Reese's Book Club x Hello Sunshine discussion
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Still Lives
Still Lives
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Thoughts....
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Hi! Wow, what a book y’all!! I loved the references to F. Scott Fitzgerald...I think I enjoyed that the most. I felt like the art exhibit was eerie, something that I probably would not want to see. When I was reading that part with the descriptions of the art exhibit, I had to stop and walk away for a moment - the imagery was extremely vivid. The author did an amazing job with this book. She truly put me there as if I was a fly on the wall observing everything going down.
I am halfway through the book. I am enjoying the audiobook.
I liked Maggie, she was trying to find her way and her place in the world as we all are. And like all,of us, the circumstances around us are always changing so it's a constant process to incorporate all of life's changes and keep moving forward. I would not have gone to view the exhibit but I appreciate the thought process that compelled the artist to complete the exhibit. I understand the drive to put the thoughts in one's mind into a finished product although on a very small scale in my case.
I enjoyed reading about the art world in LA and collectors.
To me, this book was really about Maggie, not Kim Lorde. I found her character to be down to earth and always finding glimpses of home (the East Coast) in her new California life. For example, bring muffins to a cocktail party, baking pies, growing tomatoes, spending time with the corduroy clad reporter. And the knitting, oh I simply love that Maggie is a knitter! To speak to the theme of the book, violence against women, this quote sums it up best for me.
"...also because still lives were often a display of opulence or wealth, some rich person showing off the luxuries they own. Well, what if the liberated woman is one of our societies luxuries, and what if she's something hunted and killed too?"
Here’s the review I posted :) I don’t think I could ever go to an exhibit like that, but the idea of one does make me interested in how others would react.Spoiler alert:
I was definitely surprised by the ending of this one. I think I was more surprised that the main character figured it out and was right than I was by the outcome! The likelihood of it being the one character we learned very little about was likely, I’ve seen that in other stories. However, Maggie figured it out with about 50 pages to go and that surprised me. There was no twist, it didn’t end up being Maggie or Shaw, it was just the one person we learned little about. I will say that I was hooked to the end, but I don’t know how I feel about the actual ending. There were even some things hat didn’t get fully resolved when it was all said and done!
I appreciate being hooked to the end though -
Well done Hummel, well done.
This one was a let down after Next Year in Havana. It wasn't bad, but as far as suspense goes, it was difficult to connect to the story at first, and I never felt fully engaged.I did love the concept of the art exhibit. Early on in the book, this was the only thing that kept me turning pages. What an interesting way to look at violence toward women and to create a dialog. It left me wishing that someone would create a similar exhibit so that I can attend and discuss.
I can't say that I had a favorite character. Especially since I found most of them to be rather difficult to like. Maggie, especially, was a challenge for me. She seemed to just wallow in her mediocrity.
I only got 50% through this one. I just couldn’t relate and just didn’t care about Maggie. Her character was whiney to me. Maybe it was a mindset thing but I gave it a good try and had to stop from boredom.
I agree with Jamie-Lee. I did finish it, but compared to the other great books this one was my least favorite
I just finished and it was tough to get through. The whole thing felt tedious and there were too many unnecessary back stories and side stories.
What did you love?
What did you think of the art exhibit?
Who was your favorite character?