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Een vrouw van glas

Kim Edwards (Goodreads Author),

Wim Scherpenisse (Translator),

Mieke Trouw (Translator)

3.18 · Rating details · 12,931 ratings · 2,101 reviews

Lucy Jarrett staat op een kruispunt in haar leven en besluit een tijdje terug te gaan naar haar geboortedorp. Eenmaal in het ouderlijk huis dringt de gedachte aan de raadselachtige dood van haar vader zich aan haar op. Ze voelt zich schuldig omdat ze hem alleen gelaten heeft op de avond waarop hij verdronk en vraagt zich af waarom hij eigenlijk ruzie had met zijn broer.
Bij ...more

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Paperback, 372 pages

Published March 1st 2011 by De Arbeiderspers (first published November 23rd 2010)

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Jan 26, 2011 Lormac rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: hated-it

This book is awful. Let me count the ways...
I hate books where the characters act nothing like real people, and this book is a prime example of that failing. If you lived away from home for five + years and returned for an extended visit, and immediately pissed off your brother (who never left, by the way) by telling your mother that his girlfriend was pregnant after he specifically asked you not to do so, would you call him at 1:00 am when you knew he was sleeping next to the prgenant girlfrien This book is awful. Let me count the ways...
I hate books where the characters act nothing like real people, and this book is a prime example of that failing. If you lived away from home for five + years and returned for an extended visit, and immediately pissed off your brother (who never left, by the way) by telling your mother that his girlfriend was pregnant after he specifically asked you not to do so, would you call him at 1:00 am when you knew he was sleeping next to the prgenant girlfriend (who now hated you)to tell him that you thought that he was handling his career choice all wrong? Ummm, no, you wouldn't. But this character does.
I also hate books that base their plot on coincidence and unbelievable events. The plot starts with the narrator finding a package of documents in the cupola of the charmingly dilapidated Victorian mansion on a lake where her mother lives (more about the ridiculous descriptions later). By the end of the story, you still do not know why those documents were ever placed there since the person who wrote or collected them never lived in that house. And when she tells her mother about them, her mother says, 'Oh my gosh, I found a baby blanket hidden in the lining of an old trunk in the barn twenty-five years ago, and it has a note with the same hand-writing on it! I never thought to mention that I found this blanket or note to anyone in 25 years, but now let me show you since this will move this ridiculous plot forward another step.' Well, she doesn't say exactly that, but you get my drift. If you found out that a relative committed manslaughter and killed another relative of yours, would you contact the police, or would you vandalize the relative's store? Why, of course, you would start vandalizing immediately!! This way, no one would ever believe you when you later told your family about what your relative said. Yes, it is that stupid.
I also hate books which include flowery descriptions of every minute detail. The water never just laps at the dock - it laps at the dock like the rhythmic rustling of a lady's taffetta skirts as she sweeps across a marbled floor of a grand drawing room. For pete's sake, couldn't it just lap? And when the narrator tells her mother about some documents she found, we need to first hear about the coffee that she made and blueberry muffins she served with the coffee, studded with moist berries that recall to the taste buds those glorious summer days when the warm sun touched each berry in turn ripening them to the peak of their perfection. Arrrggghhh. By the time you get done listening to the description of the muffins, you have forgotten all about the documents which were so all fire important that she had to wake her brother up in the middle of the night. [This raises a point - I listened to this book on CD - I wonder if I would have noticed this so much if I had read the book on paper. I might have skimmed over the descriptions and they might not have annoyed me so much.]
Finally, Do you think it is tacky for an author of a best-seller to have a character in her next book reading the best-seller? Well, I do. In "Lake of Dreams" the narrator notices her mother reading a book with a black cover on which floats the ethereal image of a delicately embroidered baby dress. Why didn't she just say, "Oh, I see you are reading 'The Memory-Keeper's Daughter'?" At least when the narrator asks her mother how she likes the book (!!) her mother says, "Oh, I just started it." But by then the damage to my respect for this author has been completed.
In conclusion, don't waste your time on this book. Even if you really, really liked "The Memory-Keeper's Daughter" this book is not half as good as that one was. (Incidentally, I thought the MKD was just okay but at least it was not the train wreck this book is.)

...more

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Dec 14, 2010 Lauren rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads-contest, swapped

I received this book through Goodreads First Read contest. Thankfully I didn't spend any money on it! I have to be honest and say that I was pretty disappointed in this book. It was hard to believe the same author that wrote my beloved “The Memory Keeper’s Daughter” wrote this…this…boring crap of a book. Well, maybe the word “crap” is a little harsh. The book did get a lot of good reviews so it could just be me and my crazy opinions. I just could NOT get into the story at all. I found myself pra ...more

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Aug 10, 2018 Barbara rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: bayb-2018

Twenty-nine year old Lucy Jarrett left her upstate New York home town - called 'The Lake of Dreams' - soon after her father accidently drowned a decade ago.

