Customer Reviews

Caroline's Daughters

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4 star:		(2)
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2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Alice Adams obviously labored to include all the 'hot' themes here -abortion, the homeless, revolting sex and drug use. All the themes are poorly and shallowly expressed. And, of course, there is the gay daughter and all the gay friends. If only Adams had written the story we were promised on the flyleaf.

This is a very disappointing book. I'm sorry to have to say that because I am a fan of Alice Adams' writing.

The most unsympathetic characters are despicable and the most endearing characters are self-involved "trendy benevolents" of "privileged conscience". I hope that Adams' true values are not the ones in this book.

The novel has tinges of Gilchrist's contents while trying to aspire to be "one of us" or a "good old gal". Adam's 'one of us' is 'oh so not caring' and 'so not right'.

I bought this book at a Salvation army store for 50 cents under the pretense that it was a quality read that had no home. Well, I've learned that you truly get what you pay for!

I, literally, had to put the book down at least 10 times before I could summon up the willpower to complete the reading. Not only were the characters 1-dimensional and underdeveloped, but they had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. I found it hard to empathize with such self-righteous, self-indulgent characters. What eventually brought me back to the novel every time were the intense love triangles and sordid entanglement between the main characters. Even then, I was not pulling for any of the characters to succeed, really. I would even go so far as to say that I felt much contempt for many of the characters, including Caroline herself.

If you do decide to read this book, prepare to feel nauseated and disappointed.

A boring novel about boring waspy women in San Francisco who have no morals and no concern for anyone else besides themselves. These characters were predictable and dull. I hoped for something memorable to take away from this book, but I was left with nothing. I just hope that these characters are truly fictional and not based on real people. People like these characters are sad examples of humanity.

This supposedly "acclaimed" author has written a book that is not just bad, but bafflingly bad. Not only is this not quality literature, it is not even quality trash. The book includes all the ingredients of a sexy page turner (like a mother who is pursued by the same man who seduces two of her daughters) but it is presented in such a bland way without the minimal character development that might make it believable, that it comes off about as exciting as watching paint dry. Other scenes of hip young women snorting coke are described by an out-of-touch author who is trying to sound current but clearly doesn't know what she is talking about. Seems she did her research from the pages of another trashy novel (no doubt a better one). Don't be fooled by the jacket description. This book is in no way "hauntingly sensitive."

The insight into one family in a well-told tale gives the reader food-for-thought about many contemporary issues. Alice Adams is truly a gifted writer and this book is ample evidence of this fact. Five protagonists is a difficult feat and only a truly excellent writer can pull it off.

I liked it! Don't worry about a plot! It's all the characters, with whom it is surprisingly easy to get involved.At first, you wonder how you are going to follow so many main character, but Adams' style really brings everything to life. I found this to be a 'real' novel in the sense that that is how life is - everything changes, are we ever satisfied?, and we can't solve other's problems; so have to live our own lives. Entertaining, intelligent, and an interesting, detailed San Fran. setting. I couldn't get into the 80's era that it was supposed to represent though. Don't try it if you are looking for a "story" that builds up to final ending.