Blessing in Disguise

Rating:
Summary: Decent and Easy read. A good Beach book
Review: Blessing in Disguise is more like a blessing to an over worked mind that needs a bit of mind candy. The character of Grace Truscott, the intelligent and privileged daughter of a former senator, undertakes the task of writing her idolized father's biography. However, after only the first draft, a myriad of difficulties surface. To start, after crossing each of the many bridges on her journey, she finds she is writing a biography about a man she hardly knows. A man that lived a life very different than the one his daughter had imagined. Although these many complexities initially draw the reader in, they become an annoyance after a while, especially the complexities that take place in Grace Truscott's personal life. For one, I find it hard to believe the author, who at first introduced Grace as a strong and determined woman would bring her to points of desperation with the man she loves. The passion is not what I am knocking, but I could do without her insatiable desire to marry her lover Jack. I should add however, that while this bothered me, it in no way bothered me as much as many of the other characters, namely Jack's son Ben, and Grace's selfish and social conscious sister, Sissy. It should be said however, that one of the truths Grace finds when researching the bio leads her to the discovery of Nola, her half sister. The story itself was heartwarming, but little else. At times it is a wonder that Grace's biography ever gets finished and her personal problems ever get resolved. Nevertheless, Blessing in Disguise has a typically "happy ending".

Rating:
Summary: Decent and Easy read. A good Beach book
Review: Blessing in Disguise is more like a blessing to an over worked mind that needs a bit of mind candy. The character of Grace Truscott, the intelligent and privileged daughter of a former senator, undertakes the task of writing her idolized father's biography. However, after only the first draft, a myriad of difficulties surface. To start, after crossing each of the many bridges on her journey, she finds she is writing a biography about a man she hardly knows. A man that lived a life very different than the one his daughter had imagined. Although these many complexities initially draw the reader in, they become an annoyance after a while, especially the complexities that take place in Grace Truscott's personal life. For one, I find it hard to believe the author, who at first introduced Grace as a strong and determined woman would bring her to points of desperation with the man she loves. The passion is not what I am knocking, but I could do without her insatiable desire to marry her lover Jack. I should add however, that while this bothered me, it in no way bothered me as much as many of the other characters, namely Jack's son Ben, and Grace's selfish and social conscious sister, Sissy. It should be said however, that one of the truths Grace finds when researching the bio leads her to the discovery of Nola, her half sister. The story itself was heartwarming, but little else. At times it is a wonder that Grace's biography ever gets finished and her personal problems ever get resolved. Nevertheless, Blessing in Disguise has a typically "happy ending".

Rating:
Summary: A GOOD BOOK
Review: I could really relate to this book. It is hard to find good interracial books to read with such honest feelings. And the difficulty people go through because of society.

Rating:
Summary: Good, few caveats...
Review: I listened to the audio version of blessing in disguise (all 16 hours!), and found myself strangely compelled by the lives of Grace, Cordelia, Jack etc. The story is the tale of Grace Trescott, the daughter of renowned civil rights leader. She is writing a controversial novel about her father. She is also involved in an interfaith relationship with an older man with older children. As if this weren't problematic enough, Grace discovers the truth about her father and his relationship with his secretary and this strains the relationship between her and the rest of her family.

While I liked "Blessing in Disguise" it was not without flaws. Number 1. I got really really tired of Jack, Grace's boyfriend. He was whiny, "I'm too old for her....." Yep, agree with him there. He was also too immature, and too focused on his own children. I thought the age difference was icky and did not work for me. The problems with an interfaith marriage weren't even touched upon. Overall, I was really sick of Jack by the end. Grace was better off with the veterinarian.

2. Ben. Hated the character. He is an abusive user and gets away with it. I don't buy the 'therapy cure-all' excuse at the end of the book. Ben needed more than just therapy, he needed to be locked up. His "Feel sorry for me, I'm a poor little rich kid" just wore thin... Get over yourself Ben!

3. Cordelia: liked her. Liked her relationship with her gardener boyfriend. But what is with Goudge and writing characters who are in relationships with much older people? Seriously, two romances in one book between two people with a large age difference began to skeeve me out...

4. Also, while I appreciated hearing about Hannah, Ben and the other minor characters, there was WAY too much time spent on the children. I would've preferred more character development between the main romantic couples and less time spent with the two teenage malcontents. (The scene where Chris ran away had me rolling my eyes in pain.

Overall, despite my criticism of this novel, I felt it was extremely well-written. Goudge made you feel for the characters, and is an extremely talented author, making even the most trite stereotypes seem fresh. While I didn't care for some of the subject matter: older man/younger woman, younger woman/older man, rape, adultery etc. I felt she handled the topic well.

Rating:
Summary: Good, Not Great
Review: This was my first Eileen Goudge book, and I think the general premise and story is pretty good. I also liked most of the main characters, but I also got frustrated with the repetition and indecisiveness of those characters. I believe this could have been an equally good, or better, book and been two-thirds as long. (I do hestitate to say something like that because I have great respect for writers' autonomy and integrity.)

Eileen Goudge is particularly good at descriptions--her house and garden descriptions here are wonderful. Her character development of Cordelia Truscott is also excellent. Cordelia is ultimately the strongest and bravest character in this book, and it is fitting that it ends with her.

Rating:
Summary: Good, Not Great
Review: This was my first Eileen Goudge book, and I think the general premise and story is pretty good. I also liked most of the main characters, but I also got frustrated with the repetition and indecisiveness of those characters. I believe this could have been an equally good, or better, book and been two-thirds as long. (I do hestitate to say something like that because I have great respect for writers' autonomy and integrity.)

Eileen Goudge is particularly good at descriptions--her house and garden descriptions here are wonderful. Her character development of Cordelia Truscott is also excellent. Cordelia is ultimately the strongest and bravest character in this book, and it is fitting that it ends with her.

Rating:
Summary: A Deeply Felt Story!
Review: This was one of the most interesting books I have read, and my first I've read of Eileen Goudge. I wasn't disappointed.
The story is really very sad as the father had had an affair long ago that he had never talked about; and in that affair, he'd had a child, unbeknownst to his wife until after he died. The beginning of the book captures your attention right away with a tragic event, and moves forward from that point on. A lot of family difficulties and situations arise in this book that make it great to read and hard to put down.