finally escaped to a new life. Determined to leave poverty behind her, she plunges into a life of working hard and saving money. Enchanted by an older man, Pilar revels in their romance, her freedom, and accruing success. She’s on the road to achieving her dreams. Yet there is one thing that she is still searching for, the one thing she knows will make her truly happy.
Sweeping across the lush European backdrops of Spain, Greece, and Ireland, The Years That Followed is a gripping, modern telling of a classic story. As two wronged women plot for revenge, their intricately crafted schemes send shockwaves through their families that will echo for many generations to come.
353 pages, Paperback
First published May 14, 2015
51 people are currently reading
2047 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Dunne
26 books118 followersMost writers serve a very long apprenticeship.
I became a fulltime writer in 1995, but I’ve been writing ever since I can remember. From short – very short – stories as a child to the usual excruciating poetry as a teenager: I’ve probably being putting words on paper for almost half a century now. What a thought.
As a child, it took me a few years to learn that there was a difference between reading and writing. For me, if you loved books, then of course you were going to try and write your own. But that was an almost impossible ambition in the Ireland where I grew up. I did the next best thing: the thing that kept me closest to books. I became a teacher, and I taught, very happily, for seventeen years. I loved teaching and still very much enjoy the Creative Writing workshops that I often facilitate.
But writing increasingly became a compulsion, almost an obsession. Nothing else satisfied in the way that writing satisfied, and so I continued to attempt poetry, short stories, non-fiction essays, honing my craft, serving my apprenticeship, until I finally finished my first novel, In the Beginning.
In the Beginning was published in 1997 and was very well-received, both critically and popularly. It was translated into several languages and went on to be shortlisted for the ‘Bancarella’ – the Italian booksellers’ prize.
A Name for Himself followed a year later, and was short listed for the Kerry Fiction Prize.
Between 2000 and 2014, I have published seven further novels: The Walled Garden, Another Kind of Life, Something Like Love, At a Time Like This, Set in Stone, Missing Julia and The Things We Know Now.
My non-fiction book, An Unconsidered People was published in 2003.
I’ve also written short stories and non-fiction pieces for various publications, among them Moments, Travelling Light, and Irish Girls about Town.
I receive a lot of requests to discuss various aspects of the creative process: the role played by inspiration, imagination, dedication and craft. I can’t answer all of these questions individually, so part of this website has been dedicated to a ‘Readers’ Forum’ in order to attempt to answer the most frequently-asked questions.
I became a fulltime writer in 1995, but I’ve been writing ever since I can remember. From short – very short – stories as a child to the usual excruciating poetry as a teenager: I’ve probably being putting words on paper for almost half a century now. What a thought.
As a child, it took me a few years to learn that there was a difference between reading and writing. For me, if you loved books, then of course you were going to try and write your own. But that was an almost impossible ambition in the Ireland where I grew up. I did the next best thing: the thing that kept me closest to books. I became a teacher, and I taught, very happily, for seventeen years. I loved teaching and still very much enjoy the Creative Writing workshops that I often facilitate.
But writing increasingly became a compulsion, almost an obsession. Nothing else satisfied in the way that writing satisfied, and so I continued to attempt poetry, short stories, non-fiction essays, honing my craft, serving my apprenticeship, until I finally finished my first novel, In the Beginning.
In the Beginning was published in 1997 and was very well-received, both critically and popularly. It was translated into several languages and went on to be shortlisted for the ‘Bancarella’ – the Italian booksellers’ prize.
A Name for Himself followed a year later, and was short listed for the Kerry Fiction Prize.
Between 2000 and 2014, I have published seven further novels: The Walled Garden, Another Kind of Life, Something Like Love, At a Time Like This, Set in Stone, Missing Julia and The Things We Know Now.
My non-fiction book, An Unconsidered People was published in 2003.
I’ve also written short stories and non-fiction pieces for various publications, among them Moments, Travelling Light, and Irish Girls about Town.
I receive a lot of requests to discuss various aspects of the creative process: the role played by inspiration, imagination, dedication and craft. I can’t answer all of these questions individually, so part of this website has been dedicated to a ‘Readers’ Forum’ in order to attempt to answer the most frequently-asked questions.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
February 10, 2017
She has, she supposes, made half a life. And tomorrow is another day. Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.It’s been five and a half years since I worked in a bookstore and I never miss it as much as when I get to the end of a book and I need to tell everyone I know how much I loved it.
