My goal for the year was to get through more books and I am actively trying, some take longer and some are shorter and this one was a little longer but still thoroughly enjoyable. It's less plot driven and more character driven but if you have a good imagination, you can get the best visualisations from this. The characters have backstories and solid personality traits but you still feel as if you don't quite know everything and that there is more to be found out, whether you do or not is the question.
Set in the 50's, with very detailed descriptions this one felt like a slower pace to some of the others I have read recently but as I mentioned, totally worth it. The main character questions everything she sees, keeps herself to herself but involves you emotionally in her thoughts. Placed in a difficult situation (but one seemingly quite common in that time) she has to learn to live without her husband and the prospect of living alone in the future with no job. Lois can be stoic and private but when met with Greer she opens up and we find out more about her character as she starts to unravel slightly.
Greer was the most interesting character to me, you never really know much about her or what made her the way she is, or even really who she was before she comes into the story or who she is after. But that's the appeal, you get to imagine her live for yourself. Her signature outfit turned out to be one I purchased in real life because it sparked such an image in my head, and as if by fate I managed to find the exact jumper I imagined in a charity shop a few days later.
It also gives you a great insight into the divorce ranches and how the process was for women 70 years ago, which by all accounts is not a long time Seeing through the eyes of the women in these places and the stories and situations that got them there sounds ancient compared to modern day ideas of separation or therapy, roles in the home and societal pressures.
One thing I will say is this isn't a particularly 'gripping' story until it gets nearer to the end, but the ebbs and flows of all the happenings before that made for a good read. I'm not usually one to wait until the end to find out what happens but I did with this and I'm glad I stuck with it.
If you like a beautifully written descriptive character driven story with some great nuggets of life advice, then this is for you.
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