Up Island

Rating:
Summary: I should have went to sleep.
Review: I absolutely love her writing style. I was so into the book that I couldn't put it down and stayed up all night to see what happened. And then, nothing did. I should have went to sleep. Worth reading, but I didn't really like the ending.

Rating:
Summary: good story
Review: This novel by Siddons is probably #2 on my list by this author. The characters are believable, the story line flows easily and you really get into the story. I think it is brilliantly written.

Rating:
Summary: depth beneath the story
Review: Something is going on here that reaches deeply beneath the characters and incidents of the story, easily missed if one does not pay heed to Molly's early musings about family. She is asking a profound question about what determines our social units: must they be consistent, continuous, normative? Or is there room for the quirky, the alien, the threatening, the dying? In the end she finds a definition of family that defies the reality of loss, universalizes beyond the confines of parochialism, and offers up hope. Are the characters profound - No, not in their individual selves. Is the plot profound - No, not in its specific events. But, if you catch this glimpse of one's own ability to choose the meaning of family, that is profound. And, also if you hear the message that the only way to deal with loss is through the pain, not around it, you get a bonus gift. Earth-shattering ....not really, but provocative for those who open themselves to the meanings beyond the superficial.