I loved this book so much, guys. I haven’t been in a very “review-writing” headspace lately, but this book has busted me out of that rut, that’s for sure, because I need to tell you how good it was.
Because The Years That Followed traces the lives of two women over the course of 25 years, it’s getting a lot of comparisons to Elena Ferrante’s Napoleonic novels. Catherine Dunne’s two characters, however, are not friends. Their lives only overlap a small amount—they spend time in the same cities, they meet some of the same people—and yet, their lives mirror each other’s just enough that it’s hard to believe they are so distinct.
I don’t want to give too much away, because knowing relatively little of the plot really helped suck me in. But you need to know a little bit, so here you go: Raised in Ireland, a teenaged Calista moves to Cyprus after falling in love with a much older man. Shortly after they are married, he becomes violent toward her and she feels trapped, living with her in-laws in foreign country. Meanwhile, Pilar runs away from her home in rural Spain because her mother wants nothing more than for her daughter to avoid her own fate: trapped in a marriage with an angry man. Pilar starts a new life in Madrid, with the help of a man her mother trusts, but she too finds herself drawn into a romance with an older man, which will also have unforeseen, lingering consequences.
If I am to be 100% honest, this is the book I wanted when I picked up Ferrante. I read the first two Napoleonic novels and never felt compelled to keep going. The writing was fine, the characters were fine, but the pacing was slow and I never really felt connected to it. This one, though, it had everything going for it. The characters were complex and engaging, the plot was tense and well-paced, the tone was melancholy without being over-the-top. This is the kind of book that I read for hours straight just to find out what happened.
The novel alternates between Calista’s point of view and Pilar’s, with other characters occasionally chiming in as needed. The book opens in 1989, but then jumps back to tell each woman’s origin story through the 60s and 70s before eventually culminating in the present day. There is some bouncing around, with many of Calista’s chapters opening in 1989 as she muses over an event she knows is coming, before drifting back to the past: “She remembers X, Y, and Z. How could she forget Z? [paragraph break] It is 1969 and Z is happening.” It’s a little clunky, and I do think Dunne could have done away with a lot of that without killing too much suspense but that's a very minor quibble in the grand scheme of things.
The book really was just so, so damn good. There’s love, revenge, regret, some subtle tie-ins to Greek mythology. It's got the same basic undercurrent of "effing patriarchy" that Ferrante's got. It's got so much. And it surprises me that it has so few reviews around here, because it deserves SO MUCH more attention. I can't recommend it enough.
September 30, 2016
My dearly beloved is traveling in Ireland and I, being more of an armchair traveler, decided to try an Irish author, although I must say as international as this story is, Ireland doesn't really feature here all that prominently. I'm not sure the book's description does it justice, not is it particularly accurate. In fact, although both get wronged, only one of the two heroines of this novel is after revenge and the novel isn't anywhere as...cheesy isn't quite the right word, maybe scandalous as it comes across. What is it (to me anyway) is a terrific work of literature, a story, two stories really, tangentially, but inextricably intertwined into a smart, sad tale of all those intrinsically mortal conditions, like love, betrayal, vengeance and so on. I wouldn't marginalize this as just a love story, although both main characters' fates are decided by the mistakes their young hearts make and spend years paying for. Calista's story seems more significant of the two and it plays out much like a Greek tragedy, complete with Cyprus setting and a very traditional (although in this case sadly misogynistic and abusive) greek husband. One must have in mind that most of it takes place before women lib and all that, brutal and primitive as it comes across to the modern eye. She wants revenge (nod to the band where every song is of sordid and dysfunctional affairs) and throughout the novel in alternating chapters of varying chronologies and locales we find out why. It's a good book, very well written, I liked it much more than I thought I would, in fact it utterly engaged me (no small task) on an emotional level. It is also really great to see a female author who can write a book about female characters and at no point devolve into chicklit. This is apparently Dunne's US debut, though she is quite well known in her native Ireland and has written a number of books, internationally translated and even prize nominated. Well, this is a most welcome debut then. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.
October 7, 2016
The Years That Followed has been compared to Ferrante's Neapolitan novels, so I certainly had high expectations. I was not disappointed!
If I am comparing this to Ferrante I would say it is similar in that it tells the story of two interesting women over decades of their lives, but rather than their friendship being the central theme, the women's lives circle around each other and they only meet once. The writing style is also different, but the overall gritty feeling and the women's struggles to be true to themselves regardless of the societal constraints certainly reminded me of Ferrante.
