Customer Reviews

The Godmother

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Godmother is a bit different from the usual chick lit fare. It starts off typically, with Tessa King returning from a yoga retreat to her happy circle of friends in London. But all is not what it seems. Tessa has job troubles (indeed, she left her job), Billy is a struggling single mom with an oft-sick daughter and neglectful ex, Francesca has a pothead teenager, Helen is trapped in an unhappy marriage to a controlling man, and the love of Tessa's life (Ben) is married to Sasha. Claudia and Al have been trying to have a kid for years, but IVF is not working out for them.

Thus the stage is set for all kinds of interesting conflict and the occasional heartbreaking event. Some of the book was a little graphic and disturbing for my taste. And also, Tessa is an ambiguous protagonist. Sometimes you think she's really helpful and giving and sometimes she comes across as a meddlesome pain in the neck. She was, however, smart and often entertaining.

But it's apparent that the author put a lot of thought into the book, as the plot developments are unexpected, but not unearned. Most of the characters are fully developed, nuanced and compelling. I liked Tessa's friends enough, and usually Tessa herself, to plan on reading the sequel when it comes to the United States.

This is a wonderful novel. I couldn't put it down. Even after I finished it the story and characters lingered in my mind for weeks. Any one of the characters in the book could be someone you know. The story of their lives is gripping, thought provoking, enlightening, painful, sensual, and real. A MUST READ! You won't regret it.

easily one of the best books i've read this year, if not ever. carrie adams manages to create characters that are relatable and fallible...utterly endearing. once i started reading, i literally could not put it down. gutwreching and honest, a must read for anyone.

and don't forget the kleenex!

Tessa spends a lot of time explaining to us just who she is and why she thinks the way she does - then when she is described or criticized by her friends, there seems to be a huge disconnect. I really did not get a clear picture of who she was, and I never liked or cared what happened to her.She is supposed to be a lawyer, but her critical thinking skills don't support that role. She doesn't seem to have professional friends either, just the ones from her adolescence, (which seems to be on-going.)
The rest of the cast (it does read like a made for TV movie) are pretty stock: the cold, mean mother Marguerite, the needy Helen, the coke-head Neil. There was too much sudden shift: the childless couple go from intense (and quite credible) grief to a complete reversaL of attitude, to the extent that they are insulted and appalled that Tessa suggest that they adopt the twins. Really?
Likewise, Tessa goes from "being in love' with Ben to a sudden "enlightenment" about the true nature of their relationship. Real people and really well written characters take time to change and go through a process. They don't just go "Oops!I was wrong; here's the new me!"
I did think the story line was interesting and the writer is certainly able to hold our attention and keep things moving. I will try to read more of her books, in the hope that she will get better at the character aspect. She is actually a good writer aside from that. I also read the beginnig of the "Step-mother" which was included at the end of my book copy, and I noticed the same lack of real characters: who are these people and why on earth should I care about them?
One more negative, and this may be just a bias, but my God these people drink a lot! Maybe that was a purposeful plot element, but no one seems to learn anything from their alcohol abuse.
All in all, it would have been a good read if the characters were better developed. But as it is, only so-so.

This book was given to me as a gift and I have passed it on to several people as well. Extremely well written and captivating. A total page-turner! I became entralled on page one and literally couldn't put it down for two days. Tessa is completely relatable. I devoured it and can't wait to read it again.

I don't typically bother to leave reviews on books I've read, particularly novels, but I just finished The Godmother this evening and so thoroughly enjoyed it that I thought I'd share my opinion.

I don't typically have a lot of time to read these days (two year old, and another baby on the way), so I steer toward the "fluffier" chick/mom lit novels as I feel they're not too taxing, and they're easy to pick up or put down as needed without losing too much of what's going on. This novel delivers that sort of "fluffy" enjoyment, I thought, but really goes quite a lot deeper into character development and the plot twists are gripping and realistic. There were points in the book when I laughed out loud, and others where I sobbed; parts where I could nod in agreement with a character, and parts where I winced at the protagonist's mistakes.

