We Are Not Ourselves in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Oct 17, 2014 jenn rated it it was ok

Shelves: fiftyfiftyme, 2014

This....

I just....

Since most of what I say is sarcastic, let me specify that I mean this sincerely: in a more just and equal world, a book that details the racism and materialism of white, upwardly mobile 20th-century New Yorkers-cum-suburbanites might prove to be a really important cultural artifact. But we're just not there yet.

I hate hating books for unlikeable characters, but Eileen is THE WORST. FIX YOUR BASEMENT, EILEEN. (For greater context, I am a person who has a lot of sympathy for Be ...more

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Mar 14, 2015 Felicia rated it it was ok

Shelves: incomplete, 2015

I gave it 2 stars because it is well written. However, I keep trudging through this book and grow to dislike Eileen more and more. Ed isn't the man Eileen makes him out to be in her head. Obviously they should have had a discussion about goals and expectations. As smart and goal driven as Thomas makes her out to be I find the placating of Ed's needs and goals over her own to not line up with the Eileen from Part 1. And the racism just makes me cringe. And it's not even the kind where a person ad ...more

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Aug 31, 2014 Ally rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2014-challenge

I don't want to tell you a thing about this book other than to say to read it immediately. Probably the best book I've read so far in 2014. ...more

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Aug 25, 2014 Samantha Storey rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-star

I really loved this book, and a part from that, I loved the experience of reading it.

It's described as "sprawling family epic" -- so you should know from the start, you're about to spend a decent amount of time with this family. If you don't dig character-driven plots, don't dig into this book.

The narrative focuses on the life of Eileen Leary (nee Tumulty) as she grows up in Queens, the daughter of first-generation Irish-American immigrants. Her Mother is distant, depressed and an alcoholic and I really loved this book, and a part from that, I loved the experience of reading it.

It's described as "sprawling family epic" -- so you should know from the start, you're about to spend a decent amount of time with this family. If you don't dig character-driven plots, don't dig into this book.

The narrative focuses on the life of Eileen Leary (nee Tumulty) as she grows up in Queens, the daughter of first-generation Irish-American immigrants. Her Mother is distant, depressed and an alcoholic and her Father, while tough, is as supportive as he knows how and somewhat larger than life in the local Irish community. Eileen, like many, dreams of getting out of her hometown and achieving the things her parents didn't, in an effort to live what she believes will ultimately be a better life.

Eileen meets Ed Leary, a scientist - who is unlike the men she's dated in the past. He's brilliant and kind and she imagines him taking her into a higher, wealthier social sphere. They marry, and Eileen is painfully slow on the uptake that Ed is resistant to that higher, wealthier world - he prefers intimate conversations to big parties; he prefers to teach at a community college instead of NYU, ostensibly because the community college kids are more deserving of his Ivy League education; he's happy with the first house they own because it works while Eileen is always trying to improve her situation, if only on a superficial level.

As the years go on--Ed has, what the primary review refers to as a "psychological shift" that readers will pick up on way before Eileen. It's frustrating to watch them both, as well as their son, Connell, come to terms (if they ever truly do) with their evolving circumstances and how it will affect their future. It's so captivating at this point - because, as a reader, you are engrained with Eileen - the book is mostly told from her perspective and while she may not be overwhelmingly likable, she does seem the most real character I've read in years.

I, and likely other readers, kept waiting for Eileen to make the decision I wanted her to make versus the decisions she does. In that way, Thomas does an incredible job of keep Eileen true to who she is - who these years of marriage, these years of wars and jobs and houses and extended families, these years of life -- have made her. Her depiction feels honest and, as the description reads "Life is more than a tally of victories and defeats" - I felt like that line is apt for this book, and for Eileen. Sadly, something she, and maybe others, realize too late in the game.

Chad Harbach is blurbed on the back, which is ironic, because this is the first book since his "Art of Fielding" in 2012, that covered a similar amount of time and where I felt so engaged with the characters. Just a phenomenal book that I was sad to finish. ...more

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Apr 30, 2014 Arianna rated it really liked it

Shelves: library-book, audiobook, poklib

www.shelfnotes.com
3.5 / 5

Dear Reader,

This book was...good but not excellent, not life-changing or world-revealing or anything. Just a good, solid family history. Some tough but important parts about Alzheimer's. It was interesting how the story began from Eileen’s POV way early, but perhaps the author needed to explain why she became a nurse, how her life turned out as it did, and why she had such aspirations for her son. The theme of the book seemed very generational. It was very much story-bas ...more

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Sep 08, 2014 Ann rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2014

Very good. Very long.

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Apr 09, 2015 akaellen rated it it was ok

Shelves: read-2015, 2015-reading-challenge

I didn't really do any pre-reading about this novel. I gave it 2 stars because it was an uncomfortable read for me. The subject matter hit very close to home and I just slogged through. It was also a very long read.

My review I am sure doesn't do this book justice. I think it was too personal for me to judge objectively as a novel.

So don't let my review be a deciding factor in whether or not you read this novel. ...more

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Aug 20, 2014 jen8998 rated it liked it

Long family saga featuring a struggle with early onset Alzheimer's. I wanted to like this one more than I did - the author's prose is excellent but the story drags and is rather predictable. ...more

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