Primary Genre(s): Women’s Fiction
Published: 15 June 2020
Page count: 302 (print)
My Format: ebook
Cover: Beautiful
Pacing: Good
Ending: Surprising
Do I Recommend: Yes
Commission Link (U.S.): Buy The Eves
My rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis
The Eves is a multi-generational novel portraying lives lived well and lives in transition. Filled with poignancy and humor, The Eves captures the conversations we wish we had had with our parents, if we had taken the opportunity, and the lessons we would want to impart to our children, if they were ready to listen.
Told through the voice of the psychologically complex Jessica Barnet, this is her story. As the primary witness in a messy trial she has been torn from the foundation of her existence—her connection to her children. With a partially finished doctoral degree, and incomplete renovations on her Washington, DC row house, she has let go of her ambitions and her appearance, but not her vodka or her sense of loss and guilt.
When Jessica meets five diverse, determined, and sometimes ditzy old women living in a sustainable community everything and everybody changes. Through plot twists and turns that cover three continents, we learn the truth of Jessica’s life and lies just as we fall in love with the vividly drawn characters and the vibrantly described settings.
My Thoughts
I was asked to participate in a book tour for this book’s first bookstaversary! Here my pros and cons for The Eves:
Pros
- This isn’t the type of book I typically read. It is told in first person (from Jessica’s point of view) and is an extreme example of a character-driven narrative. I was a bit concerned at the beginning of the book that it may not hold my interest, but I was pleasantly surprised when I found that wasn’t the case.
- There is actually a lot going on in this story. Jessica has an interesting and complicated background. Her arc from the beginning to the end of the story is engaging and often unexpected.
- The old women at The Grange (the sustainable community) were a joy. Very diverse, quite outspoken, and wholly interesting.
- I appreciated the focus on paying attention to what the elderly people in our lives have to say. The book emphasizes over and over that older people have a lot of reach to the past and into the future if we would take the time to learn from them.
- The Grange is a character all by itself. I visualized the place clearly and felt like I was there while I was reading the story.
- I didn’t expect the ending. I was quite shocked.
Cons
- I actually wanted more information about the older women in the story. The focus was so strong on appreciating the elderly and their lives as well as futures, but I felt like the story didn’t include them quite enough. Of course, this is simply my opinion.
- Since the story is told in first person, there were times I felt like some of the conversations were written a bit formally. Occasionally, dialogue didn’t feel natural.
Summary
Ultimately, this book is about women, and mothers in particular. It is about women and mothers of all colors, backgrounds, and abilities. It is about good mothers and bad mothers and everything in between. It is about the relationships women have with others. It is also about appreciating the older people in our lives and understanding that old doesn’t mean over.
After reading this book I promise you will want to go talk to your grandmother or your grandfather or an elderly aunt or neighbor. And if you do, don’t just ask them about the past… remember that they still have futures, too!
Thank you to the author ( @gracesammonwrites on Instagram) and book tour promoter (@Bookandwinelovers on Instagram) for a free electronic of this book, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
If you would like to read this book and form your own opinion, please consider purchasing through this link: Buy The Eves. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Thanks!
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(image from Goodreads)
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