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Life Sentences
Past and present, truth and memory collide in this searing novel from the award winning, "New York Times" bestselling author
A successful memoirist returns home to Baltimore searching for inspiration for her next book. When she discovers an old classmate had been accused of a heinous crime, she decides to braid this tragic story with reminiscences of her grade school years. To the writer’s dismay, her friends—motivated by anger, perhaps jealousy—seem determined to sabotage her efforts, leaving her to persevere alone.
As she digs deeper into the tragedy surrounding her old classmate, the writer begins to see that everything she thought she knew about her life might be quite different. And if she wants to pursue the truth in this modern-day story, she may have to pay the price of living with uncomfortable truths, about her father, her past, and herself.
With her deep intelligence, unerring eye for detail, and unwavering compassion, Laura Lippman raises difficult, illuminating questions about the nature of memory and truth. "Life Sentences" explores the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves, asking whether anyone can truly own any story—even their own.
A successful memoirist returns home to Baltimore searching for inspiration for her next book. When she discovers an old classmate had been accused of a heinous crime, she decides to braid this tragic story with reminiscences of her grade school years. To the writer’s dismay, her friends—motivated by anger, perhaps jealousy—seem determined to sabotage her efforts, leaving her to persevere alone.
As she digs deeper into the tragedy surrounding her old classmate, the writer begins to see that everything she thought she knew about her life might be quite different. And if she wants to pursue the truth in this modern-day story, she may have to pay the price of living with uncomfortable truths, about her father, her past, and herself.
With her deep intelligence, unerring eye for detail, and unwavering compassion, Laura Lippman raises difficult, illuminating questions about the nature of memory and truth. "Life Sentences" explores the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves, asking whether anyone can truly own any story—even their own.
344 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
286 people are currently reading
2598 people want to read
About the author
Laura Lippman
114 books6,372 followersSince Laura Lippman’s debut, she has been recognized as a distinctive voice in mystery fiction and named one of the “essential” crime writers of the last 100 years. Stephen King called her “special, even extraordinary,” and Gillian Flynn wrote, “She is simply a brilliant novelist.” Her books have won most of the major awards in her field and been translated into more than twenty-five languages. She lives in Baltimore and New Orleans with her teenager.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 737 reviews
April 10, 2013
This book is AWFUL. I'm one of those people who doesn't finish a book if it doesn't deliver (I've read the first few chapters of a hundred books that weren't worth finishing) - but I kept reading this one, hoping my initial impressions were off. Hoping the book warranted more of my time. There was such a good review in one of my magazines that I kept thinking the book would get better.
But the characters are difficult to relate to, some are too stereotypical, some are too depressing... the story isn't engaging and after a while I realized I just didn't care. The author uses prose that is snooty - the book is trying to come across as sophisticated literature, but instead delivers mainstream chic lit with a depressing story and pretentious language.
If this were a "first" novel it never would have made it passed an agent's reader. This book belongs in the recycle bin - it doesn't warrant me handing it off to someone in my book club, and I won't give it to an unsuspecting "victim" at the second-hand shop. I just can't say anything worthwhile about this waste of a ream of paper. If this book is on your "maybe" list, skip it and move on... there are SO many other good books worth your reading time.
But the characters are difficult to relate to, some are too stereotypical, some are too depressing... the story isn't engaging and after a while I realized I just didn't care. The author uses prose that is snooty - the book is trying to come across as sophisticated literature, but instead delivers mainstream chic lit with a depressing story and pretentious language.
If this were a "first" novel it never would have made it passed an agent's reader. This book belongs in the recycle bin - it doesn't warrant me handing it off to someone in my book club, and I won't give it to an unsuspecting "victim" at the second-hand shop. I just can't say anything worthwhile about this waste of a ream of paper. If this book is on your "maybe" list, skip it and move on... there are SO many other good books worth your reading time.
April 2, 2009
Some people look forward to the budding trees and warmer days when winter finally rolls around into spring. I look forward to the latest offering by Laura Lippman.
As always with Lippman's novels, I found myself both eager to begin the journey and anxious that the ride would be over far too soon. The best thing you can say about a book is that it never feels too short nor does it overstay its welcome. And that's a praise I can heap on a lot of Lippman's novels.
Cassandra Fellows is a successful non-fiction writer, who wrote two staggeringly successful memoirs about her life. One was about growing up in Baltimore and the other was about her various romantic liasons. Now Cassandra is on a book tour for his latest, fictional entry which is neither as critically acclaimed nor as commercially successful as her two autobiographical tomes. One night in a hotel room, cursed with insomnia, Cassandra hears the report of a missing boy in Louisiana and hears it linked to a case in Baltimore years before. The case involved a classmate of Cassandra's, Calliope Jenkins, whose first child was removed from the home by the authorities and her second child disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Calliope never confessed to a crime and was notoriously silent about where the child went. With little evidence, Calliope was held in jail for seven years before being released. Cassandra grew up with Calliope and decides that her next project will be an examination of not only Calliope, but their social group growing up, looking to find some answers to the unsolved crime.
In typical Lippman fashion, the central mystery to the novel is important but it isn't the most vital part of "Life Sentences." Lippman once again examines the impact of a crime or a criminal act can have on the various lives that it touches--from that of Calliope Jenkins to Cassandra to the various people investigating the case or defending Jenkins. Lippman hooks you in right away with the central mystery and with great care and deliberation introduces the various players into the drama. Each character is facing his or her own life sentence based on choices he or she has made over the course of their lives. Lippman also examines how the various characters filter history through their own vantage point and how subjective events and memories can be. To say more would be to give away some of the more intriguing revelations in the story. And that last thing you want is for someone to ruin the joy of finding these things out for yourself.
I've heard it said that Lippman writes mysteries that transcend the genre. I'd argue that while she does that, her novels are far more complex and rewarding than just a simple "who done it?" story. These are carefully crafted, psychological portraits of the impact of various events can have on the its characters. "Life Sentences" is another winner from Lippman and a novel I heartly recommend to anyone who enjoys a well-written, thought-provoking and enjoyable story.
