Off Season
by Anne Rivers Siddons
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Book Reviews of Off Season
Book Review: Not up Front at all !
Summary: 3 Stars
Why did i give it 3 stars instead of 2 ? Because Anne could write a Cook Book well. I love her writing talent, but this book decieved the reader into thinking it was about a "grown up woman" who loses her husband, and goes back to this magical place in Maine from her childhood.
SPOILER....( but not the ending )
However, the jacket , nor the reviews told me that 3/4 of this book (or more) were consentrated on the woman as a child, and 1/4 of the rest , was disjointed and you never got close to any of the characters. The reviews on this page with 5 stars, must have been another book, or I have lost what is needed to enjoy this book by an author I have always loved reading. She lost me on this one. However, I will say, the gal can write well. I was just looking for a love story about a grown woman , is all.
Not a horrible read at all, but it is not a grown up story. Sorry.
Book Review: One of her best novels!
Summary: 5 Stars
I became a fan of Ms. Siddons many, many years ago when I first read "Peachtree Road." After that I read every book she had published up to then (some time in the 80s) and proceeded to obtain all First Editions of her earlier books and bought every single one of her latest books the moment they were published. "Off Season" is one of her best. Like a reviewer before me, it reminded me of "Colony" (one of my favorite books) and another favorite of mine - "Outer Banks." The end of the book was a surprise and it made me go back and re-read back chapters to see if I could find clues. Will re-read as I have every one of her 18 (or is it 19)novels. As one reviewer put it, "One doesn't read her novels, you inhabit them." My only complaint is that I have to wait so long for her next novels but then again, they wouldn't be special if they were cranked out yearly.Book Review: Depressing, disappointing ending but oddly compelling
Summary: 2 Stars
Warning - Don't read this review if you don't want to know lots of the storyline. I agree with what everyone else has written about this book and wish I'd read the reviews before reading, as I don't think I would have gone ahead and read this book. I have always loved her books and hadn't read one in years, so was pleased to see a new selection in the bookstore. The book does hold your attention - I read in the better part of an afternoon (I'm a fast reader); however I found it pretty depressing, with the deaths of Jon, her mother and then the dog. There was too much unanswered throughout the book - after Jon's disappearance, where was the sailboat found? Her timeframes were off too - it was hard to track how long after Jon's death that her mother gets cancer and dies. And as everyone else has said - the ending was awful! Totally made no sense!Book Review: Disappointing...
Summary: 2 Stars
The book starts out really well and is totally engrossing for the first two-thirds. After Lilly's marriage to Cam, the books falls apart. There is no warning or foreshadowing of Cam's betrayal, and no hint or reason for it is given. The character of Peaches is one-dimensional. The age of Jon and Lilly at the time of their relationship is way too young and borders on creepy. The matter of the letters is left in the air, and the whole book becomes a disappointment. It's as if Siddons ran out of steam midway. An author normally so careful with words writes an ending that must be re-read a couple of times to be understood, and the reader is left with so many unanswered questions that it is completely frustrating. And one more thing: the literary device of Lilly's conversations with her cat is completely out of place, inappropriate and contrived.Book Review: Return of a good novelist with "Off Season"
Summary: 4 Stars
While I do not agree that "Off Season" is Ms. Siddons best book, I will say it is her best since "Colony". I was disappointed in her more recent novels and feel that she has certainly redeemed herself with this haunting story of a widow revisting her childhood and her summers spent on the Maine coast where she met her husband. In many ways it is a coming of age story and in others a love story. Her character development is excellent and one feels they are actually at Edgewater watching Lilly as a tomboy and then a developing young woman. The author brings alive Lily's parents, brother and those who make up her world.
I, personally, was not happy with the ending which I thought could have been developed better which is the reason I did not rate this novel 5 stars. However, all in all it is a fine novel and a credit to Ms. Siddons.