For me it was a page turner, and I really enjoyed reading about Calista & Pilar. This was my first book by Catherine Dunne, and I will certainly read another! A solid 3.5 stars.
If I am comparing this to Ferrante I would say it is similar in that it tells the story of two interesting women over decades of their lives, but rather than their friendship being the central theme, the women's lives circle around each other and they only meet once. The writing style is also different, but the overall gritty feeling and the women's struggles to be true to themselves regardless of the societal constraints certainly reminded me of Ferrante.
For me it was a page turner, and I really enjoyed reading about Calista & Pilar. This was my first book by Catherine Dunne, and I will certainly read another! A solid 3.5 stars.
May 17, 2016
Very Ferrante-esque except I liked this WAY MORE. READ THIS BOOK.
October 19, 2019
Στης πρώτες 100 σελίδες ήθελα να το αφήσω βασικό μειονεκτήματα για μένα ήταν το στιλ της γραφής. ιδιαίτερο ,όμως δεν μου ταίριαζε. Όμως αποφάσισα να το συνεχίσω και στο τέλος με ανταμείφθηκα.
Η επαναλαμβανόμενη χρήση των ονομάτων των ηρωίδων ήταν ότι χειρότερο κάθε μία παράγραφο ότι και αν κάνει η ηρωίδα γράφει το όνομα της. Ένιωσα το τέλος σαν ταφόπλακα, οριστικό, πικρό και μη αναστρέψιμο. Με στεναχώρησε 3.8 η βαθμολογία από μενα
Η επαναλαμβανόμενη χρήση των ονομάτων των ηρωίδων ήταν ότι χειρότερο κάθε μία παράγραφο ότι και αν κάνει η ηρωίδα γράφει το όνομα της. Ένιωσα το τέλος σαν ταφόπλακα, οριστικό, πικρό και μη αναστρέψιμο. Με στεναχώρησε 3.8 η βαθμολογία από μενα
November 3, 2016
Many critics feel this is a story about children and family, for me it was more about how easily women are swept away by love and the consequences of their choices. This story is beautifully crafted bring the lives of the two main characters Calista a young 17 year old Irish girl who is swept off her feet by the attentions of an older and glamorous older man, and Pilar, a young Spanish girl raise in a peasant family from a small village who escapes poverty and runs to Madrid to secure her fortune and independence.
This blending of tales also struggles against the place of women within patriarchal cultures: Calista falls in love with a businessman from Cyprus, and Pilar who has spent most of her youth sacrificing to build a financially secure life with little time for love falls for an very much older married man, a Greek patriarch.
It is a cautionary tale, as though literature doesn't have hundreds, but it is spun in a way that allows the reader to have sympathies for many of the characters. Often young women like Calista feel that they have to flee toward independence and autonomy by falling into marriage without ever finding themselves first. Often they are swept away by older men who make them feel that they must be more sophisticated and more mature than they are which is immensely flattering. They never think that an older man has chosen them because they are malleable and those men often fail to make relationships with adult women because they are while charming too controlling. No matter how many mothers may warn them, the young feel that love will overcome everything, which it rarely does. Pilar who in believing she is protecting her independence becomes enamoured by an older man who is married, and like most women new to love imagine that their time together will be enough which it never is.
This tale also plays with the meaning of family, family secrets and loyalties. Most of us never think of our parents as real people, we never imagine them young and foolish, we fail to understand the trade offs they have made or why they choose the battles they choose.
Very insightful into the fragility of human choices and spun in a way that will capture the reader.
This blending of tales also struggles against the place of women within patriarchal cultures: Calista falls in love with a businessman from Cyprus, and Pilar who has spent most of her youth sacrificing to build a financially secure life with little time for love falls for an very much older married man, a Greek patriarch.
It is a cautionary tale, as though literature doesn't have hundreds, but it is spun in a way that allows the reader to have sympathies for many of the characters. Often young women like Calista feel that they have to flee toward independence and autonomy by falling into marriage without ever finding themselves first. Often they are swept away by older men who make them feel that they must be more sophisticated and more mature than they are which is immensely flattering. They never think that an older man has chosen them because they are malleable and those men often fail to make relationships with adult women because they are while charming too controlling. No matter how many mothers may warn them, the young feel that love will overcome everything, which it rarely does. Pilar who in believing she is protecting her independence becomes enamoured by an older man who is married, and like most women new to love imagine that their time together will be enough which it never is.