As always with Lippman's novels, I found myself both eager to begin the journey and anxious that the ride would be over far too soon. The best thing you can say about a book is that it never feels too short nor does it overstay its welcome. And that's a praise I can heap on a lot of Lippman's novels.
Cassandra Fellows is a successful non-fiction writer, who wrote two staggeringly successful memoirs about her life. One was about growing up in Baltimore and the other was about her various romantic liasons. Now Cassandra is on a book tour for his latest, fictional entry which is neither as critically acclaimed nor as commercially successful as her two autobiographical tomes. One night in a hotel room, cursed with insomnia, Cassandra hears the report of a missing boy in Louisiana and hears it linked to a case in Baltimore years before. The case involved a classmate of Cassandra's, Calliope Jenkins, whose first child was removed from the home by the authorities and her second child disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Calliope never confessed to a crime and was notoriously silent about where the child went. With little evidence, Calliope was held in jail for seven years before being released. Cassandra grew up with Calliope and decides that her next project will be an examination of not only Calliope, but their social group growing up, looking to find some answers to the unsolved crime.
In typical Lippman fashion, the central mystery to the novel is important but it isn't the most vital part of "Life Sentences." Lippman once again examines the impact of a crime or a criminal act can have on the various lives that it touches--from that of Calliope Jenkins to Cassandra to the various people investigating the case or defending Jenkins. Lippman hooks you in right away with the central mystery and with great care and deliberation introduces the various players into the drama. Each character is facing his or her own life sentence based on choices he or she has made over the course of their lives. Lippman also examines how the various characters filter history through their own vantage point and how subjective events and memories can be. To say more would be to give away some of the more intriguing revelations in the story. And that last thing you want is for someone to ruin the joy of finding these things out for yourself.
I've heard it said that Lippman writes mysteries that transcend the genre. I'd argue that while she does that, her novels are far more complex and rewarding than just a simple "who done it?" story. These are carefully crafted, psychological portraits of the impact of various events can have on the its characters. "Life Sentences" is another winner from Lippman and a novel I heartly recommend to anyone who enjoys a well-written, thought-provoking and enjoyable story.
October 6, 2014
Cassandra Fallows, a well-known memoirist, fails to generate interest in her latest book- trying her hand at fiction doesn't seem to go over well with the public. She decides to head back to Baltimore to uncover what happened to Calliope Jenkins- a fellow classmate who spent seven years in prison for the death of her infant son. Although, Calliope never spoke throughout her trial and investigation, Cassandra thinks she can uncover what really happened.
While this story could've been a real mystery with some good twists, it fell flat. Nothing really developed and none of the characters resonated with me. This one, unfortunately, did not stand out to me.
While this story could've been a real mystery with some good twists, it fell flat. Nothing really developed and none of the characters resonated with me. This one, unfortunately, did not stand out to me.
April 15, 2009
A woman's child disappears and she spends seven years in jail for contempt of court refusing to disclose his whereabouts. A writer who was her childhood friend decides to write her next book on the subject, but no one is happy about it.
I haven't read a lot by this author, but it seems her mysteries are primarily about how secrets don't stay kept forever, and her writing is more literary than suspenseful (especially since the answers aren't findable by the reader via clues in the story). In this book, I found the protagonist writer overly self-focused and not very likable as a result. The switch between first person and third person narration when it came to this character was a little confusing, even though presumably the first person narration was included to tell stories from her first book, a memoir which was very popular and proves to have ties to the current book's research by the end of the story. The ultimate answer of what happened to the missing child is revealed only to the reader, not to anyone in the story, and it proves very unsatisfying. To the author's point, life is often similarly very unsatisfying, but I expect my fiction not be so.
I haven't read a lot by this author, but it seems her mysteries are primarily about how secrets don't stay kept forever, and her writing is more literary than suspenseful (especially since the answers aren't findable by the reader via clues in the story). In this book, I found the protagonist writer overly self-focused and not very likable as a result. The switch between first person and third person narration when it came to this character was a little confusing, even though presumably the first person narration was included to tell stories from her first book, a memoir which was very popular and proves to have ties to the current book's research by the end of the story. The ultimate answer of what happened to the missing child is revealed only to the reader, not to anyone in the story, and it proves very unsatisfying. To the author's point, life is often similarly very unsatisfying, but I expect my fiction not be so.
October 22, 2022
2 Stars. I started on Goodreads to find new authors in crime fiction and thrillers and did it by compiling a master list based on more than three dozen lists of Top 100s and Prize Award winners. The result? "A Basic Mystery and Thriller Compilation." Under my "My Books," sort using bookshelf "XX." You'll find almost 500 highly regarded titles and authors, the best of the best. It includes a Laura Lippman and her private eye, Tess Monaghan. When I saw "Life Sentences" in the library, the author's name rang a bell. So, I picked it up. In the novel, Cassandra Fallows is the author of two autobiographical books. Warts and all. It includes memories of school friends in her mixed Baltimore neighbourhood, lovers, and most of all, her father. When one of the old group, Callie, is released from prison after many years for contempt of court because she wouldn't disclose what happened to her young son, Cassie decides her next book should focus on this incident. Was the boy murdered? It's a relationship book, full of resentment and envy, lies and false memories. Not for me. Is my gender showing? Maybe, so I promise to pick up the first Tess Monaghan title. Someday. (March 2021)
May 19, 2012
Usually I can forgive a book bad writing if it's got good characters. But now I have found that the opposite is not true; I cannot forgive bad characters even for good writing. The writing was very good, for the most part. And the constant POV switching actually bothered me less here than it usually does, because it relieved me from having to deal with Cassandra, who would have benefitted greatly from a once-a-scene bitch slap. I didn't really like any of the characters all that much, but I didn't dislike any of them as much as I disliked Cassandra. I like flawed characters and anti-heroes as much as the next girl, but I need to have someone to cheer for. I think the most sympathetic character is Callie, which is...saying something.
I was really disappointed with the ending. I stayed up way, way past my bedroom on a week night to get to the end, certain there would be a big reveal, some cataclysmic event that would rock the world, after all the dark hints and sidelong glances and "Doom, doom, DOOOOM!" I expected fireworks, and got a sparkler. My disappointment knows no bounds.