This book is intelligent and witty, easy to read, and moves along quickly. I felt it was honest and real--it has elements of hilarity and tragedy, joy and annoyance all in equal measure. I don't want to give away any content or plot points, but in the end the overall moral is to enjoy and embrace your life as it is because, much as it may seem otherwise, the grass really isn't greener on the other side.

This was one of those books, rare as they are, that I became so involved with the characters and the story, that I was actually sad when it was over. I would bet that everyone who picks this one up won't put it down until they gobble up the last page...only to turn back to page one and read it again....and again. It's that good.

A crisp and witty British offering, with clever dialogue and a tale of deep and caring friendships. With four god-children from the newborn twins Bobby and Tommy, to the elfin and adorable Cora and the teenaged angst of Caspar, Tessa manages to connect with each child although her own biological clock is ticking louder by the minute. Cora and Caspar are delightfully realistic, and Tessa's friendships are shaken to the very core. A wonderful escape, thought provoking and ... hopeful.

At first, THE GODMOTHER seems like a novel you might have read before. Thirty-something Tessa King returns to her chic London flat after five weeks in an intensive yoga course at an ashram. Restored by her break, tanned, tightened and trim by the yoga, Tessa falls right back into the whirlwind of "relationships" (or one-night stands) and friendships that define her life. Pretty typical chick lit stuff, right? Think again.

The reason Tessa took a sabbatical? To escape from her former boss, who had been stalking her obsessively. With a restraining order in hand and plenty of leads on new high-powered legal jobs, Tessa finally feels able to move forward. But in what direction?

Tessa has always lived vicariously through her friends, their spouses and their children, many of whom boast Tessa as godmother. There's "child of the universe" Helen, a beautiful, risk-taking woman who has sacrificed everything for her obnoxious, womanizing husband and their newborn twins. There's single mother Billy, who dotes on her fragile seven-year-old Cora even as she holds a flickering torch for Cora's absent father. Old friends Claudia and Nick are dying to be parents but can't conceive. Then there are Francesca and Nick, the ideal couple, who are discovering that parenting only gets tougher as the teenage years loom. And finally, there's Ben, Tessa's life preserver, confidant and perfect match --- if only he weren't already married to the ideal woman.

Adrift and aimless after her return to London, the normally high-achieving Tessa has a hard time focusing on her own return to work --- she's so invested in her friends' lives that she is having difficulties working on her own. And the more time she spends with her friends, the more she talks with them and the more confused she gets. Everyone has a secret, it seems, and every secret shakes Tessa's ideals and makes her question what --- or whom --- she really wants. "I was beginning to feel like a failure just for thinking that maybe I wanted a husband and some kids. Was it so bad to want what everyone else had? Why did I have to do everything for myself when everyone else was getting help? When was someone going to look after me?"

Debut novelist Carrie Adams's British publishers call THE GODMOTHER "chick noir," and parts of it are dark indeed. Graphic descriptions of miscarriage, frank discussions of drug abuse, infidelity and obsession --- all these shadowy elements help set Adams's novel apart from its competitors and ground it more firmly in a rather bleak depiction of real life.

That's not to say that THE GODMOTHER is one big downer. Coincidences, romances and second chances help keep things from getting too black. Tessa and her friends are almost all well-developed, easily distinguishable and compelling. In fact, readers' main complaint after finishing this hard-to-put-down novel is that they wish to spend more time with these fascinating friends. Fear not, though --- even though THE GODMOTHER leaves plenty of loose ends untied and provides almost no conventionally happy endings, its sequel (THE STEPMOTHER) is being published in the UK this winter. US fans, we hope, won't have long to wait until we can spend more time in Tessa's magnetic circle of friends.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

I started reading this book and did not want to put it down. I became so involved in the story and felt I could relate with characters some way or another. Such a wonderful book, I reccomend it!! I was sad when it was over, I wanted more.