This tale also plays with the meaning of family, family secrets and loyalties. Most of us never think of our parents as real people, we never imagine them young and foolish, we fail to understand the trade offs they have made or why they choose the battles they choose.
Very insightful into the fragility of human choices and spun in a way that will capture the reader.
March 23, 2018
Αναπάντεχη έκπληξη!Άκρως κινηματογραφική πλοκή με μια άμεση γραφή Από τα βιβλία που η μία σελίδα διαδέχεται την άλλη χωρίς να το καταλάβεις!Έχεις ήδη εθιστεί και το ζεις με τη ψυχή σου. Καλλίστα Πιλάρ. Ένα κεφάλαιο εναλλάξ στη ζωή της κάθε μιας.Βλέπουμε τις παράλληλες ζωές τους.Δύο ιστορίες που στο τέλος ενώνονται με απίστευτο τρόπο!Κοινή αφετηρία και στις δυο ηρωίδες ο τυφλός έρωτας και οι οδυνηρές συνέπειες του.Έξυπνη πλοκή ντυμένη με τα συναισθήματα του έρωτα ,της αγωνίας, του μυστηρίου,της λύπης , της συγκίνησης να κορυφώνονται όσο πλησιάζεις στο τέλος του βιβλίου.Τίποτα πλέον δεν είναι το ίδιο,ο καθένας δείχνει τον πραγματικό του εαυτό.Οι ηρωίδες παίρνουν τη ζωή στα χέρια τους και αγωνίζονται για ένα καλύτερο αύριο με τρόπους θεμιτούς ή αθέμιτους... Μυστικά βγαίνουν στην επιφάνεια..Η μία ανατροπή διαδέχεται την άλλη. Μπορείς πλέον να δικαιολογήσεις τα πάντα..Τίποτα δεν μοιάζει αφύσικο!!Αρχίζεις να ταυτίζεσαι μαζί τους και να χαίρεσαι με την κατάληξη κάποιων γεγονότων γιατί τίποτα δεν είναι τόσο απλό όσο φαίνεται...
Κάποια βιβλία δυστυχώς χάνονται μέσα στις τόσες νέες κυκλοφορίες που μας κατακλύζουν καθημερινά.. Παραμένουν υπομονετικά τη σειρά τους για να τα ανακαλύψεις! Και όταν γίνει αυτό αισθάνεσαι πολύ τυχερή που υπάρχουν στη βιβλιοθήκη σου! Αν θέλετε ένα κοινωνικό και αισθηματικό ανάγνωσμα με δόσεις μυστηρίου και αγωνίας είστε εδώ!!!
https://lovebooksloveread.blogspot.gr...
Κάποια βιβλία δυστυχώς χάνονται μέσα στις τόσες νέες κυκλοφορίες που μας κατακλύζουν καθημερινά.. Παραμένουν υπομονετικά τη σειρά τους για να τα ανακαλύψεις! Και όταν γίνει αυτό αισθάνεσαι πολύ τυχερή που υπάρχουν στη βιβλιοθήκη σου! Αν θέλετε ένα κοινωνικό και αισθηματικό ανάγνωσμα με δόσεις μυστηρίου και αγωνίας είστε εδώ!!!
https://lovebooksloveread.blogspot.gr...
September 22, 2016
It was overall an okay read, however I couldn't help but think that it could have been wound down to a 3 minute read in a take a break magazine. Many parts were boring and felt like page fillers.
Tbh I don't see any part that is inspired by Greek mythology. More like a story line picked up from 'pick me up!!' But hey aren't most women partial to reading those sort of magazines?
Ok overall but I wouldn't rush to buy on of her books again... Sorry for being harsh!!!
Tbh I don't see any part that is inspired by Greek mythology. More like a story line picked up from 'pick me up!!' But hey aren't most women partial to reading those sort of magazines?
Ok overall but I wouldn't rush to buy on of her books again... Sorry for being harsh!!!
May 29, 2016
This book was quite the read. Very well written. Good characters. Won courtesy of goodreads.com giveaways.
June 29, 2017
Sometimes in publishing you fall madly in love with a novel and can't. stop. talking about it. Catherine Dunne is such a rare talent and we are extremely proud to publish her.
November 2, 2018
www.vivliakaioneira.blogspot.com
Καλογραμμένο και προσεγμένο, το τελείωσα μέσα σε ένα τριήμερο.
Η αφήγηση ευθύγραμμη, χωρίς εκπλήξεις και ιδιαίτερες ανατροπές, κάνει το βιβλίο να διαβάζεται σχετικά ευχάριστα.