I was really disappointed with the ending. I stayed up way, way past my bedroom on a week night to get to the end, certain there would be a big reveal, some cataclysmic event that would rock the world, after all the dark hints and sidelong glances and "Doom, doom, DOOOOM!" I expected fireworks, and got a sparkler. My disappointment knows no bounds.
May 9, 2014
I came to Life Sentences having read one other Laura Lippman book, What the Dead Know, and having loved the latter. They're both standalones but take place in the same universe; there are some recurring secondary characters (namely, police officers).
Life Sentences has moments of one of the things I really loved about What the Dead Know--Lippman's knack for calling up all sorts of random details about childhood and adolescence and evoking the odd ways our brains sometimes worked when we were kids. One example from this book is the arbitrary rule that if a group of girls are fans of a boy band, no two girls in the group can "like" the same band member. I remember that! And it was silly, of course.
Where this book falls down is that it takes much. much. too. long. to get to what I thought would be the real meat of the plot: the question of whether Cassandra's old classmate Calliope murdered her infant son or not, and why she kept silent about it all those years. Instead the book noodles around focusing on Cassandra, who is an annoying, navel-gazing, oblivious woman who makes terrible romantic choices. She's not dynamic enough to pull the reader along despite her flaws--she's just irritating, and even more so when it starts to become clear that her story is more "the real plot" than Calliope's.
I played in this tabletop RPG once where the ostensible plot was that we were supposed to go to some planet and trade some, I think it was gemstones or something. Except over and over, along the way, the spaceship kept breaking down and we kept ending up on all these other random planets getting into trouble. I thought we were just rolling badly. It took months to catch on to the fact that the ship breaking down and depositing us on random other planets was the plot and we might never even get to the gem trading thing. This was like that, but without the interesting aliens.
Also, two hundred pounds is not "a ship of a woman" or an "ocean liner." Do people just have no idea what different weights look like? Yes, that is overweight at most female heights, but not cartoonishly so. Oh, and her name's FATima. Eyeroll. I know that's not the origin of the name Fatima, but paired with the over-the-top description of the OMGFATLADY, it seems intentional, and lazy.
The book leaves a plot thread hanging, namely the "daughter" issue, and here is my theory:
Life Sentences has moments of one of the things I really loved about What the Dead Know--Lippman's knack for calling up all sorts of random details about childhood and adolescence and evoking the odd ways our brains sometimes worked when we were kids. One example from this book is the arbitrary rule that if a group of girls are fans of a boy band, no two girls in the group can "like" the same band member. I remember that! And it was silly, of course.
Where this book falls down is that it takes much. much. too. long. to get to what I thought would be the real meat of the plot: the question of whether Cassandra's old classmate Calliope murdered her infant son or not, and why she kept silent about it all those years. Instead the book noodles around focusing on Cassandra, who is an annoying, navel-gazing, oblivious woman who makes terrible romantic choices. She's not dynamic enough to pull the reader along despite her flaws--she's just irritating, and even more so when it starts to become clear that her story is more "the real plot" than Calliope's.
I played in this tabletop RPG once where the ostensible plot was that we were supposed to go to some planet and trade some, I think it was gemstones or something. Except over and over, along the way, the spaceship kept breaking down and we kept ending up on all these other random planets getting into trouble. I thought we were just rolling badly. It took months to catch on to the fact that the ship breaking down and depositing us on random other planets was the plot and we might never even get to the gem trading thing. This was like that, but without the interesting aliens.
Also, two hundred pounds is not "a ship of a woman" or an "ocean liner." Do people just have no idea what different weights look like? Yes, that is overweight at most female heights, but not cartoonishly so. Oh, and her name's FATima. Eyeroll. I know that's not the origin of the name Fatima, but paired with the over-the-top description of the OMGFATLADY, it seems intentional, and lazy.
The book leaves a plot thread hanging, namely the "daughter" issue, and here is my theory:
May 16, 2009
Sometimes the whole is more than the sum of its parts. In this case, we have meaty parts that add up to a less substantive whole. There are many things to admire in Laura Lippman’s latest book, Life Sentences, and reader should enjoy the sedate pace in order to drink in the nuances and shadings of her characters.
The many savoury bits are offset by stretches of monotony. The narrator, Cassandra Fallows, has published two successful tell-all memoirs and then disappointed with first attempt at fiction. She’s now 50 and looking to regain her mojo. Cassandra is obligated to tell us in detail about writers’ insecurities, which is only slightly less tedious than hearing about an actor’s need to be loved.
To her credit Lippman integrates this well into the story – there are myriad variations of insecurity, rejection, and the quest for popularity. Cassandra is a white girl in Baltimore starting school with three black friends in late 1960s. Martin Luther King’s assassination plays a role but is thankfully not reduced to short-hand for race relations. Lippman is a much better writer than that. This is a carefully thought out novel and the effects accumulate, like trickling water.
Lippman does a credible job with Callie, a woman who spent seven years in prison for contempt of court rather than reveal how her young child died. The reticent and beaten are difficult to portray and Lippman resists Callie suddenly gushing information to Cassandra in order to further her story.
The school-girl tiffs, the long-held grudges, affairs, adultery, and deep secrets all reinforce that the truth isn’t what it seems. Still, these are rather mundane subjects and the result isn’t as explosive as expected.
The many savoury bits are offset by stretches of monotony. The narrator, Cassandra Fallows, has published two successful tell-all memoirs and then disappointed with first attempt at fiction. She’s now 50 and looking to regain her mojo. Cassandra is obligated to tell us in detail about writers’ insecurities, which is only slightly less tedious than hearing about an actor’s need to be loved.
To her credit Lippman integrates this well into the story – there are myriad variations of insecurity, rejection, and the quest for popularity. Cassandra is a white girl in Baltimore starting school with three black friends in late 1960s. Martin Luther King’s assassination plays a role but is thankfully not reduced to short-hand for race relations. Lippman is a much better writer than that. This is a carefully thought out novel and the effects accumulate, like trickling water.
Lippman does a credible job with Callie, a woman who spent seven years in prison for contempt of court rather than reveal how her young child died. The reticent and beaten are difficult to portray and Lippman resists Callie suddenly gushing information to Cassandra in order to further her story.