Lucy went to college, became a hydrologist, and took a series of overseas jobs. Two years ago Lucy met Yoshi in Jakarta, and they fell in love and settled down in Japan - where Yoshi has an engineering job.

Lucy is looking for work and teaching English to Japanese students to stave off boredom.

When Lucy learns that her mother had a minor acci ...more

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Dec 11, 2010 Johanna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-first-read

I love Ms. Edwards lyrical and descriptive language. Every scene is brilliantly painted. Her story was riveting - flowing between past and present with complete ease. I was probably most intrigued by the discovery of old letters and the main character's (Lucy's) journey to decipher the author's (fascinating) story.

But this book has so many components beyond that. There is the veil of mystery surrounding Lucy's father's death, her residual feelings for her first love, her feeling for her current ...more

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Sep 09, 2013 Arah-Lynda rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: i-said

This book, while brimming with possibility, is a promise unfulfilled.

A young woman, Lucy, returns from Japan to her upstate New York home, actually a Victorian mansion by The Lake of Dreams, a place from which she has distanced herself since her father’s death. As she adjusts to the changes about her she finds some old documents in a locked window seat, documents that soon reveal an unknown family history.

Having once discovered the old documents Lucy then shares her find with her Mother who jus This book, while brimming with possibility, is a promise unfulfilled.

A young woman, Lucy, returns from Japan to her upstate New York home, actually a Victorian mansion by The Lake of Dreams, a place from which she has distanced herself since her father’s death. As she adjusts to the changes about her she finds some old documents in a locked window seat, documents that soon reveal an unknown family history.

Having once discovered the old documents Lucy then shares her find with her Mother who just happens to remember that over twenty years ago she found an old baby blanket, with a note that matches the handwriting on the documents. A beautiful blanket with a pattern on it that was tucked away twenty years ago and not thought of again until just now. And so the plot advances. Lucy becomes obsessed with the long lost owner of the documents and the pattern woven into the blanket which just happens to be a recurring pattern in a stained glass window that her once upon a time boyfriend Keegan Fall is restoring. Naturally this discovery leads her to more stained glass windows and convinces her that the owner of the documents could very well be the woman depicted in the windows, which of course take her off to find out more about the artist. Biff, boom, bang more connections are made.

While all of this is happening Lucy is coming to terms with the guilt she has carried all these years about her father’s death and struggling with her newly awakened feelings for her long lost love Keegan and worrying about her mixed feelings for her current fellow, Yoshi, due to arrive any day now from Japan. Good lord can this plot get any weaker? Spoiler alert……. it can.

Beyond all the astoundingly weak plot forwarding devices, the biggest problem I had with this is that the protagonist does not act the way a real person would, ever. She is in good company though as most of the other characters are equally unbelievable. Case in point - (view spoiler)

I have been thinking about time well spent. That was not the case here.
...more

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Feb 14, 2011 Jeannine rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I made it to about page 100 before giving up.

The author had too many subjects in this book; women's suffrage, Vietnam war, environmentalism are just a few of The Big Issues she tried to weave into a cohesive story that really dragged especially when you add in family secrets, mysterious stained glass windows and letters, a family locksmith business, and a confused young woman poking around in all of it.

The author's previous works (Secrets of a Fire King and The Memory-Keeper's Daughter) were mu ...more

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Jan 11, 2011 Jackie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I wish I had liked this book better. It held some promise, at the beginning. But finally, after having persevered and doggedly pursued the end, I mostly just felt let down.

I didn't read The Memory Keeper's Daughter - I kept picking it up, and thinking, maybe, but then putting it back on the shelf at the library. And I almost wish I had done that with this book. It has received mostly good reviews. But.....

1. This story seems like one I've read a million times before. Nothing remarkable, earth sh ...more

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Oct 29, 2011 Rebecca rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: family-story, romance, mystery, historical

I had a serious love-hate relationship with this book. I loved the family-history part of the story, both the suffragette's actual story, and how the protagonist traces this forgotten branch of the family through historical archives (what can I say? That sort of thing is crack to a librarian). I also loved the colorful settings and activities the author used and described.

I hated the protagonist, though. Her arrogance, self-centeredness, and sense of entitlement beggared belief for a 29-year-old I had a serious love-hate relationship with this book. I loved the family-history part of the story, both the suffragette's actual story, and how the protagonist traces this forgotten branch of the family through historical archives (what can I say? That sort of thing is crack to a librarian). I also loved the colorful settings and activities the author used and described.

