Quote:
Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl
Victoria, you have added some interesting perspective. I felt Florence was embellishing her past experience in a bookstore to appease the bank manager. I was also frustrated at how she didn't want to know more about the financial books; she didn't seem too upset when Christine sold the expensive cards (sorry can't remember specifically what the item was) for pennies compared to the price. One thing that surprised me is how long she was in the town (8 years?) before she decided to take this action to open the bookshop, but in this small village I suppose that still makes her a newcomer.
I think you have nailed my biggest disappointment. I wanted Florence to be a hero - learn lessons from her experience and apply them, triumph over her circumstances of widowhood, win the battle against the cold and heartless Violet.
I liked issybird's description of the characters as flat. I wanted them all to grow in color.
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Yes, the author seemed to take away all hope that some good would rise from the ashes. I didn’t even get the impression that Violet would create an Arts Centre. Like Bookpossum, I found the descriptions of the landscape particularly evocative, and they really reinforced the bare, windswept, unforgiving tone of the book. It was a bleak story.
That said, I appreciated the resilience of the local characters and animals. For me they were saving graces, but I can completely see why you’d feel let down. I read a lot of Amazon reviews before reading it, and I think that shielded me from getting my hopes up.