The school-girl tiffs, the long-held grudges, affairs, adultery, and deep secrets all reinforce that the truth isn’t what it seems. Still, these are rather mundane subjects and the result isn’t as explosive as expected.
April 17, 2022
I hung on and on and on waiting for this book to get better. The one benefit to staying with this story came on page 220 when Lippman has an editor tell the main character, Cassandra, what’s wrong with a novel Cassandra has written. The editor’s comment offers the perfect review of Life Sentences:
“It gives me no pleasure to say this, but the writing lacks something. I wish I could tell you exactly what it was. The best I can do is say that your fiction seems tentative, as if you do not believe in the power of your own imagination, the authority of your voice. In these pages, you haven’t committed to the story and you seem to be papering over that fact by trying to divert us with tangential bits of research…it feels like padding.”
“It gives me no pleasure to say this, but the writing lacks something. I wish I could tell you exactly what it was. The best I can do is say that your fiction seems tentative, as if you do not believe in the power of your own imagination, the authority of your voice. In these pages, you haven’t committed to the story and you seem to be papering over that fact by trying to divert us with tangential bits of research…it feels like padding.”
December 4, 2020
Quite a disappointment after Sunburn. The first quarter of the book was enticing and intriguing but just flagged after that. The characters all seemed to be some level of dense - Cassandra was so out of touch with her own reality, although she seemed to be able to write about it, and struggled to connect with former friends who don't want to connect. Poor Callie just seemed to be missing a few marbles. Neither character was the least bit sympathetic - maybe that was the whole point? The ending just fizzled out without any revelations or explanations. Decent writing but the plot and characters were lacking.
March 25, 2009
fascinating. absolutely loved it. tackles the problems of writing memoirs with a mystery and oh, just all around brilliant. social commentary, modern day baltimore, and while i wasn't a fan of cassandra, as usual, lippman's secondary characters stole the show and won my heart with ease.
this deserves a longer, more thoughtful review that is forthcoming, but i just needed to take note that i read it and finished before i forgot to log it.
this deserves a longer, more thoughtful review that is forthcoming, but i just needed to take note that i read it and finished before i forgot to log it.
April 14, 2023
DNF. I can not believe I read 230 pages without a single interesting thing happening
April 6, 2009
Compelling enough I would forget it was a novel...there was a sense that the author in the book was the author writing this book. Cassandra's interpretations of her life and the course her life takes in this segment of her life are perceptive and enjoyable.
Author Cassandra Fallows has achieved remarkable success by baring her life on the page. Her two widely popular memoirs continue to sell briskly, acclaimed for their brutal, unexpurgated candor about friends, family, lovers—and herself. But now, after a singularly unsuccessful stab at fiction, Cassandra believes she may have found the story that will enable her triumphant return to nonfiction.
When Cassandra was a girl, growing up in a racially diverse middle-class neighborhood in Baltimore, her best friends were all black: elegant, privileged Donna; sharp, shrewd Tisha; wild and worldly Fatima. A fifth girl orbited their world—a shy, quiet, unobtrusive child named Calliope Jenkins—who, years later, would be accused of killing her infant son. Yet the boy's body was never found and Calliope's unrelenting silence on the subject forced a judge to jail her for contempt. For seven years, Calliope refused to speak and the court was finally forced to let her go. Cassandra believes this still unsolved real-life mystery, largely unknown outside Baltimore, could be her next bestseller.
But her homecoming and latest journey into the past will not be welcomed by everyone, especially by her former friends, who are unimpressed with Cassandra's success—and are insistent on their own version of their shared history. And by delving too deeply into Calliope's dark secrets, Cassandra may inadvertently unearth a few of her own—forcing her to reexamine the memories she holds most precious, as the stark light of truth illuminates a mother's pain, a father's betrayal . . . and what really transpired on a terrible day that changed not only a family but an entire country.
Author Cassandra Fallows has achieved remarkable success by baring her life on the page. Her two widely popular memoirs continue to sell briskly, acclaimed for their brutal, unexpurgated candor about friends, family, lovers—and herself. But now, after a singularly unsuccessful stab at fiction, Cassandra believes she may have found the story that will enable her triumphant return to nonfiction.
When Cassandra was a girl, growing up in a racially diverse middle-class neighborhood in Baltimore, her best friends were all black: elegant, privileged Donna; sharp, shrewd Tisha; wild and worldly Fatima. A fifth girl orbited their world—a shy, quiet, unobtrusive child named Calliope Jenkins—who, years later, would be accused of killing her infant son. Yet the boy's body was never found and Calliope's unrelenting silence on the subject forced a judge to jail her for contempt. For seven years, Calliope refused to speak and the court was finally forced to let her go. Cassandra believes this still unsolved real-life mystery, largely unknown outside Baltimore, could be her next bestseller.
But her homecoming and latest journey into the past will not be welcomed by everyone, especially by her former friends, who are unimpressed with Cassandra's success—and are insistent on their own version of their shared history. And by delving too deeply into Calliope's dark secrets, Cassandra may inadvertently unearth a few of her own—forcing her to reexamine the memories she holds most precious, as the stark light of truth illuminates a mother's pain, a father's betrayal . . . and what really transpired on a terrible day that changed not only a family but an entire country.
March 24, 2019
A successful memoirist, Cassandra Fallows recent attempt at fiction fails to sell well. Wanting to cut her losses and get back in the good graces of her publisher, Cassandra considers writing a new memoir, only this time she wants to mine the life of a former friend, a girl she knew only briefly in elementary school, who later went to prison for allegedly killing her child.
I think Lippman is a great writer. However, this book is part crime fiction and part literary fiction and I think it probably would have been stronger if Lippman had simply committed to writing a longer, more detailed novel about childhood growing up in racially divided 1960s/1970s Baltimore.
I think Lippman is a great writer. However, this book is part crime fiction and part literary fiction and I think it probably would have been stronger if Lippman had simply committed to writing a longer, more detailed novel about childhood growing up in racially divided 1960s/1970s Baltimore.
January 1, 2013
Goodreads Description- Author Cassandra Fallows has achieved remarkable success by baring her life on the page. Her two widely popular memoirs continue to sell briskly, acclaimed for their brutal, unexpurgated candor about friends, family, lovers--and herself. But now, after a singularly unsuccessful stab at fiction, Cassandra believes she may have found the story that will enable her triumphant return to nonfiction.