I hated the protagonist, though. Her arrogance, self-centeredness, and sense of entitlement beggared belief for a 29-year-old woman who has lived internationally for most of her adult life. I would have believed it of a 15-year-old girl, but not a cosmopolitan, near-thirty-year-old woman. If someone asked her to keep something secret or not to do a particular thing, and she either didn't understand or didn't agree with their reasons, then she judged that clearly the promise/request/etc. did not apply to her and she could do as she pleased no matter what the consequences for anyone else. Also, since she had inherited a gift for unlocking locks, clearly locked doors and gates were not intended to keep her out; if she could undo the lock, she had a right to go in. After all, her enlightnenement and self-actualization and worldview trumped anyone else's reasons for doing anything at all. I seriously wanted to slap her upside the head multiple times, even when I agreed with whatever sketchy thing she was doing (which happened once, because someone else's interest was also at stake). You just know she was a popular girl at school, no matter what she says.

The writing also had a few places where I wanted to tear my hair out, though that might have been because I was listening to it on CD. Several times the protagonist would discover potentially life-changing documents, and instead of opening and reading them immediately, she would spend several paragraphs musing about the sunlight over the lake, or memories of her father on his fishing boat, and the significance of that to her life, etc. etc. ad infinitum. ARGH! Just read the damned document already!

Maybe I would have liked the book better with a different narrator. She read everything in tremulous tones, as if she were hovering on the edge of tears and bravely fighting them off to tell this story of monumental pain and sacrifice (and of course her own bravery in enduring it) even when she was just talking about a visit to a glass factory.

And at least 2/3 of the epilogue was overkill.

...more

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Jan 04, 2011 Jennifer Rayment rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The Good Stuff

Wonderful realistic characters
Author really understands the inner workings of a family and its dynamics
I really understood Lucy's need to understand about her family history
Fascinating information and history and the portrayal of women in organized religion
Loved the character of the priest Suzi and her conversations with Keegan. If she was real, I would actually go to church
I was totally engrossed in the mystery of Rose and Iris and I think I wanted to find out the truth as much as ...more

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Mar 10, 2012 Sidna rated it did not like it · review of another edition

I totally agree with another reviewer said this book is "awful." That was the only word I could think of to describe it.

Edwards' first book, The Memory Keeper's Daughter, was o.k. Not my favorite book, but worth reading. Edwards wrote a draft of this book long before she wrote her first published book. After Memory Keeper was published, she pulled it out and reworked it. She should have left it in the drawer.

Recently, I attended a literary luncheon with brief talks by three authors. Edwards was I totally agree with another reviewer said this book is "awful." That was the only word I could think of to describe it.

Edwards' first book, The Memory Keeper's Daughter, was o.k. Not my favorite book, but worth reading. Edwards wrote a draft of this book long before she wrote her first published book. After Memory Keeper was published, she pulled it out and reworked it. She should have left it in the drawer.

Recently, I attended a literary luncheon with brief talks by three authors. Edwards was one of the authors so I bought her book. I'm glad I didn't bother to have her sign it.

This book tries too hard to be something it is not. Lucy Jarret has travelled the world since she graduated from college. She has worked in several different countries and in many failed relationships. As the book begins she is living in Japan with her boyfriend Yoshi, where Yoshi has a job, but Lucy is unemployed.

Lucy's father died in a boating accident 10 years previously. Her mother, who lives alone in the family home, has been in an accident and her arm is in a cast. Since she is not working, Lucy decides to go home for a visit.

Lucy finds a scrap of material from a dead ancestor who has never been mentioned. She jumps to all sorts of conclusions about her ancestor's having a relationship with a man who makes stained glass windows. The ancestor's name is Rose and he has roses in some of his windows so, of course, they were having a relationship. The book is full of dumb stuff like that. "Metaphor" must be Edwards' favorite word because everything in the book is a metaphor for something else.

Lucy's ansceswtor Rose jumps out of her bedroom window at the age of 14 to see a comet that passes over. Edwards tries to make something out of the comet (I could never figure out where she was trying to go with that) and connects Mark Twain because at one time he lived in Elmira, New York, which Lucy vists in the book. Twain was born when Halley's Comet appeared and died 76 years later when it appeared again.

Edwards also uses the dead ancestor to explore the suffragette movement and explain how difficult it was for women to get the right to vote. We've had the right to vote for 90 years now so I think it is time to get over it.

Apparently Edwards forgot some of the conditions she set up in this book. Lucy comes home because her mother has her arm in a cast, but this perfectly healthy young woman sits on her rear and lets her mother wait on her, instead of letting her mother rest. Edwards has the mother carrying a tray full of drinks at a party when her arm is supposed to be in a cast (pretty tough to do one handed) and putting both hands on her face. Why isn't the daughter helping?

The other word that comes to mind to discribe this book is "pretentious." I would not recommend this book to anyone. ...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Lauren rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Ugh. Just... ugh.

