Starting Over

by Laura Rittenhouse

Though she does not understand exactly why, Maria is not content with her lot. The prospect of exchanging dependence on her family for dependence on a husband does not sit well with this young woman growing up in late 19th Century Germany. Three generations later, on the other side of the Atlantic, Eva struggles with a similar restlessness; she is generally happy but never quite satisfied.This book follows Maria and her great-granddaughter Eva as they face surprisingly similar choices in dramatically different decades: how to keep a roof over your head, when to abandon independence and commit to a lover, where to draw a line in the sand. The choices they make take them to new countries, open them up to heartache and leave them wondering what is enough.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

452 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

I'm an Aussie now. I left the US back in 1988 for an extended visit and have based myself in Australia ever since. IT was my career and in the end I found it profitable but unrewarding. So I've switched gears and now write as a passion, hobby and "job". It is the opposite of IT, not profitable in the slightest, but VERY rewarding.

I hope some of you manage to read one of my books, STARTING OVER or LIFE'S JOURNEYS, and especially that you like reading them even one-tenth as much as I liked writing then.

If all goes well, maybe you'll get a chance to read my next 2 or 3 books in the not-too-distant future as well.

Reviews

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Starting Over for two reasons. 1) it is a nice story that kept me interested from the prologue to the epilogue and 2) its double time-line gave me more to contemplate than just a nice plot. This book is a good read that I found myself still thinking about the next day and the next week.

The novel tells the story of two women from their teens until they turn 50 as they grow up and carve out their place in the world. Maria is a German woman born at the end of the 19th Century who ends up migrating to the US, more by good luck than by good planning. Her great-granddaughter, Eva, is born in the 2nd half of the 20th Century and leaves her home in the US for adventure in Australia. Both women jump at the chance to migrate and optimistically travel to their new worlds. Both have some hard realities to face within weeks of landing.

Starting Over transitions nicely between the two women and their eras, moving each of their stories along as it goes. All the while subtly pointing out the impact four generations of “progress” has had on the issues people, especially women, face and the choices they make.

A well written book with an intriguing plot that left me something to think about. 5 stars.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting Over operates on an interesting premise - that the lives of two women, related and separated by more than 70 years were strikingly similar. It follows the lives and loves of Maria, who leaves her native Germany for New York and Eva, generations later who leaves Seattle for a new life in Australia.

Through the process of the story, which switches back and forth between the two women, we see the choices made by each of them, both independent and looking for something they never quite seem to find.

Well written, full of local detail, this is a book I would recommend to any reader

[Laura Rittenhouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it - but then I'm a bit biased as I wrote it :-) My goal was to probe the different ways society and technology impact choices people make; specifically two women who migrate on their own - one from Germany to the US in the early 1900s and one from the US to Australia in the late 1900s

[Lynette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two women, one story. Maria is a woman coming of age as the twentieth century dawns. Her great-granddaughter Eve is coming of age in the 1970s as new opportunities for woman emerge. Despite the generational gap, Maria and Eve face the same challenges in life as they make decisions about their careers, love, and the future.

STARTING OVER has a very compelling premise that will keep you turning the pages. I personally loved the idea of following the story of Maria and her great-granddaughter Eva. Two women, from completely different generations who are suffering through the same problems seemed fresh when written from Ms. Rittenhouse’s perspective. I think what made STARTING OVER compelling is the historical aspect. The setting, attitudes appeared very authentic and brought the story to life for me.

However, no matter how much I enjoyed the novel. I still had some problems with it. As I think about what bothered me about STARTING OVER, I’m thinking of a quote I remember from an old Mary Jo Putney novel. (I can’t remember the title). The hero was an artist just starting out in his career, and the heroine’s father was a nationally known artist. The hero lets his father-in-law see his paintings. It’s a very nerve-wracking and emotional scene. Yet when his father-in-law looks at his work, he says something to the effect of “it’ll be awhile before you’re an amazing painter, but you’re already an amazing artist.” This is what I felt upon reading STARTING OVER. The story was good, but the writing wasn’t and that made STARTING OVER distracting at times.

While reading STARTING OVER, I felt like I was being told the events that were happening instead of living them. I never felt emotionally connected to the Maria and Eva and their struggles. It almost had an omniprescient POV feel you get when you read THE GREAT GATSBY.

I also felt that the POV switch’s between characters should have been integrated in a smoother manner. This feeling could’ve just been me, but I had a whiplash feeling when going back and forth between the two time-periods. I was also disappointed with the ending, wishing that the story had a better resolution that allowed the reader to see the full circle of live Maria and Eva had gone with their journey.

Other than that, STARTING OVER was an enjoyable read.

[Ruthie Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting story about a woman and her grandmother, set many years apart. Through the process of their lives there are many similar occurrences - particularly in their search for romantic happiness. Neither of these strong women are prepared to make the compromises that their men expect of them and in the long run find it mostly best to go their own way.

Full of descriptions of life in early 20th Century Germany and New York and in the later parts of how a young woman copes with the move to Australia and a completely different way of life.

[Karen Rittenhouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I did have insight, however, as one of the main characters is my Great Grandmother and many of the stories as told by my Grandmother are included. It's juxtaposed with a story that we all believe is about my sister and her young move to Australia, though she says only the locations are the same... Have you read it yet? What do you think?