When Cassandra was a girl, growing up in a racially diverse middle-class neighborhood in Baltimore, her best friends were all black: elegant, privileged Donna; sharp, shrewd Tisha; wild and worldly Fatima. A fifth girl orbited their world--a shy, quiet, unobtrusive child named Calliope Jenkins--who, years later, would be accused of killing her infant son. Yet the boy's body was never found and Calliope's unrelenting silence on the subject forced a judge to jail her for contempt. For seven years, Calliope refused to speak and the court was finally forced to let her go. Cassandra believes this still unsolved real-life mystery, largely unknown outside Baltimore, could be her next bestseller.
But her homecoming and latest journey into the past will not be welcomed by everyone, especially by her former friends, who are unimpressed with Cassandra's success--and are insistent on their own version of their shared history. And by delving too deeply into Calliope's dark secrets, Cassandra may inadvertently unearth a few of her own--forcing her to reexamine the memories she holds most precious, as the stark light of truth illuminates a mother's pain, a father's betrayal . . . and what really transpired on a terrible day that changed not only a family but an entire country.
A woman's child disappears and she spends seven years in jail for contempt of court refusing to disclose his whereabouts. Cassandra Fellows, a writer who was her childhood friend, decides to write her next book on the subject, but no one is happy about it especially her 3 other close childhood friends, Tisha, Fatima, and Donna.
I am a fan of Laura Lippman, especially her Tess Monahan series. She is a good writer and her themes usually revolve around the fact that secrets are dangerous and often unable to be kept. When I started reading this book, I realized that at some point I had started it and stopped and this second reading reminds me why I did this. The main character, Cassandra, comes from a broken home of the 60's. Her father is a professor and thinks very highly of himself. Her mother takes a backstage position and I felt sorry for her in that Cassandra's attentions and affections seem to be aimed more toward her father who was responsible for the break up of their family when he falls in love with an African American woman in a time when this was not acceptable to the mainstream. Cassandra has written 2 previous memoirs about her life, one about her father and the other about the break ups of her own 2 marriages. She is very proud to write about all of the infidelity both she and her father have partaken in and she comes off as very unlikeable. There are also so many literary references that it got so old for me that I found myself skimming large parts of the book when Cassandra goes on and on about her father's diatribes about society, food, and his infidelity.
Cassandra now wants to write a book about a childhood friend who spent 7 years in prison for invoking her 5th Amendment right to not incriminate herself in the death of her baby boy. Cassandra wants to somehow write about what happened to Callie, the women who was in prison, in the frame of how she grew up with 4 African American friends and how they all turned out even though their upbringing was somewhat the same. Cassandra wants to think that she is high minded enough to realize how her friends felt in the backdrop of Martin Luther King's assignation. However, in setting up Cassandra with this personality, Lippman has created a very unlikeable character. She pretty much drove me nuts the entire time.
Even though I didn't like the character, Lippman's writing seems less tight in this book than it is in her other works. The characters aren't fleshed out and there were a few characters who appeared with no apparent reason for being there. Much of the backgrounds of the minor characters was completely ignored, especially Teenie, the original cop Cassie's case who was injured in the line of duty and is now an alcoholic. I would have liked to know what transpired to her to make her into the person she is today but Lippman provides the basic details of what happened but doesn't go into the background of why she was so affected by Callie's case.
All in all this book had a lot of loose ends and details that were ignored. The characters are much different than her mystery series and are very "high minded". I have to say that I am being very generous with giving this book 2 stars but I will still continue to read her Tess series and her other stand alones. If you haven't read any of Lippman's work, I would not start with this book. Her book What the Dead Know is a great stand alone and I would highly recommend it and her Tess Monahan series. This wasn't my style and definitely deviated from what Lippman usually writes about and her usual writing style. 2 stars. Read another one of her books instead.
When Cassandra was a girl, growing up in a racially diverse middle-class neighborhood in Baltimore, her best friends were all black: elegant, privileged Donna; sharp, shrewd Tisha; wild and worldly Fatima. A fifth girl orbited their world--a shy, quiet, unobtrusive child named Calliope Jenkins--who, years later, would be accused of killing her infant son. Yet the boy's body was never found and Calliope's unrelenting silence on the subject forced a judge to jail her for contempt. For seven years, Calliope refused to speak and the court was finally forced to let her go. Cassandra believes this still unsolved real-life mystery, largely unknown outside Baltimore, could be her next bestseller.
But her homecoming and latest journey into the past will not be welcomed by everyone, especially by her former friends, who are unimpressed with Cassandra's success--and are insistent on their own version of their shared history. And by delving too deeply into Calliope's dark secrets, Cassandra may inadvertently unearth a few of her own--forcing her to reexamine the memories she holds most precious, as the stark light of truth illuminates a mother's pain, a father's betrayal . . . and what really transpired on a terrible day that changed not only a family but an entire country.
A woman's child disappears and she spends seven years in jail for contempt of court refusing to disclose his whereabouts. Cassandra Fellows, a writer who was her childhood friend, decides to write her next book on the subject, but no one is happy about it especially her 3 other close childhood friends, Tisha, Fatima, and Donna.
I am a fan of Laura Lippman, especially her Tess Monahan series. She is a good writer and her themes usually revolve around the fact that secrets are dangerous and often unable to be kept. When I started reading this book, I realized that at some point I had started it and stopped and this second reading reminds me why I did this. The main character, Cassandra, comes from a broken home of the 60's. Her father is a professor and thinks very highly of himself. Her mother takes a backstage position and I felt sorry for her in that Cassandra's attentions and affections seem to be aimed more toward her father who was responsible for the break up of their family when he falls in love with an African American woman in a time when this was not acceptable to the mainstream. Cassandra has written 2 previous memoirs about her life, one about her father and the other about the break ups of her own 2 marriages. She is very proud to write about all of the infidelity both she and her father have partaken in and she comes off as very unlikeable. There are also so many literary references that it got so old for me that I found myself skimming large parts of the book when Cassandra goes on and on about her father's diatribes about society, food, and his infidelity.