It started off beautifully.
And then...
-The characters were tedious.
-The dialogue was tedious, indeed. (In contemporary America, do people seriously use "Indeed" commonly when they talk to each other? It seemed to be used so much in this book, it might as well have been slang.)
-Continuity errors with dates, the family lineage.

But most of all...

I could care less about the "protagonist." Lucy was a selfish, condescending well-to-do.
From the trivial details:
Her niece expresses exci ...more

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Apr 07, 2016 Kerry rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A wonderfully written book that pulls you into the world of Lucy Jarrett and the Lake of Dreams her childhood home. A story about life, choices, grief, love, friendship, hidden mysteries, history, women's suffrage, the past meeting the present, secrets and a truth that must come to light.
It's a book that carries you away into another world and you feel bereft when you leave. It's hard to put down especially as the story unfolds and things long hidden start to be revealed. A wonderful read. ...more

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Oct 18, 2011 Blair rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: past-and-present, read-on-kindle, 2010-release

The Lake of Dreams is about, and narrated by, 29-year-old Lucy Jarrett. After the trauma of losing her father, who drowned when she was a teenager, Lucy left her hometown behind to go to university and travel the world. At the start of the book, news of her mother suffering an accident prompts her to leave the home she shares in Japan with her boyfriend, Yoshi, and return to her family in America. There, she discovers a package of old pamphlets and letters hidden beneath a window seat. These con The Lake of Dreams is about, and narrated by, 29-year-old Lucy Jarrett. After the trauma of losing her father, who drowned when she was a teenager, Lucy left her hometown behind to go to university and travel the world. At the start of the book, news of her mother suffering an accident prompts her to leave the home she shares in Japan with her boyfriend, Yoshi, and return to her family in America. There, she discovers a package of old pamphlets and letters hidden beneath a window seat. These contain clues that lead Lucy to investigate a mystery in her family's past, uncovering the existence of an ancestor she never knew she had. In the process, she begins to re-examine her relationships with those she loves, as well as her memories of the night her father died.

I thought the story had a lot of promise at the beginning - I loved the first chapter's enchanting depiction of Lucy's life in Japan - but it soon became obvious that the whole book is overloaded with whimsy. The title, The Lake of Dreams, is also the name of the town Lucy grew up in and returns to. Yes, the town's actually called that. I understand that the name is supposed to have Iroquois origins, but in the context of this story, it does seem more like part of a forced attempt at creating a 'magical' atmosphere than a genuine historical reference. On top of that you have the Jarrett family's sprawling lakeside mansion; the ludicrously popular glassblowing factory and the stunning vegetarian restaurant which (as we're told numerous times) smells absolutely gorgeous/is packed with people every time Lucy goes in; the painfully eco-conscious subplot about a local campaign to preserve an area of marshland. Does a town such as this seriously exist anywhere? And Lucy's former high school sweetheart is called Keegan Fall. I could not take this character seriously, nor the exceptionally contrived romantic elements.

The dialogue is often poor and sometimes terrible; very stilted. People really do not speak to one another like this. Phrases are repeated endlessly; a common pattern is Lucy saying something along the lines of 'I looked at ____, remembering the ____, the ____, the ____.' This might not sound particularly unusual, but the format is used so many times within the narrative that it becomes very noticeable. Also, every time I thought Lucy couldn't possibly say again that her life with Yoshi in Japan 'felt so far away'... she would actually say it again (seriously, it's every time she speaks to him). The action drags at points, with Lucy wandering around the town looking at and remembering things, but then there are points when it moves at unbelievable speed. (For example: when Lucy and her mother have a meeting with the director of a local museum, he is able to spontaneously arrange for them to meet an acquaintance immediately afterwards, despite the fact that this person is a very elderly woman living in a nursing home.) Finally, the book is inconsistent. There were various little things that got on my nerves throughout, but my favourite had to be when Lucy's brother and his girlfriend brought TURKEY sandwiches from their VEGETARIAN restaurant to a party...

There's little here to really recommend this book, apart from the fact that one major element of the plot gave me a pleasant surprise by not taking the obvious route - (view spoiler) I really did have faith that the story was going to gather steam at some point, but instead it just plodded along with far too much meandering off in various directions - is it a story about Lucy's ancestor Rose and her involvement in the suffragette movement, or is it about Lucy herself and her issues with her father's death? The narrative never quite seems sure, and doesn't manage to balance the two threads effectively. By the time the last few chapters delivered what I suppose were meant to be shocking twists, I didn't care what happened, and was just glad to get it over with.
...more

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May 17, 2011 Kristen rated it did not like it · review of another edition

To be honest, I didn't finish the book, but in all fairness I wanted to quit about five pages in and gave it my best effort. 200 pages later, I finally succumbed to rational thought and replaced this time-suck with something else. I've read The Memory Keeper's Daughter and The Secrets of the Fireking, both of which I remember being interesting and well-told. So much so in fact that I have been eagerly awaiting Kim Edward's newest book for two years. Two years, I have searched the Fiction shelves ...more

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Sep 11, 2014 Bre Teschendorf rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Wow.... This was one of the worst books I have ever read. I didn't finish it... I couldn't. I was trying to force myself and I suddenly realized how stupid that was. Why waste my time?

