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Summary: Reader Review of "Dreaming Maples" by Claudia Ricci
Review: "Dreaming Maples" vividly describes love and hate in mother-daughter relationships over a period of three generations in a conservative New England setting. The author so beautifully paints her characters and scenes in such detailed fantastic vivid colors that they come vibrantly alive.Mothering events in the lives of mother and daughter are intertwined in time. The bearing that the events in our childhood have later on in our adult lives is carefully presented and analyzed. The special challenges of motherhood encountered by young single mothers and the demands put upon their children in turn are dramatically described. The book is so well written that it cannot be put down until the last page is read leaving the reader with much to reflect upon. It is a wonderful book that ripens with re-reading. Dorothy Stage
Sweden
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Summary: I didn't want this book to end!
Review: Claudia Ricci tells a tale not only of 3 generations of women, not only of mothers and daughters, but of fathers, and of husbands and boyfriends, and of family -- those related by blood and those related by love. And she does it with such brilliance and care that there is no character is this novel that you do not know, can not feel, that you don't see vividly in your mind's eye. Not only do I look forward to reading Claudia's next novel, I hope to see Dreaming Maples on the silver screen someday, and I know that this is a book I will read again and again, like visiting an old friend.
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Summary: Dreaming Maples by Claudia Ricci
Review: Dreaming Maples is a wonderful book about women and their complex lives and relationships. Claudia Ricci's artistry describes each of her characters so vividly, that as a reader, you can visualize them instantly. It is a fantastic, in depth journey about a family and their joy and sorrow. I felt so much for these characters. I could relate to them so deeply. The story is intricately woven from the lives of Audrey, Eileen and Candace. I could not put this book down for long. I was so curious as to what was going to happen to them next. Even after I finished the book, the characters are still in my thoughts. I would recommend Dreaming Maples to all readers who enjoy stories about women, families and their triumphs and tribulations. I can't wait to read it again.
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Summary: Dreaming Maples by Claudia Ricci
Review: Dreaming Maples is a wonderful book about women and their complex lives and relationships. Claudia Ricci's artistry describes each of her characters so vividly, that as a reader, you can visualize them instantly. It is a fantastic, in depth journey about a family and their joy and sorrow. I felt so much for these characters. I could relate to them so deeply. The story is intricately woven from the lives of Audrey, Eileen and Candace. I could not put this book down for long. I was so curious as to what was going to happen to them next. Even after I finished the book, the characters are still in my thoughts. I would recommend Dreaming Maples to all readers who enjoy stories about women, families and their triumphs and tribulations. I can't wait to read it again.
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Summary: Un-put-downable!
Review: I enjoyed "Dreaming Maples" immensely! It was easy to feel a part of the extended 'family' of the characters. As a father of 5, I could relate to many of the joys and exasperations of parenthood, and found the story poignant and the characters all too human. I look forward to Claudia's next book!
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Summary: Un-put-downable!
Review: I enjoyed "Dreaming Maples" immensely! It was easy to feel a part of the extended 'family' of the characters. As a father of 5, I could relate to many of the joys and exasperations of parenthood, and found the story poignant and the characters all too human. I look forward to Claudia's next book!
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Summary: Un-put-downable!
Review: I enjoyed "Dreaming Maples" immensely! It was easy to feel a part of the extended 'family' of the characters. As a father of 5, I could relate to many of the joys and exasperations of parenthood, and found the story poignant and the characters all too human. I look forward to Claudia's next book!
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Summary: Lyrical, evocative and heartfelt
Review: I picked up this book, not knowing what to expect. 11 hours later, I finished it -- barely able to set it down. It was an amazing exploration of the relationship between mothers and daughters that I've ever read -- yet it speaks to all of us in terms of its analysis of the human spirit. I can't wait to read another one of Claudia Ricci's novels.
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Summary: Does not disappoint!
Review: I read a review of this book in my local paper and was intrigued by the stated themes of motherhood, abandonment, and legacies of conflict and misguided love. When I treated myself to the book I found it did not disappoint.
I was quickly caught up in the story and the very real characterizations. Claudia Ricci manages to blend narrative tension and fine writing quite effortlessly. This is a book both for those who love a good story and those who love language and the written word.
I found the parallel stories of Eileen and Candace, misunderstood mothers and daughters both, real, evocative, sad, but ultimately hopeful.
I am happy to recommend this book.
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Summary: Vivid Intensity with Brilliantly Drawn Characters
Review: Recently a friend gave me this gem to read. It begins languidly like autumn in New England. Gradually, the characters unfold, until their vivid intensity begs you to STOP EVERYTHING and just read.
The story opens with a strong, but small group of seventy-something women living together and tapping maples in the bitter cold of Vermont.
The women also tap into the heart of Candace, the granddaughter of Audrey, the matriarch of the maple tappers. Candace, a fiercely loyal young woman has grown up loving this group's colorful eccentricities. Now pregnant, she is unsure about her partner, her life and her future.
Much of the story is told through a series of flashbacks of Candace's mother's life seen through a revealing diary given to Candace. The diary covers Eileen's college years at an Ivy League University in Rhode Island and subsequent drug and sexual experimentation with the men she loved.
A timely book for the boomer generation (and their twenty-something kids) the women and men in this book are brilliantly drawn. I am haunted by them, even now, weeks after finishing the book.
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