Cassandra now wants to write a book about a childhood friend who spent 7 years in prison for invoking her 5th Amendment right to not incriminate herself in the death of her baby boy. Cassandra wants to somehow write about what happened to Callie, the women who was in prison, in the frame of how she grew up with 4 African American friends and how they all turned out even though their upbringing was somewhat the same. Cassandra wants to think that she is high minded enough to realize how her friends felt in the backdrop of Martin Luther King's assignation. However, in setting up Cassandra with this personality, Lippman has created a very unlikeable character. She pretty much drove me nuts the entire time.
Even though I didn't like the character, Lippman's writing seems less tight in this book than it is in her other works. The characters aren't fleshed out and there were a few characters who appeared with no apparent reason for being there. Much of the backgrounds of the minor characters was completely ignored, especially Teenie, the original cop Cassie's case who was injured in the line of duty and is now an alcoholic. I would have liked to know what transpired to her to make her into the person she is today but Lippman provides the basic details of what happened but doesn't go into the background of why she was so affected by Callie's case.
All in all this book had a lot of loose ends and details that were ignored. The characters are much different than her mystery series and are very "high minded". I have to say that I am being very generous with giving this book 2 stars but I will still continue to read her Tess series and her other stand alones. If you haven't read any of Lippman's work, I would not start with this book. Her book What the Dead Know is a great stand alone and I would highly recommend it and her Tess Monahan series. This wasn't my style and definitely deviated from what Lippman usually writes about and her usual writing style. 2 stars. Read another one of her books instead.
April 5, 2021
Интересна тут не столько страшная тайна, куда Каллиопа дела ребенка, сколько тема о том, насколько по-разному люди помнят одни и те же события. Жызненно.
March 23, 2010
To me, Life Sentences was a strong 4 star book bogged down by trappings that didn't work for me.
I really liked that plot and the main character.
The mystery was interesting and (mostly) well plotted and revealed. The question is whether Cassandra's childhood friend Calliope really killed her child, and if so, why?
I've read several books recently featuring writers as characters, and I've been enjoying them. Cassandra is no exception. I enjoyed her reflections on her past, present and future and how they interrelate. Her approach to investigation also worked well for me in the story.
The other characters were overall a neutral for me. They were at times compelling and at others overdrawn. In general they didn't pull me out the story, and so I can forgive them many flaws.
The problems I had with the book had to do with the delivery. It felt to me there was an effort to be Literary, and it distracted from the story.
A prime example of this was the wandering point of view. When done well, I like when I'm shown what different characters are thinking and feeling about the events in a book. I did like that aspect of this book, although I sometimes had to pull myself out of the story to figure out who a particular chapter was focusing on.
What I didn't get were the shifts between first and third person. I'm left with the feeling that I should go back and figure out why the POV shifted when it did, and what it meant. When reading, I found it distracted me from the story.
I really liked that plot and the main character.
The mystery was interesting and (mostly) well plotted and revealed. The question is whether Cassandra's childhood friend Calliope really killed her child, and if so, why?
I've read several books recently featuring writers as characters, and I've been enjoying them. Cassandra is no exception. I enjoyed her reflections on her past, present and future and how they interrelate. Her approach to investigation also worked well for me in the story.
The other characters were overall a neutral for me. They were at times compelling and at others overdrawn. In general they didn't pull me out the story, and so I can forgive them many flaws.
The problems I had with the book had to do with the delivery. It felt to me there was an effort to be Literary, and it distracted from the story.
A prime example of this was the wandering point of view. When done well, I like when I'm shown what different characters are thinking and feeling about the events in a book. I did like that aspect of this book, although I sometimes had to pull myself out of the story to figure out who a particular chapter was focusing on.
What I didn't get were the shifts between first and third person. I'm left with the feeling that I should go back and figure out why the POV shifted when it did, and what it meant. When reading, I found it distracted me from the story.
September 15, 2010
Cassandra Fallows has made a success of being an author. She has two memoirs to her name, in which she wrote with what she considered brutal honesty about herself, her family and her friends. She then tried a novel with not so much success. Then she remembered a girl from her childhood, Calliope, who in adulthood was accused of killing her child. Calliope denied it but would give no further information and served seven years in prison for her silence. Cassandra is sure she’ll get the true story out of her. There is a tension in this book because Cassandra is a white woman who has always counted on her intelligence. Her three best friends in grade school were middle-class Black girls. As they all grew older, it became clear that they were not such good friends anymore and that race had intruded on their friendship. But as Casandra went after Calliope’s story, her former friends were angry with her digging. Ultimately Casandra had to come to grips with the fact that her own family story was not so honestly told either.
She learns that not only can memory be deceiving, but one person's version of events can totally contradict someone else. In the process, Cassandra must reexamine her own past and her own memories.
She learns that not only can memory be deceiving, but one person's version of events can totally contradict someone else. In the process, Cassandra must reexamine her own past and her own memories.
April 27, 2009
I picked up Life Sentences, because I was in the mood for a literary thriller. This book involves a memoir writer, Cassandra, who decides that she is going to tell the story of her childhood friends, one of whom went to jail for killing her infant son (though she never admitted the crime, and no body was ever found). The question seemed to be, "What really happened to the baby?" But, ultimately, the "mystery" at the center of Life Sentences was not the author's point, because there was certainly no heart-pounding resolution or thrilling ride at the end.
I think that I might have liked this book more if I had been looking for a meditation on memory (how much of our self-perception is based in truth?) or a glimpse into the racial politics of the 1960s. Or better yet, I would have liked this book more if the author had made either of those topics more exciting.
March 22, 2012
I really did not like this book. It was boring and I only finished it because it was an audio book. I have read and enjoyed Laura Lippman books. I had no empathy for the main character. Neither the story nor the main character drew me in to care.
January 29, 2011
I'd read anythng by Laura Lippman.
February 28, 2016
very good book Laura Lippman is becoming one of my favorite authors.
June 22, 2019
I found this Laura Lippmann book one of my least favourites of all of hers. The characters in this book, particularly the lead character, were not likeable or relatable. As this was not so much a mystery by intent but a character study, the fact that the characters were poorly developed and the reader couldn’t really bring themselves to care about them at all meant there really wasn’t much to engage you in this story.