Reasons I didn't like this book.
1. Uninteresting story line. The "mystery" that the main character uncovers, isn't mysterious enough to hold my attention. It is dull, lacking drama or luster, romance, exciting historical relevance, seriously, "eh."

2. I found this book to be badly written.
Examples
A. The author men Wow.... This was one of the worst books I have ever read. I didn't finish it... I couldn't. I was trying to force myself and I suddenly realized how stupid that was. Why waste my time?

Reasons I didn't like this book.
1. Uninteresting story line. The "mystery" that the main character uncovers, isn't mysterious enough to hold my attention. It is dull, lacking drama or luster, romance, exciting historical relevance, seriously, "eh."

2. I found this book to be badly written.
Examples
A. The author mentions, "The family eyes- blue speckled with gray" 10 times within 20 pages. (I counted.) Yeah, I think we got the point... the family all have similar eyes and it is not really very relevant to the story.

B. VERY unrealistic inter-personal interactions. For example, the main character visits home after being abroad for a long time (another over used expression, "world traveler", didn't count this one but at least 7 times, come on... aren't there other ways to say this?). She goes to her brother's boat, which he lives on and his pregnant girlfriend is there. The two women don't greet each other, "Hi, wow, nice to see you, welcome home, it's been years," etc. The girlfriend says, "Your brother isn't here. Do you want to stay a minute?"

C. There is lots of really mundane description about what the main character is doing that has nothing to do with the plot.
"I had a sandwich", "my mother put olives on a plate", "I walked through town." "I called him, he didn't answer." "I called him again he didn't answer." "I listened to the answering machine a second time." Oh my word.
it just goes on and on and on like that.

D. Weird mistakes that an editor should have caught....
One morning the main character goes swimming, she spends the day in town, comes home, takes a nap and then goes swimming again, using the "bathing suit she used yesterday"... I was so confused, "When did the day change?" I finally realized, "OH... this is just badly written."
Another example,
The main characters father died around 5-7 years ago. Her deceased father had a brother who is less than 1 year older than he is.
So, 5-7 years after her father's death she returns home and meets her uncle who is older than her father... and this older brother has somehow managed to age so that he looks exactly like his younger brother did when he died 7 years ago..... right. Makes total sense to me.

This book reads like something an editor hurried off the press to make money, money, money, make money, money, money, off of a previously successful author. I recommend, giving it a miss.

...more

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Mar 06, 2012 Britany rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

Hidden Letters, a father's unexplained death, and stain glass artwork are the three main points that echo throughout this book.

Lucy Jarrett comes home to visit her family at the Lake of Dreams. While there, she faces her past head on. Her high school love, Keegan, and the unexplained death of her father. She discovers some hidden letters in an old window seat and that leads her on a journey through her family's history, uncovering a secret that is fighting to be freed.

I was expecting so much mor ...more

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Jan 20, 2011 Lindsay rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Lucy Jarrett has been living overseas for several years, most recently in Japan with her partner Yoshi. She is unsettled, looking for direction in her life. On hearing of her mother’s minor accident, she returns home to The Lake of Dreams, where her thoughts turn back to her father’s mysterious death several years ago. Whilst wondering around the large old family home one night unable to sleep, she discovers items that are actually family heirlooms and papers relating to suffragettes, which all Lucy Jarrett has been living overseas for several years, most recently in Japan with her partner Yoshi. She is unsettled, looking for direction in her life. On hearing of her mother’s minor accident, she returns home to The Lake of Dreams, where her thoughts turn back to her father’s mysterious death several years ago. Whilst wondering around the large old family home one night unable to sleep, she discovers items that are actually family heirlooms and papers relating to suffragettes, which all give clues to a whole unknown past that goes back several generations.

This is a multi-layered story, wherein Lucy slowly uncovers so many secrets from the past, and some painful truths are revealed too. As the first-person narrator, it is Lucy’s perspective on events that dominates the novel. She is determined, sometimes perhaps even a little pushy, in following through the story to try and uncover everything she can, once she has started.

The past she discovers opens up a whole range of topics within the novel relating to the early days of women’s suffrage, beautiful stained glass windows in a chapel that is on ancient sacred land now threatened by developers, and most importantly of all for Lucy, the discoveries about the lives of relatives she didn’t know existed. Additionally, Lucy encounters her lost love from her schooldays, Keegan, and has to face up to her feelings and decide where her future lies.

