The Slow Way Back : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: A pleasant but lightweight read
Review: I wanted to like this book much more than I did. Although it was a pleasant beach read, the characters were bland and two dimensional, the dialogue did not ring true, and the relationships were confusing (e.g., Thea seemed to adore her aunt, yet the aunt, as seen through Thea's eyes and based on Thea's observations, was presented unsympathetically. It was probably the author's attempt to show the ambivalence inherent in family relationships, but it didn't work.)

The big family secret became obvious early in the book, which led the march towards its revelation to become tiresome, and the revelation itself was anticlimactic.

All in all, I would rate this as an uninspired but not unpleasant read.

Rating:
Summary: A pleasant but lightweight read
Review: In this story of three generations of a Southern Jewish familythere has been a secret, hinted at, obliquely wielded. In the crisisof her mid-life, Thea begins to unravel the mystery that has haunted her life, at first wanting to share it with her younger sister. In the adventure of deciphering some letters written in Yiddish between their mother's mother & sister, Thea unearths a heartbreaking lie & her sister begs her to desist. I found this book absorbing & very well done! END

Rating:
Summary: For those who know the "territory," a heartwarming read
Review: Judy Goldman speaks in a voice that resonates with me. I loved this book, and I have recommended it to several of my close friends. It is the story of a woman's emerging identity in her fifties within the context of her family relationships and her growing understanding of them as she matures. Perhaps because I am about the same age as the protagonist, and I am also a psychologist, the territory the novel explores is very familiar to me. I thought that the characters were exceptionally well-drawn, and I was surprised to find that other readers were not uniformly positive about this book. Perhaps my world view, like the protagonist's, has been shaped as much by the places I have lived as it has been by my family of origin and its traditions. In the same way that I love Rebecca Wells' writing, in part for her evocation of a time and place with which I am intimately acquainted, I loved this book. It made me feel at home.

Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT
Review: The Slow Way Back is something special. Full of heart. Thoughtful. Well-written. A page-turner. A wonderful gift for someone you care about.