February 18, 2020
It was my first Laura Lippman "stand alone" book. I came late to reading Lippman, and I read all the Tess Monaghan books in a row. I guess I liked the book good enough, and I'm planning to read more of Lippman's stand alone books, but maybe I just missed Tess.
January 27, 2019
Seemed to take me a long time to get into this book. There is a lot of detail, some unnecessary. But once I did get into it I really enjoyed it.
Won this book in a surprise box from the author. Very cool that inside the front cover was a post-it note with character info.
Won this book in a surprise box from the author. Very cool that inside the front cover was a post-it note with character info.
June 25, 2019
So much back and forth between two very different "stories" was not impressed with the conclusion of it all
March 15, 2023
Books with lots of infidelity where it is celebrated aren’t my thing. Some interesting stuff plot wise. But the main character was wholly unlikable and not in an intriguing way
July 13, 2009
i really like laura lippman and, in fact, i may just fan her right now, to make up for this very low score, because she's an excellent writer. this is not her best book, but so what.
it's interesting because the whole book is about a writer not having written her best book, and coming to terms with the possible mediocrity of her previous, wildly successful books, too. true, everyone and her mother (and father) loved the books, which are tell-all memoirs, but we meet only people who distinctly disliked them. and she, the writer, is not someone *we* like -- at all. she's petty and self-centered and insecure in an annoying way, because she tries to hide behind her successes and wealth ("not that i'm very wealthy, mind you").
i cataloged this as mystery but i'm not sure it's even a mystery. technically, there is little mystery and, more importantly, just not much of an answer.
lippman is a master at writing about the dark side of little-girlhood. often the evil that blights the childhoods of little girls that are at the center of her stand-alone books is much less something that comes from the outside and much more something that comes from the dynamics that take place between the little girls themselves. it's strange, because she makes it all sound so simple. there are relatively okay families (take "relatively" to stretch generously), relatively okay kids, relatively simple situations. yet things go wrong in an evil way, and, in her best books, that evil is banal -- not in the sense of hannah arendt, but in the sense that it could have happened to any of us. (maybe this is the sense of hannah arendt, but i think there's more to her idea than this).
she often tackles the dangers of interracial childhood, and this is very much the core of this book. too bad that not one of the characters here is likable and that we don't care about any of them. it's as if lippman were writing too close to her writerly bone (this is pure speculation) and couldn't get the proper compassion, the proper succinctness, the proper distance.
another really good theme, also done poorly here but interesting in itself and in the way in which she raises, is that of what writing autobiographies entails. apparently, quite a lot. apparently, you cannot do it and not hurt a whole lot of folks. but, also, and cate if you are reading this this is for you, lippman tries to get into the conundrum of what it means to write another person's life. which is not much of a conundrum, if you think about it. writing another person's life is, the book suggests, an obvious violation of trust and respect. in this case, the people the protagonist wrote about are old childhood friends who after all figure as secondary characters in her autobiography. but no one is a secondary character to herself.
so this is all very interesting. too bad it's not as deftly executed. again, though, i respect lippman, and recommend her as an author unreservedly.
it's interesting because the whole book is about a writer not having written her best book, and coming to terms with the possible mediocrity of her previous, wildly successful books, too. true, everyone and her mother (and father) loved the books, which are tell-all memoirs, but we meet only people who distinctly disliked them. and she, the writer, is not someone *we* like -- at all. she's petty and self-centered and insecure in an annoying way, because she tries to hide behind her successes and wealth ("not that i'm very wealthy, mind you").
i cataloged this as mystery but i'm not sure it's even a mystery. technically, there is little mystery and, more importantly, just not much of an answer.
lippman is a master at writing about the dark side of little-girlhood. often the evil that blights the childhoods of little girls that are at the center of her stand-alone books is much less something that comes from the outside and much more something that comes from the dynamics that take place between the little girls themselves. it's strange, because she makes it all sound so simple. there are relatively okay families (take "relatively" to stretch generously), relatively okay kids, relatively simple situations. yet things go wrong in an evil way, and, in her best books, that evil is banal -- not in the sense of hannah arendt, but in the sense that it could have happened to any of us. (maybe this is the sense of hannah arendt, but i think there's more to her idea than this).
she often tackles the dangers of interracial childhood, and this is very much the core of this book. too bad that not one of the characters here is likable and that we don't care about any of them. it's as if lippman were writing too close to her writerly bone (this is pure speculation) and couldn't get the proper compassion, the proper succinctness, the proper distance.
another really good theme, also done poorly here but interesting in itself and in the way in which she raises, is that of what writing autobiographies entails. apparently, quite a lot. apparently, you cannot do it and not hurt a whole lot of folks. but, also, and cate if you are reading this this is for you, lippman tries to get into the conundrum of what it means to write another person's life. which is not much of a conundrum, if you think about it. writing another person's life is, the book suggests, an obvious violation of trust and respect. in this case, the people the protagonist wrote about are old childhood friends who after all figure as secondary characters in her autobiography. but no one is a secondary character to herself.
so this is all very interesting. too bad it's not as deftly executed. again, though, i respect lippman, and recommend her as an author unreservedly.
May 31, 2010
PROTAGONIST: Cassandra Fallows, author
SETTING: Baltimore
SERIES: Standalone
RATING: 2.5
Laura Lippman is one of the most recognized and acknowledged authors of crime fiction in the US. She's won every imaginable award, including a clean sweep of the major categories at Bouchercon 2008. Both her Tess Monaghan series and her standalone works have been lauded. So it's probably understandable, although unexpected, when she writes something that is not of the highest caliber.
Life Sentences is a book that goes almost nowhere until close to its conclusion. The narrator, Cassandra Fallows, lived in Baltimore most of her life and moved to Manhattan. She achieved bestseller success for her two memoir books, which were based on the lives of her friends in school. She was less successful with a work of fiction. She's excited now about her idea for another memoir type work. One of her former schoolmates, Calliope "Callie" Jenkins, spent seven years in jail after the disappearance of her young son. During that time, she refused to ever talk about what had happened. The natural presumption was that she had killed him or knew something about his death.
