Customer Reviews

The Faraday Girls: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is much too long. It took all long time to make the point and it was wrapped up with no real answers? I think this book would have been better if it was more about the sister's relationships with each other than going in and out of their lives. I think Leo came off as a weak man and did not deserve the love of his daughters for not reading the diaries and accepting that his love for his dead wife was more in his imagination. If you want a long tale this is it, but it isn't a fun read.

In Part One the story is set in Hobart, Tasmania (Australia). The year is 1979. The Faraday family consists of Leo (the father) and five sisters. Tessa, the girls' mother has been dead several years now. Juliet is the oldest. She is twenty-eight, hardworking, and loves to cook. Miranda is twenty-one, a drama queen, and rude to everyone. Eliza is nineteen, determined, and in college to study physical education and accountancy. Sadie is eighteen, always anxious and feeling like an outcast. However, the one most focused upon is the youngest. Clementine "Clem" is sixteen. She is the most level-headed in the family and three months pregnant. Maggie is born in February, 1980. All four aunts help Clem care for Maggie. Sadie, however, insists on doing the most. Clem builds her career and spends all her free time with Maggie. Problem is that Sadie begins to think of herself as Maggie's surrogate mother. It all comes to a head when Maggie is six-years-old. Sadie does something so horrible that she decides to disappear forever. The only Faraday Sadie wants contact with is Maggie and only via the local priest acting as a go-between. Once a year, Sadie sends Maggie a birthday card. The priest brings the card to Maggie each year and forwards Maggie's reply to Sadie.

In Part Two, Maggie is twenty-six. The setting begins in Greenwich Village, New York (USA). The year is 2000. Until recently, Maggie was an accountant in London. But two events within hours of each other have Maggie en route to New York and seriously considering a career change. Leo's love of inventing has accumulated quite a bit on money. Every July the Faraday clan meets up in "the holiday house" in Ireland. This year, Leo needs Maggie's help. Leo thinks he knows where Sadie is, thanks to a private detective. If Leo is correct, Sadie has a new name, lives in Ireland (very close to the holiday house) and has a family all her own. Maggie is about to learn that every single member of the Faraday family has their own closely guarded secret. At the center of them all is Maggie.

**** Author Monica McInerney is an internationally bestselling author. After reading this story, I totally understand why too. Yet unless you know slang from around the globe, you may find yourself rereading sections to figure out what some words and phrases mean. Most I could figure out by how they were used. A couple still have me wondering. Through it all, though, I came to feel as if I were part of the Faraday family. Drama, guilt, secrets, happiness, heart-breaking sorrow ... it's all in here. ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

I really wanted to love this book, as I had just returned from Ireland and was in the mood for an Irish novel. But it was just okay for me. It was waaaaay too wordy and repetitive (where was the editor???) and some of the "quirks" of the characters made me want to scream. Miranda needed her mouth washed out with soap, among other things.

But I did finish it, which is why I gave it three stars.

I bought this book on a whim and found that in 2 days, comfortably planted in my comfy chair, I was craving more stories to come of the Faraday girls. I found the dialog's and scenery descriptions great. I was transported to other places and loved the journey. A must read for a holiday break.

Very good book-easy to read and follow--about family relationships and all that goes on---leaves you with good thoughts....

Every now and then you need a book that doesn't creep you out, isn't full of romantic encounters, doesn't make you try to figure out "who done it" -- you need a book that's just a good story and a compelling read. "The Faraday Girls" explores the personalities and relationships of the five Faraday sisters, their father and eventually the daughter of the youngest sister. They seem to have an ideal life ... but are they really happy? Do they really tell each other the truth?

I was really excited when I purchased this book and looked forward to reading it. It has a good story line, and was entertaining. However, in many places I became bored, because it was repetitive and seemed to drone on and on. Usually I never judge a book by how long it is, but it seemed like the author was never going to get to the point. It was an enjoyable story, but it could have been summed up better with fewer words and less useless details. It is worth a read though.

I really wanted to like this book. I loved this author's book Upside Down, Inside Out. However, this book just went on and on. It was entirely too long. By the time I got more than 300 pages into it, it suddenly became boring to me and I just tired of the story line and didn't feel a connection with the characters. I think it could have been condensed down and been a great book at 325-350 pages. Not the worst book I've read but was disappointing.

Widowed Leo Faraday raises his five daughters alone after the death of his adored wife Tessa, to whom he constantly refers as a paragon of womanhood. The girls have completely different personalities but Leo battles to keep them united as a family. When Clementine, the youngest girl has a baby daughter at the age of 16, the other sisters all play their part in raising their niece, Maggie, surrounding her with love and encouraging her obvious talent with mathematics. The story continues until Maggie is in her twenties when long hidden family secrets are unveiled and threaten to destroy them, taking Leo and his girls around the world in their quest for family unity.

I found this book absolutely gripping...stayed up till 4 a.m. to finish it! The author takes an unflinching look at the bonds of five sisters and the rifts that occur over the years. It was honest, poignant, fascinating and at times heartbreaking...what you think you feel about one character morphs into something completely different. Kudos to the author for creating such fascinating, layered, intriguing characters! I'll remember this book for years.