Η ιστορία κυλά παράλληλα για δύο γυναίκες, οι οποίες θα διασταυρώσουν τη ζωή τους σε κάποια στιγμή του χρόνου και θα γίνουν κομμάτι της άλλης. Οι ήρωες παρουσιάζονται κυρίως μέσα από το περιβάλλον τους, άλλοτε δυναμικές προσωπικότητες και άλλοτε περιορίζονται από τα πάθη και τα θέλω των άλλων.
Η συγγραφέας εστιάζει στη ματαίωση των προσδοκιών μας σχετικά με τους άλλους και το κατά πόσο είμαστε έτοιμοι να αλλάξουμε την πορεία της ζωής μας, μέσα από το χαλασμό. Υπήρξαν μερικές έντονες σκηνές, ειδικά γυναικείας κακοποίησης, ωστόσο το τέλος έρχεται αναμενόμενα να δώσει τη λύτρωση σε ήρωες και πλοκή.
Καλογραμμένο και προσεγμένο, το τελείωσα μέσα σε ένα τριήμερο.
Η αφήγηση ευθύγραμμη, χωρίς εκπλήξεις και ιδιαίτερες ανατροπές, κάνει το βιβλίο να διαβάζεται σχετικά ευχάριστα.
Η ιστορία κυλά παράλληλα για δύο γυναίκες, οι οποίες θα διασταυρώσουν τη ζωή τους σε κάποια στιγμή του χρόνου και θα γίνουν κομμάτι της άλλης. Οι ήρωες παρουσιάζονται κυρίως μέσα από το περιβάλλον τους, άλλοτε δυναμικές προσωπικότητες και άλλοτε περιορίζονται από τα πάθη και τα θέλω των άλλων.
Η συγγραφέας εστιάζει στη ματαίωση των προσδοκιών μας σχετικά με τους άλλους και το κατά πόσο είμαστε έτοιμοι να αλλάξουμε την πορεία της ζωής μας, μέσα από το χαλασμό. Υπήρξαν μερικές έντονες σκηνές, ειδικά γυναικείας κακοποίησης, ωστόσο το τέλος έρχεται αναμενόμενα να δώσει τη λύτρωση σε ήρωες και πλοκή.
July 18, 2024
Calista es perra, Imogen es una nena única y observativa, Yannis es mi superhéroe y por último Alexandros, y Omiros valen madre
January 4, 2017
4.5 stars. A story one can get lost in, particularly during a long train ride. Tragedy and atmosphere galore.
December 4, 2017
Nuanced fiction set in the 1960s through 1980s in Ireland, Spain, and Cyprus, about two women, Calista and Pilar. They are not related, except peripherally through ties to the wealthy Demitriades family. It is a story of questionable choices driven by youthful impulse and a feeling of being in love. Unfortunately, these choices have painful ramifications.
Calista, an Irish 17-year-old, is swept off her feet by an older man, marries, and moves to the family home in Cyprus. She finds out about his jealousy and violent tendencies too late. Pilar escapes poverty in her home town and moves to Madrid. With the guidance of a family friend, she eventually owns property and supports herself. She impetuously gets involved with a married man, leading to consequences that shape her life.
This book starts with death. It then unfolds gradually, as we get to know the back-story of what happened. The author has a way of bringing the characters to life through her well-crafted language. It felt a bit choppy at times, jumping between the two primary protagonists’ stories. Themes include: struggles of women in a patriarchal culture, the influences of family, and the ramifications of choices. Recommended to readers of tragedies, stories of revenge, or slow-burning, character-driven novels about family relationships. Contains descriptions of domestic violence.
Calista, an Irish 17-year-old, is swept off her feet by an older man, marries, and moves to the family home in Cyprus. She finds out about his jealousy and violent tendencies too late. Pilar escapes poverty in her home town and moves to Madrid. With the guidance of a family friend, she eventually owns property and supports herself. She impetuously gets involved with a married man, leading to consequences that shape her life.
This book starts with death. It then unfolds gradually, as we get to know the back-story of what happened. The author has a way of bringing the characters to life through her well-crafted language. It felt a bit choppy at times, jumping between the two primary protagonists’ stories. Themes include: struggles of women in a patriarchal culture, the influences of family, and the ramifications of choices. Recommended to readers of tragedies, stories of revenge, or slow-burning, character-driven novels about family relationships. Contains descriptions of domestic violence.