Reading the novel, it’s amazing how few rights women had, and how it’s really not that long ago that this was the situation. Back in 1916, Lucy’s relative Rose, who is the key character for Lucy in finding out how all the different strands of history are tied together, is arrested, because she ‘handed out booklets with facts about the body’ to other women. Lucy is shocked and realises that ‘the rights I took for granted seemed suddenly very new, measured against the centuries.’ Lucy is inspired by the sacrifices Rose made, and by the stand she took back then, and how she stood by what she believed in even when it caused turmoil in her own life.

I think this story is strongest when it deals with the discovery of Rose’s letters, the unearthing of the history regarding her life, and the discoveries as to how Rose came to be the model for the stained glass windows. This strand of the novel is weaved well with the story in the present day, of the unrest between the remaining family members; between Lucy and her brother Blake, and their Uncle Art, and the future of the family lock business. There is a lot of history just between them, with fragile relationships and secrets that emerge. The sense of place is also strong, and the beautiful descriptions really do conjure up the atmosphere. There is a lovely thread running through the novel with regard to the pattern that is identified on one of the heirloom’s, and then on the stained glass windows, and which is reproduced on the heading of each chapter in the novel (I read the UK hardback edition).

A read that requires you to take time to digest it all, with many strands to the story, and a main character who doesn’t give up!
...more

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Nov 29, 2011 LoneStarWords Deb Coco rated it did not like it · review of another edition

I don't often write reviews but this book is truly painful. I liked Memory Keepers Daughter (although anyone I recommended it to cursed me). The main character here is one of the most annoying in any book I've ever read...self indulgent and self centered. I haven't even finished the book but don't know whether to go on. Lucy is so distasteful that I don't care what happens to her or the mystery she's uncovered. The book drags on with endless description about things that don't matter at all like ...more

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Jan 08, 2011 Cheri rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

oH, WHAT A BOOK!!!! I realized finally that I couldn't get into the book iniitially because I was trying to read in the hospital as my husaband was having surgery. Not the best place to begin a book. Finally, however, I was able to concentrate. So glad that I was.....the characters in this book are people I would want to meet.....people with whom I would want to spend time. ...more

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Jan 15, 2013 Lori Anaple rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I cannot believe that this is the same author that gave me (yes, me personally) Memory Keepers Daughter. I just cannot.

What I liked:

1- The bones of the story are interesting. I have often thought of what it would be like to find some letters from the past and be a detective. I have also wondered what it would be like if someone found my journal way in the future.

2- How cool would it be to have a suffragette in your family history?

3- The stained glass information was cool.

4- I liked how Lucy was I cannot believe that this is the same author that gave me (yes, me personally) Memory Keepers Daughter. I just cannot.

What I liked:

1- The bones of the story are interesting. I have often thought of what it would be like to find some letters from the past and be a detective. I have also wondered what it would be like if someone found my journal way in the future.

2- How cool would it be to have a suffragette in your family history?

3- The stained glass information was cool.

4- I liked how Lucy was getting sucked into dealing with her past and having to deal with Keegan (her HS boyfriend). Although his name (Keegan Fall) reminded me of a town as opposed to a person. Come on, it totally does! "Where do you live?" "Oh, Keegan Falls"

5- I do like me some juicy family secrets.

6- I was captivated with Rose and wanted more of her story. In that respect I was like Lucy. However, the entire book is from Lucy's viewpoint, which I understand. But, I might have liked it more if there were perhaps some sections written in Rose's voice. We start off with her in the preface, why not add more of her throughout?

What I didn't like:

1- For crying out loud, I am all for setting a descriptive scene, but it can get irritating. In one CHAPTER she and her boyfriend get a flat tire. They have no spare so they have to wait in a meadow for the AAA guy. A CHAPTER on how the grass smelled? Are you kidding me?

2- I just did not like Lucy. Did. Not. Like. Her. What a brat. Yes, she carries some baggage with her about the night her father died. But really? That baggage is that she said no to going fishing with him? That is the big secret that has shaped her life and fed her guilt? Get over yourself girlie. At least make it a bigger secret. This is supposedly an educated woman. We all deal with loss in different ways and we all wonder if we had done something differently would the outcome have changed. But I didn't buy it that she kept this a secret for years.

3- Yoshi and Lucy get married in the epilogue. Her Uncle Art sends her a set of white plates that she sends to Goodwill not opened. (not a direct quote, but close). Thank God she didn't open them or we would have had to read about the alabaster white and how they reminded her of clouds or some shit like that. I just can't understand why it is important that white plates be included. Why include this detail?

