The Passions of Emma

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Summary: This is a good one!!!
Review: It is one of my favorites, too! It's different read and PW is one of my favorite authors. The year is the late 1890's and the place is Rhode Island during victorian times. It is during an annual fox hunt that Emma Tremayne, a high-society beauty that is engaged to be married to her childhood friend, meets Shay McKenna, an impoverished Irish revolutionist. He is at first the mystery man without a name who works for her fiance, to Emma. Emma has been born into a luxurious, social world that requires her to separate herself from the common people. But Emma's heart wants to reach out to those less fortunate that her. She starts visiting local mill-factory (of which her fiance owns) families, becoming best-friends with married pregnant millworker with 2 girls- Bria McKenna. During visits Bria opens Emma's eyes up to unconditional love and friendship. It is during her visits that she meets Shay McKenna again- Bria's husband. She observes the strong love, passion, and devotion Bria and Shay have for one another, realizing that is what she wants. She loves her fiance- they have always been best friends and there is a love for one another, but not a passionate love. It is revealed that Bria is dying of consumption but no one wants to speak of it or admit to it until Bria forces Shay and Emma to accept that she will not be with them much longer and that she wants them to lean on each other to fill the void. Emma has never told Bria that she feels a desire for Shay. It is definitely a complex story of devotion to each other and strong passionate love. Emma's mother feels threatened and severely punishes her for the bond Emma has developed with the lower class. It is heart breaking. The chemistry is strong all the way through the book between Bria, Shay, and Emma- definitely a triangle! I highly recommend the book- it is definitely a keeper for me!

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Summary: Beautifully told story of friendship & love
Review: Ouch, this book was painful to read. It's vivid scenes and raw emotion lingered with me long after I turned the last page.

The plot sounds horribly depressing and there's no doubt that this is painful stuff but I wouldn't have put it down for anything. Rich in detail and emotion, it's moving and uplifting and tender and such a very beautiful story about love and friendship, THE PASSIONS OF EMMA is one of the best books I've read this year. Just grab yourself a box of tissues before starting it . . .

Rating:
Summary: Flawed, but still fun, weepy
Review: The equivalent of a long-distance phone commercial, this book is a little overwrought and pretty manipulative, but if you want a decent tear-jerker, The Passions of Emma is worth your while.

This is my first book by Williamson, whose writing style is overly dramatic and sentimental, but she tells a decent yarn if taken at face value. The story is from the point of view of Emma, a beyond believable beauty, who falls in love (reluctantly) with her best friend's husband. But the juice of the story is repression and longing, over which many characters torture themselves.

There are a lot of elements that strain believability: the clairvoyant daughter, Emma's disregard of societal pressures, her sudden interest in poor people, a ghostly appearance, the sidebar into the loony bin. Really, it's got some serious melodramatic elements: falling for friend's husband, the dying consumptive, the several suicides, the handicapped sister, the evil mother, the big fire and on and on. Even the weather seems to cooperate: the weather sucks when people feel sad and the sun shines when they're happy. Storms conveniently arise at dramatic moments, rain beats down to illustrate despair.

As the protagonist, Emma is a little too perfect (beautiful, rich, compassionate and artistic too!), and I thought the friend character Bria was a more compelling heroine, certainly braver and spunkier. As for Shay, the hero, he doesn't seem that extraordinary, what with the dirty hair and schlumpy clothes; it's difficult to see what Emma is so fired up about.

I couldn't help thinking that from the point of view of some of the other characters, Emma and Shay don't seem so great. (Think about it, to those who've already read the book: Emma screws over her fiance pretty good, and she kinda ignores her sister a lot. And Shay gets over his wife pretty quickly, and he doesn't seem too tormented about the people he's killed.)

But that's the thing: this book doesn't really hold up to examination, nor is it meant to be picked apart. If you can get over the (many) implausibilities, you will definitely cry by the end and feel rewarded by the love-conquers-all scenario. Read it quickly and without thinking too much.