Review: Other Women by Lisa Alther

Other Women by Lisa Alther

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After reading Original Sin by Lisa Alther and having a hard time liking it in any way, I had a decision to make. You see I got both of these books through Kindle Unlimited which means they were free to borrow. I thought about returning this one, Other Women, and not reading it at all. Thank goodness I didn’t. I loved this book!

If you have had a good experience with a counselor, dealing with problems of the past or current ones, this will feel familiar. I think everyone should have a good counselor once in a while to air the mental stuff that you might not want to weigh down your friends and family with. And here in Other Women there were plots and characters that felt so real that I was sorry the book ended. I think I might read it again, sometime.

Though this book ended quite well, all threads neatly sewn up, I still wish there was more. I want to see what happens next. We are left with ideas as to how life might continue, but I knew I would miss all these people as much as the real people in my life. I like when an author can do that. She created a reality that felt real.

Just saying that made me smile. Wasn’t it because Original Sins felt so real that I hated it? I think I could relate more with the characters in Other Women much more deeply than I could with the characters in Original Sins. So maybe that is why the reviews on both books had such a variety of ranks. I guess it has to do with your own viewpoint of the world.

This is one book I will have to buy someday. I think many will love it as much as I did.

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Word Count: 25,076

Um, yeah. I have just gotten to the halfway point of the word count. I really should have worked the outline better. Still without one, I do like how the story is proceeding. Things have happened I didn’t expect and characters have evolved far differently than I imagined when I began. So even though I am not getting the cute dragon winner’s banner, I feel good for having a story to work on that I feel good about. I miss the days I could blast out a novel in the required 30 days, but many of those novels I wrote are not worth a lot. AND those quickies leave me with so much more work to do in the editing.

Meanwhile, I have still been reading a lot, so now I have a review to write. Heh!

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Review: Original Sins by Lisa Alther

Original Sins by Lisa Alther

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

First of all, let me tell you, I read books for escape. But sometimes, I might learn a thing or two. And it is with a humble acknowledgement that I gave this book three stars.

Look, I lived through the 1960s and feel that nowadays we have reverted back to the 1860s so revisiting all the bigotry and misogyny of the country through this book during a time when cops shoot kids because of their menacing faces in real life, and reading this nonsense as my escape–well, let’s just say the truth. I nearly threw this book away for most of the first 40%. Then at 43-46% I was ready to be finished as the pages were repeated and out of order. But somehow I was drawn in like vampire to a train wreck??? So much was wrong I hoped there was a single drop I could glean from it.

Okay, this should be required reading for everyone in high school. It could be used to teach English. Look, I understand making the characters sound a certain way but to continue beyond the dialogue was horrid! Then you could use the book to teach patience and tolerance about people who may seem like they are different. Then use it in a Sex Ed. class to show what not to do. Then for a feminism classes to show men and women what not to expect.

I am so glad I didn’t buy this book. I picked it up through Kindle Unlimited. I know a lot of people loved this book. It was through a book group who recommended this to me that I read it. I feel no closer to a truth or an escape having gone through this. And that makes me feel horrid. Sorry.

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