Off Season by Anne Rivers Siddons Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Off Season
Book Review: ' NOT HER BEST "
Summary: 3 Stars
I enjoyed parts of it which kept me going enough to want to finish and see what & how 'ARS ' would tie all this up . Thank goodness I borrowed this one from my Library . I won't repeat what most people who gave it 3 stars or less have said , BUT, I felt she didn't know herself how to end this story til " Eureka " ...a light came on in her head and within such a few pages at the end it was supposed to have answered all your questions ....did it ? I think there was too much talking cat ...which I suppose was really Lilly answering her own questions most of the time like speaking to oneself or a dead loved one ...til the end when the cat answers for her . I really think this last part could have saved the book if she was allowed more pages OR gave it more thought and didn't rush the ending ....leaving me kinda shocked " saying .....whaaaa happened ? "
Ages ago I read " UP RIVER " and enjoyed it . after which I bought a couple more which disappointed tho, so, from then on I borrow her books with the hopes I'll come across another novel of hers which is worth my time & money .
Very few writers can be consistant. One which rates great reading about 90 % of the time , is the novelist " Anita Shreve ".....rarely disappoints ( except her last one ; ) sorry .
Book Review: A Beautiful Novel
Summary: 5 Stars
I've read Anne Rivers Siddons' books before, but it's been a while. I know that I enjoyed them, and even sought out book after book after "discovering" her, but 6 or 8 years later, I don't remember any of those books.
I can't imagine not remembering Off-Season.
It is so beautifully written and captivating that I kept asking myself, "Why don't I read more novels?" A good novel such as this one weaves a story from which you can't escape. Truth (or relative subjective truth which appears in the memoirs that I'm gobbling up) is interesting. The stories compel me, but they lack, by definition of reality, the beauty and symbolism of well-written fiction.
This novel deals with the tragedies surrounding Lilly Constable's life -- jumping from her middle-aged years to her growing-up years and back again with a fluid motion. Because of the way the story is told, when I was halfway through I was already thinking that I should read it again to pick up on the nuance of the whole story as it's told in part. The story really is full of loss, but for some reason -- for me at least -- it was not at all sad. It was beautiful and true.
Off-Season does take a leap off the page of realism at the end, but by that point I was "in," so I bought it hook, line, and sinker. If you were able to enjoy the movie The Lake House (Widescreen Edition) with Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves, you'll be able to buy this. If not, listen to the few naysaying reviewers and avoid it.
Book Review: A Maine Background
Summary: 4 Stars
I have, over the years, read all of Mrs. Siddons books and generally liked them. I have a dear friend who has a home on Edisto, so am familiar with that section of SC where I have visited, and she describes that part of SC wonderfully in other books such as Stillwater Creek.
But in this book, because I live in Maine and spent all my childhood summers and 20 of my adult years on Mt. Desert Island, am more familiar with the region where she sets this book - actually I know every town/village/scene she describes so well (since she summers in Brooklin, not far away from the book's summe setting, she also is intimate with the area) and she is extremely accurate. And the view from Caterpiller Hill IS amazing!
And I was raised in D.C., so many of her descriptions of events and places in D.C. are familiar to me. I was tickled, for instance, to hear a long ago dancing class I attended as a pre-teen mentioned, Chevy Chase Club and so forth.
It's easy to get into her characters hearts and minds and I loved the book but will only give it 4 stars as was so disappointed at the ending. How could her classy husband have had a thing with Peaches, the biggest pain in the neck I've read about in a long time. I suppose it was a quick fling when he went to ME without Lilly when she had a commission to finish. Still and all, disappointing, and a bit silly to have a childhood love pop up into her thoughts after fifty plus years at the end.
I WOULD recommend the book though.
Book Review: A True Winner
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read many of Anne Rivers Siddons books. "Peachtree Road" was my favorite. "Off Season" reminds me of the author's style of writing in "Peachtree Road." All of the readers senses come to life with every word on every page. The work is a dazzling display of character development that in turn makes you feel like you are there at every moment and that somehow, you too have shared Lilly's life. "Off Season" is a wonderful, warm, tender and fabulous read.
Hal
Kansas City, MO
Book Review: A character I can relate to...
Summary: 4 Stars
Lilly Constable McCall was only fifty-three-years-old when she lost her precious husband, Cam. Lost in her grief and depression, Lilly returns to the family cottage in Edgewater. She spends time reminiscing and dealing with her grief in her own way.
Lilly takes readers back to her childhood. We meet her mother and father. We watch as a new girl town flirts with Cam. As we move back and forth in time we meet a love that Lilly lost.
Off Season has a shocking twist at the end of the book that seemed out of place. Anne Rivers Siddons has her own pleasant style of writing. I always enjoy books with a lead character that I can relate to; Lily is that type of character. Fans of Siddons will enjoy Off Season.