Cassandra returns to Baltimore to research the case. What she finds is that she burned a lot of bridges with her first two books. The people who she thought were her friends certainly do not feel that way about her. Actually, they mostly seem angry about their portrayal in her books and the fact that she had laid bare their lives without permission. They resent her assumptions about them and the way that she has experienced such success living vicariously through them.
Most of the book is spent with Cassandra meeting with the former players in her life and trying to get them to provide material for her new book. Truthfully, it is an extremely boring journey. Nothing really happens until Cassandra fortuitously hooks up with the ex-detective for Callie's case, who meets with a former lawyer in the case who gives her the data that proves to be the key to the mystery. Cassandra meets with Callie, who magically opens up, even though she has never spoken to anyone else about the situation over all the years.
The pacing of the book was glacial. It wasn't until page 275 that progress was made in unveiling the Callie riddle. I wondered what made Cassandra feel that there was anything in the story that made it worthy of writing a book about. In addition, it was difficult to spend time with a narrator who was so totally uncharismatic and self-absorbed as Cassandra. She is a user and doesn't even flinch at the idea of sleeping with the husband of one of her so-called friends. None of the characters felt fully formed.
I didn't care for Life Sentences at all. I can't imagine that anyone other than the most fervent Lippman fan would find it a very enjoyable book.
SETTING: Baltimore
SERIES: Standalone
RATING: 2.5
Laura Lippman is one of the most recognized and acknowledged authors of crime fiction in the US. She's won every imaginable award, including a clean sweep of the major categories at Bouchercon 2008. Both her Tess Monaghan series and her standalone works have been lauded. So it's probably understandable, although unexpected, when she writes something that is not of the highest caliber.
Life Sentences is a book that goes almost nowhere until close to its conclusion. The narrator, Cassandra Fallows, lived in Baltimore most of her life and moved to Manhattan. She achieved bestseller success for her two memoir books, which were based on the lives of her friends in school. She was less successful with a work of fiction. She's excited now about her idea for another memoir type work. One of her former schoolmates, Calliope "Callie" Jenkins, spent seven years in jail after the disappearance of her young son. During that time, she refused to ever talk about what had happened. The natural presumption was that she had killed him or knew something about his death.
Cassandra returns to Baltimore to research the case. What she finds is that she burned a lot of bridges with her first two books. The people who she thought were her friends certainly do not feel that way about her. Actually, they mostly seem angry about their portrayal in her books and the fact that she had laid bare their lives without permission. They resent her assumptions about them and the way that she has experienced such success living vicariously through them.
Most of the book is spent with Cassandra meeting with the former players in her life and trying to get them to provide material for her new book. Truthfully, it is an extremely boring journey. Nothing really happens until Cassandra fortuitously hooks up with the ex-detective for Callie's case, who meets with a former lawyer in the case who gives her the data that proves to be the key to the mystery. Cassandra meets with Callie, who magically opens up, even though she has never spoken to anyone else about the situation over all the years.
The pacing of the book was glacial. It wasn't until page 275 that progress was made in unveiling the Callie riddle. I wondered what made Cassandra feel that there was anything in the story that made it worthy of writing a book about. In addition, it was difficult to spend time with a narrator who was so totally uncharismatic and self-absorbed as Cassandra. She is a user and doesn't even flinch at the idea of sleeping with the husband of one of her so-called friends. None of the characters felt fully formed.
I didn't care for Life Sentences at all. I can't imagine that anyone other than the most fervent Lippman fan would find it a very enjoyable book.
March 23, 2009
The role of memory and perspective shape this tale of a writer – Cassandra Fallows is known for her memoirs about her childhood experiences – with details called into question by some of the other characters about whom she wrote. Cassandra was the white girl with several elegant and privileged black friends – Tisha, Donna and Fatima. Their memories of events were quite different from her perspective on things. When she reconnects with them many years later, in order to put together the details of another story she is working on, she learns about these discrepancies.
Cassandra grew up in Baltimore with her intellectual father Cedric, a classics professor, and her less-colorful and almost “boring” mother Lenore. Her parents separated after the riots of 1968, when Cedric fell in love with Annie, a black woman he supposedly saved from being raped during the fracas.
Now Cassandra, enjoying the fruits of her success as a writer, takes on the project of writing about another school friend – Calliope Jenkins – who was jailed after the supposed death of her youngest son, because she refused to talk or reveal where he might be. He is either dead or missing. She maintains her silence through seven long years until she is released from prison. She only talks to Cassandra – finally – when a discovery during research reveals several secrets and the truth hiding behind a cover of powerful people protecting their own betrayals.
As old lies and betrayals surface, Cassandra finally begins to put together the truth in her own life – discrepancies in memory were not wholly responsible for the wrong details in her story. She simply had not had all of the facts.
How will the “truth” alter her life now? Will she correct the misconceptions of the past? How will she reshape her current life in view of the new facts available to her?
As this tale veers from one point of view to another, the reader soon comes to realize that “truth” and “memory” are multifaceted and that each person’s reality is very personal and unique to that individual.
Cassandra grew up in Baltimore with her intellectual father Cedric, a classics professor, and her less-colorful and almost “boring” mother Lenore. Her parents separated after the riots of 1968, when Cedric fell in love with Annie, a black woman he supposedly saved from being raped during the fracas.
Now Cassandra, enjoying the fruits of her success as a writer, takes on the project of writing about another school friend – Calliope Jenkins – who was jailed after the supposed death of her youngest son, because she refused to talk or reveal where he might be. He is either dead or missing. She maintains her silence through seven long years until she is released from prison. She only talks to Cassandra – finally – when a discovery during research reveals several secrets and the truth hiding behind a cover of powerful people protecting their own betrayals.
As old lies and betrayals surface, Cassandra finally begins to put together the truth in her own life – discrepancies in memory were not wholly responsible for the wrong details in her story. She simply had not had all of the facts.
How will the “truth” alter her life now? Will she correct the misconceptions of the past? How will she reshape her current life in view of the new facts available to her?
As this tale veers from one point of view to another, the reader soon comes to realize that “truth” and “memory” are multifaceted and that each person’s reality is very personal and unique to that individual.
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