Overall, if you like flowery verbosity, you might dig this. I liked much of the book, but it is what made me almost violently hate this book. ...more

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May 24, 2011 Susan rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Apparently I had The Memory Keeper's Daughter confused with a book I liked better because I remember being quite happy to get my hands on The Lake of Dreams because it was by the same author. I didn't hate it and I did finish it but I was not completely captivated. Actually, I was kind of captivated by the main character's genealogical sleuthing and her family's past but something, or some things, just annoyed me. As in Memory Keeper's I just never really felt engaged with any of the characters. ...more

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Apr 04, 2011 Tamela rated it did not like it · review of another edition

I really wanted to like this book because I enjoyed "The Memory Keeper's Daughter," but, alas, it was not to be. The writing was heavy-handed, the plot--not terribly compelling to begin with--plodded, and the characters were so numerous they became one-dimensional in order to cram them all into the story. I wish the author had spent more time making the historical events come to life and less time waxing rhapsodic about the stillness of the night air and the ripples on the lake water.

For me, the ...more

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Sep 17, 2012 Kate rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

DISCLAIMER: This is the first book that I have ever read by Kim Edwards and it might be my last, let me explain...

First of all, this should of been a book that I enjoyed thoroughly. It's about a young woman named Lucy Jarrett who's about to turn 30 and is at a major cross roads in her life. When her mom gets into a car accident, she goes home to visit, and discovers a family secret that has never been uncovered before. Sounds good, right? I thought so too at the time.

Secondly, the book takes pl DISCLAIMER: This is the first book that I have ever read by Kim Edwards and it might be my last, let me explain...

First of all, this should of been a book that I enjoyed thoroughly. It's about a young woman named Lucy Jarrett who's about to turn 30 and is at a major cross roads in her life. When her mom gets into a car accident, she goes home to visit, and discovers a family secret that has never been uncovered before. Sounds good, right? I thought so too at the time.

Secondly, the book takes place in upstate New York around the Finger Lakes, Ithaca, and Elmira, and has a lot of references to Seneca Falls, which played a prominent role in the Women's Rights Movement. Since I grew up in this area I couldn't wait to read this book.

However, once I started reading I was sorely disappointed in the writing style and in Lucy Jarrett herself. The writing was heavy handed with a ton of unnecessary descriptions that to be honest, weren't that well done. Plus, I felt Lucy Jarrett wasn't a realistic character. She did a lot of things that were really very childish and just plain unacceptable for an adult of her age. I wished she would of butted out of everyone else's business - her mother's, her brother's, Keegan's, and Iris'- and figured out her own life.

Rose was the only character I was really able to relate to, and she was dead. I felt I learned more about her through her letters to her daughter, Iris and her brother Joseph, that were splattered throughout the book than any of the other characters. Rose was the character that kept me reading to the end because I wanted to know what happened to her.

All in all, a disappointing read that I should of gotten at the library instead of purchasing at the airport bookstore. However, a lot of people seem to be enjoying it (and I will give my copy to my mom since she enjoyed The Memory Keeper's Daughter and I might pick up that book at a later date just to see), so if it's your cup of tea go for it, but I can confidently say this book wasn't mine. ...more

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Dec 15, 2010 Cathy(The Crazy Bookworm) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Wow! This book is intense but in a fantastic way. Kim Edwards pulls you in and doesn't let you go. I immediately fell in love with her writing style. She was descriptive and detailed but it wasn't over done, it flowed nicely. This is my first book by Kim Edwards, but it won't be my last!

The characters were perfect, it was small cast which made it easy to build a connection with each character. The author created such riveting and interesting characters they made it much harder to put the book do ...more

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Oct 26, 2013 Colleen Chi-Girl rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: women-centered

the basic story is great - interesting setting and characters....a story within a story. Strong women going back through history, a mystery within a family, etc, etc. Very compelling. BUT I found it wordy and meandering and in need of major editing. I almost didn't finish it and it took me a long time to complete it. ...more

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Jun 02, 2020 Lisabet Sarai rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The summer after high school, Lucy Jarrett left The Lake of Dreams, the lovely upstate New York town that had sheltered her family for four generations. Heading west to college, she left behind her grieving mother, her half-Seneca boyfriend Keegan Fall, her hostile uncle and cousins, and her aching suspicion that she was partly responsible for her father’s recent death. Now, after more than a decade traveling and working around the world, she has returned to the rambling, time-worn lakeside hous The summer after high school, Lucy Jarrett left The Lake of Dreams, the lovely upstate New York town that had sheltered her family for four generations. Heading west to college, she left behind her grieving mother, her half-Seneca boyfriend Keegan Fall, her hostile uncle and cousins, and her aching suspicion that she was partly responsible for her father’s recent death. Now, after more than a decade traveling and working around the world, she has returned to the rambling, time-worn lakeside house where she grew up.

