makes you think!
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I have tried to read this novel before, with litle success. However, I now find myself in similar situation with Edie and Russell amd can emphasise with Edie's feelings of loss. The conclusion was somewhat of a surprise to me, but has made me re-think my own situation. Commended for "empty-nesters"!
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Generally enjoyable
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That title probably sounds as though I am damning this book with faint praise - which in a way I am. It was certainly an easy read and I rather like that bumbling along style which is in a similar tradition to Anne Tyler... There were bits of the book that I really enjoyed - the relationship between Rosa and Laszlo for one -but I felt really she overpopulated it with characters who didn't really do an awful lot. A bit like real life I suppose. There were things that completely annoyed me though - for example the focus on the woman (Ruth) earning more than the man (Matthew) and that being a significant problem for their relationship - it felt a bit as though I was reading a book set in the 80s rather than a current novel. Surely those things are no longer real issues? If you like Joanna Trollope I'm sure you'll like this but it's hardly going to set the world alight....
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Middling
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It's a pleasant story, told at a leisurely pace. It's not gripping and the characters are unabsorbing and rather stereotypical. The prose is very good, as always. I'd recommend this undemanding and slightly superficial novel for a holiday or train journey, but would warn readers that they might finish it feeling unsated.
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Sophisticated
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Another excellently written book from Joanna Trollope. As already said by a previous reviewer, this story is very much in the vein of her last two or three books. Second Honeymoon revolves around a couple whose three children have grown up and flown the nest; Russell is happy about this wanting to have his wife to himself again, but Edie is not. Just when Russell thought that the second honeymoon period of life was starting, all three children, and an additional lodger, move back home. The description of emotions is beautifully written but I felt it was lacking a strong storyline - hence four stars. It is certainly a lovely book and a sophisticated read but it is not gripping.
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Nice easy read
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This is a nice easy holiday read, and on the whole up to her usual standard. Plot and characters are sympathetic and believable, and the story runs smoothly. One complaint: please please please, Ms Trollope, could you find another way of describing someone having a drink. "Taking a swallow" of wine, tea or whatever (and you use this in all your books) just doesn't work. In this book someone takes a "savouring swallow", which is even worse.
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