February 12, 2017
The myth of the cursed house of Atreus was already ancient when Aeschylus wrote the Oresteia – the warrior father who sacrifices a daughter; the mother who, upon his return from war, kills him ignominiously in his bath; the avenging children. Catherine Dunne’s novel captures the atmosphere of Greek fatalism by beginning with the double murder of father and concubine, then recounting in short vignettes the years that led ineluctably to the heroine Calista’s decision. There is fatalism, too, in the spare narrative voice, which by employing the present tense and the repeated use of first names rather than pronouns lends the prose a documentary, voice-over feel. Far from dating the story, allusions to Northern Ireland, Franco’s Spain and the divided Cyprus of Makarios suggest how timeless it is, but the novel’s greatest strength by far is the psychological portrait of Calista, and the shame she feels at being a battered wife. Recommend!
October 6, 2016
I received an ARC of this book through a Goodreads giveaway. I really thought it was a good book. I was invested in the story the whole way through and the characters covered a wide range of personalities, from likable to completely terrible. This is definitely one I'll be recommending to my friends.
September 20, 2016
Seduction, obsession and betrayal followed by revenge will take readers on a drama-filled read following two different women affected by men who hurt them. I can see this being turned into a made for TV movie. I received an ARC for an honest opinion.
August 2, 2015
Può sembrare un po' forzato in alcuni punti, ma sicuramente sono descritte due donne vere, umane, nei loro drammi e nei loro sentimenti
December 10, 2016
Thanks Touchstone and netgalley for this ARC.
Intense, gripping, and so real-feeling. This novel will get under your skin, and stay with you for a long time.
Intense, gripping, and so real-feeling. This novel will get under your skin, and stay with you for a long time.
April 29, 2018
2 stars might be a little harsh but this book was just such a soap opera. One-dimensional characters, crazy coincidences (or maybe Greek fates!) to tie it all together and just plain old unrealistic shit going down the entire novel.
17 yr old Irish girl Calista marries 30 yr old Cyprus tycoon, Alexandros, within 5 minutes of meeting him. Why he chooses her is a mystery that is never made clear. If he was looking for someone overly naive and malleable Calista didn’t seem to fi the bill too well, but I think the reader is supposed to look at the age difference and think that is why Alexandros chose her. They move into the family home in Cyprus, bad, Lifetime-esque stuff happens, reader is supposed to be shocked because she sure didn’t see THAT coming!
Meanwhile Pilar in Madrid gets alternating chapters and reader learns about her poverty and her super-fortuitous luck in finding almost a guardian angel-type figure to help her become a woman with property and other stuff happens to her, etc.
Oh my gosh! Will there be a connection between these characters at some point? Might it have something to do with the Cyprus tycoons? I don’t know! Let’s keep reading to find out how many more trite travails our 2 main characters can endure.
The author clearly wants this book to be sincere and serious and maybe even issue-laden (domestic abuse, women’s rights, class struggles) and that just can’t happen in something so corny and obvious and cliche.
The cover of my ebook has a quote from Roddy Doyle that says “Exciting, Elegant, Urgent, True.” I never choose to read a book based on what I think are bogus, quid pro quo quotes from authors, but this one really struck me because it is SO OFF!! I won’t go into the first 2words, which I take issue with as being a bit off as well, but Urgent?? True?? Those words cannot and do not apply to this frothy, fairy tale of revenge beach read Maybe that’s some standard quote that Doyle doles out whenever he’s paid I mean asked to blurb something cuz if you don’t think about it too much you could say that about almost anything, right?
Knowing that The Years That Followed is loosely based on Greek mythology doesn’t make this book more palatable.
Ok so now that I have written this I’m thinking 2 stars is more generous than harsh.
17 yr old Irish girl Calista marries 30 yr old Cyprus tycoon, Alexandros, within 5 minutes of meeting him. Why he chooses her is a mystery that is never made clear. If he was looking for someone overly naive and malleable Calista didn’t seem to fi the bill too well, but I think the reader is supposed to look at the age difference and think that is why Alexandros chose her. They move into the family home in Cyprus, bad, Lifetime-esque stuff happens, reader is supposed to be shocked because she sure didn’t see THAT coming!
Meanwhile Pilar in Madrid gets alternating chapters and reader learns about her poverty and her super-fortuitous luck in finding almost a guardian angel-type figure to help her become a woman with property and other stuff happens to her, etc.