She finds that much has changed. Her mother has a new male admirer and is considering selling the deteriorating mansion. Keegan is a successful craftsperson with a five year old son. Her brother has reconciled with and is working for her uncle. The military installation on the lake shore has closed, and conflicts about the fate of this fragile, valuable land are tearing the town apart.

Unemployed, restless, confused about her feelings for her family, the town and the half-Japanese lover she left back in Tokyo, Lucy stumbles upon a cache of objects locked in an old window seat that point to a mystery: a great aunt who lived nearly a century ago, who had been completely erased from the family records. Rose Jarrett fled from England to the US in the early years of the twentieth century, pregnant with the child of a wealthy landowner who paid her passage to make her disappear from his life. Grudgingly welcomed by her relatives in The Lake of Dreams, Rose gave birth to a beloved daughter Iris, but was forced to leave her when Rose became involved with the women’s suffrage movement. Iris grew up without knowing her mother at all.

Lucy becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth about Rose’s life and determining the fate of her daughter. Her inquiries parallel her personal soul-searching about her own life and her future. Somehow, uncovering the long-hidden secrets of Rose’s history and bringing the woman’s heroism and self-sacrifice to light become a path for Lucy to save herself.

The Lake of Dreams is a gorgeous book, lyrical and moving. We see the town through Lucy’s observant eyes, filtered through her love of nature and colored by her memories. Rose comes to life through the intimate letters Lucy discovers, letters Rose penned to her daughter but never sent. Her story ramifies and pulls others into its web, including a famous stained glass artist who created a stunning set of church windows celebrating the power of femininity. I found myself waiting breathlessly for the next revelation about Rose’s past and her legacy to the future.

At the same time, when I finally put the book down, I realized the plot was somewhat contrived and unrealistic. It’s too easy, ultimately, for Lucy to bring Rose back from obscurity. The epistolary record is too convenient, too complete. The startling twist near the end of the novel and the rather implausible happy ending were emotionally satisfying but intellectually a bit of a stretch.

Also, I felt that Lucy ended up with the wrong guy. I always laugh at romance reviews that complain about this sort of thing, but in this case, I felt quite strongly that she made the wrong decision, or at least, not the decision I would have made.

Of course, I’m not going to tell who she ultimately chooses, or what path her life takes. You’ll just have to read the book yourself.

...more

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Nov 08, 2018 Debbie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Hmmmmm-apparently I am in the minority here, but I loved this book. I love the beautiful imagery of all things nature, loved the family dynamics, loved the female strength messages, and the intertwining stories. All of us are on journeys, becoming who we are supposed to be, with bumps in the road and crossroads periodically. I wish I had known that at the back of the book there is a family tree that would have helped immensely had it been AT THE FRONT OF THE BOOK-HELLO! But well worth the read 😊

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Sep 09, 2019 Annie Mcallister rated it liked it · review of another edition

The story was really pretty cool, but to me it felt like the author was really attached to certain imagery and background that didn’t quite fit realistically in the story, and the language was ultra-distractingly-flowery. 4 stars for the basic storyline!

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Jan 24, 2021 Shannon Hartle rated it did not like it · review of another edition

This book sucks. Too many characters and a boring plot. I read 150 pages and I’m not finishing.

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Dec 29, 2012 Emily rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: small-towns

The first book I ever read by Kim Edwards was The Memory Keeper's Daughter. Her words and her prose and the way she deals with her characters' emotions had an impact on me, so much that I bought The Lake of Dreams soon after and devored it. But this happened back in 2011, and, six years later, I hardly remembered what had happened, so I decided to reread it and decide if I'd give the book away or if I'd keep it. To be honest, I was even a bit worried I wouldn't like it as much as I did the first ...more

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About Kim Edwards

Kim Edwards

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Kim Edwards grew up in Skaneateles, New York, in the heart of the Finger Lakes region. The oldest of four children, she graduated from Colgate University and the University of Iowa, where she received an MFA in Fiction and an MA in Linguistics. After completing her graduate work, she went with her husband to Asia, where they spent the next five years teaching, first on the rural east coast of Mala ...more

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“The challenges in this place are real and sometimes very difficult, but I've learned to slow down and look for beauty in my days, for the mysteries and blessings woven into everything, into the very words we speak.” — 12 likes

“Rows and rows of books lined the shelves and I let my eyes linger on the sturdy spines, thinking how human books were, so full of ideas and images, worlds imagined, worlds perceived; full of fingerprints and sudden laughter and the sighs of readers, too. It was humbling to consider all these authors, struggling with this word or that phrase, recording their thoughts for people they'd never meet. In that same way, the detritus of the boxes was humbling - receipts, jotted notes, photos with no inscriptions, all of it once held together by the fabric of lives now finished, gone.” — 7 likes

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