Oh my gosh! Will there be a connection between these characters at some point? Might it have something to do with the Cyprus tycoons? I don’t know! Let’s keep reading to find out how many more trite travails our 2 main characters can endure.
The author clearly wants this book to be sincere and serious and maybe even issue-laden (domestic abuse, women’s rights, class struggles) and that just can’t happen in something so corny and obvious and cliche.
The cover of my ebook has a quote from Roddy Doyle that says “Exciting, Elegant, Urgent, True.” I never choose to read a book based on what I think are bogus, quid pro quo quotes from authors, but this one really struck me because it is SO OFF!! I won’t go into the first 2words, which I take issue with as being a bit off as well, but Urgent?? True?? Those words cannot and do not apply to this frothy, fairy tale of revenge beach read Maybe that’s some standard quote that Doyle doles out whenever he’s paid I mean asked to blurb something cuz if you don’t think about it too much you could say that about almost anything, right?
Knowing that The Years That Followed is loosely based on Greek mythology doesn’t make this book more palatable.
Ok so now that I have written this I’m thinking 2 stars is more generous than harsh.
November 11, 2023
La mia valutazione è di tre stelle e mezzo.
Inizialmente sono rimasta spiazzata perché la narrazione parte dalla fine ed è difficile capire il contesto e ciò di cui si sta parlando.
Capitolo dopo capitolo ci viene raccontata la storia di queste due donne che vivono ciascuna un amore tossico. Apparentemente non hanno nulla in comune, se non il fatto di essersi scelte degli uomini completamente sbagliati.
Solo verso la fine emergeranno tutti i legami che le collegano fra loro e che le portano a perseguire un obiettivo comune.
Tra le due la storia di Calista è indubbiamente la più devastante per tutti i dolori che ha dovuto sopportare nella sua vita, uno più pesante dell'altro. Ho provato un'enorme pena per lei perché tutte le volte che sembrava riuscire a ricostruire la sua vita puntualmente capitava una nuova tragedia.
Non mi spiego come mai suo marito Mi pare che in questo caso Dunne abbia peccato un po' di leggerezza.
La lettura mi è piaciuta, ma con qualche remora.
Inizialmente sono rimasta spiazzata perché la narrazione parte dalla fine ed è difficile capire il contesto e ciò di cui si sta parlando.
Capitolo dopo capitolo ci viene raccontata la storia di queste due donne che vivono ciascuna un amore tossico. Apparentemente non hanno nulla in comune, se non il fatto di essersi scelte degli uomini completamente sbagliati.
Solo verso la fine emergeranno tutti i legami che le collegano fra loro e che le portano a perseguire un obiettivo comune.
Tra le due la storia di Calista è indubbiamente la più devastante per tutti i dolori che ha dovuto sopportare nella sua vita, uno più pesante dell'altro. Ho provato un'enorme pena per lei perché tutte le volte che sembrava riuscire a ricostruire la sua vita puntualmente capitava una nuova tragedia.
Non mi spiego come mai suo marito Mi pare che in questo caso Dunne abbia peccato un po' di leggerezza.
La lettura mi è piaciuta, ma con qualche remora.
July 27, 2019
Η κακοποίηση των γυναικών μέσα στο γάμο, μια ανεπιθύμητη εγκυμοσύνη κ η επακόλουθη εγκατάλειψη του βρέφους, οι συζυγικες κ εξωσυζυγικές σχέσεις, δεν είναι θέματα καινούργια στη λογοτεχνία. Τα έχουν πραγματευθει πολλοί συγγραφείς. Το ζήτημα Είναι ο τροπος που τα χειρίζεσαι. Η Dunne κεντάει. Τόσο ωραία που καμία λέξη δε μοιάζει περιττή. Ενώ η γραφή της είναι λεπτομερής κ οι περιγραφες εξαιρετικά αναλυτικές, αισθάνεσαι ότι πρέπει να είσαι συγκεντρωμένος διαρκώς. Οι δύο παράλληλες ιστορίες διόλου κουραστικές δεν είναι και ,μολονότι ξετυλίγονται κ άλλα επεισόδια και μνήμες, Δεν χάνεις ποτέ το μίτο της ιστορίας. Η αλήθεια ε��ναι πως ,παρόλο τον όγκο του Βιβλίου (640 σελ.), δεν ήθελα να τελειώσει. Τόσο ωραίο κ ενδιαφέρον το βρήκα. Καθόλου υπερβολικό ή μελοδραματικο αν κ οι ηρωίδες δοκιμάζονται σκληρά. Με δύο λόγια :ανακάλυψα ένα διαμάντι. ...
September 26, 2024
4.5 stars! Like most of the reviews on this book, I read this for the Ferrante comparisons (and also because I’ve been on a big Irish author kick). I don’t think the writing reached those levels, but I really enjoyed this book! I wondered for a long time why it was told in a two person narrative, especially when Calista’s POV was so much more detailed and interesting than Pilar’s, but it definitely made sense towards the end. Loved the paralells between the two characters of how one man/pregnancy changed their lives forever, and really loved Calista as a character and her relationship with her children. Definitely recommend!
May 8, 2021
I have certainly become a Catherine Dunne fan. Her characters feel so real; it is as though I dip into their worlds. I also enjoyed learning about Cyprus, where I have never visited.
I believe that Catherine has a talent and creating situations for her characters where it feels impossible that they can win. We want them to, but life simply does not always work out on the upside. It is the reality that makes us human. It is what makes Earth a temporary place and makes us long for there to be more.
A beautifully written novel.
I believe that Catherine has a talent and creating situations for her characters where it feels impossible that they can win. We want them to, but life simply does not always work out on the upside. It is the reality that makes us human. It is what makes Earth a temporary place and makes us long for there to be more.
A beautifully written novel.
May 19, 2022
TW for the book: Domestic Violence
This book was really hard for me to get into at first but once I got into the middle of the story did it get really good. The writing was really good, I definitely feel that it’s a book that’s more plot driven and it jumps a lot between years but each chapter tells you what year the chapter is set in. I really cried towards the end. Probably 6 chapters before the end and the last line of the book utterly gutted me. Definitely a book you’ll want to take your time with to read.
This book was really hard for me to get into at first but once I got into the middle of the story did it get really good. The writing was really good, I definitely feel that it’s a book that’s more plot driven and it jumps a lot between years but each chapter tells you what year the chapter is set in. I really cried towards the end. Probably 6 chapters before the end and the last line of the book utterly gutted me. Definitely a book you’ll want to take your time with to read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 15, 2024
I finished this last night and it kept me engaged. It wasn’t an easy read walk in the park book. Could one more horrible thing happen to the main character? She’s one of the unluckiest people I’ve ever read about and the coincidences are astonishing. That being said, this book gives a fairly realistic view of how getting caught up with the wrong man/partner can destroy your life. Definitely worth the read. I found myself angry on her behalf through much of the book so it wasn’t the most fun I’ve ever had.
July 28, 2017
It is rare that I give a book, any book, five stars but this book is stunning. Admittedly, it took me some time to finish this book but part of me never wanted it to end. The writing is beautiful, and I became fully invested in the two characters, Calista and Pilar. At the beginning of the novel, I wasn't sure how their lives overlapped but I began to piece things together the more I got into the book. It had everything, as one reviewer pointed out. Love, revenge, some Greek mythology.
March 2, 2018
I received this book free in the Goodreads section for an honest review.
I loved everything about the book on how it was well written and how Alexandros get what he deserved on how he treated Calista all those years and how she doesn't get caught for committing the crime unlike other books. Moral lesson of the book don't marry too young and trust your feeling because the both girls did it and went the wrong way.
I loved everything about the book on how it was well written and how Alexandros get what he deserved on how he treated Calista all those years and how she doesn't get caught for committing the crime unlike other books. Moral lesson of the book don't marry too young and trust your feeling because the both girls did it and went the wrong way.
August 20, 2019
Everyone has been comparing this to Ferrante’s My Beautiful Friend - I didn’t like that but I did thoroughly enjoy this book. I would have given 5 stars up to the last few chapters - one of the characters’s happy ending was so implausible it spoiled it a bit for me and didn’t really fit with the complexity of the rest of the plot. Otherwise an excellent read and I will look out for more by the author.
August 27, 2019
4.5/5 for me
the beginning was a bit hard for me to read but when it started up, oof,,,
this was a page turner for me, as we figure out how we get from the past to the present and vice versa.
this is a book about strong women fighting against the world and honestly just terribly sad. the common theme of missed opportunities the women in the families of both protagonists and how easy it is to regret a single action brings the book to life.
the beginning was a bit hard for me to read but when it started up, oof,,,
this was a page turner for me, as we figure out how we get from the past to the present and vice versa.
this is a book about strong women fighting against the world and honestly just terribly sad. the common theme of missed opportunities the women in the families of both protagonists and how easy it is to regret a single action brings the book to life.
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