Customer Reviews

The Love Ceiling

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It has been years since I picked up a novel that I couldn't put down. But The Love Ceiling's exquisitely portrayed characters quickly became friends and family, compelling me to keep on through the light and shadow of joy and tension, tragedy and victory. Okimoto's profoundly empathic narrative reflects the rich insights of a lifetime sensitively observing the feminine experience. She conveys the truths of inner and interpersonal dynamics with startling clarity as she skillfully alternates first and third person narratives. I repeatedly stumbled across myself: "And I knew also that if I didn't get going on it, I'd put it off. It would be something I'd do tomorrow and the tomorrows would pile up like old newspapers, with self-doubt once again the victor." Reading this book as a 60-something woman, The Love Ceiling is a particularly special gift, rare in tackling the complexities of the "sandwich" generation's responsibilities and relationships to aging, ill and dying parents, to evolving spouse, maturing children and grandchildren, and to ones own past, present and future self. Recognizing that this novel has layers of truths, I read it a second time. As the "heroine" is empowered, so is the reader, aided in teasing apart impediments and seeing opportunities, and nudged to embrace the day.

This is a beautifully crafted novel that both eloquently and humorously addresses the issues facing women of different generations. Okimoto has mastered the difficult task of combining well developed characters, believable and interesting plot and subplots, and an introspective probe of the joys and challenges women face in defining their identities. I couldn't put it down!

I loved this book! It made me laugh and cry and I couldn't put it down. There aren't enough books like this out there for my generation(I'm 45) and older. It addresses the unique challenges women face trying to balance love for family and a need for a separate identity. I enjoyed the way the author switched between the voices of the mother and her 32year old daughter. Getting their different perspectives on the same events was fascinating. It would make a terrific mother's day gift, or a gift for Moms anytime of year.

Jean Davis Okimoto weaves a simple, inspiring story in "The Love Ceiling". In this book, the main character, Anne Duppstadt, wrestles to pursue her life-long dreams against the reality of several obstacles. With the death of her mother, Anne faces her twisted relationship with her famous father with courage and strength. Loaded with artistic talent, Annie has spent a lifetime running from the very thing that she loves - painting. The voice of her abusive father rings loud and clear from her childhood, even as she moves into her golden years.

With the encouragement of a patient teacher and an elderly woman, however, Annie slowly learns to see herself as an individual, separate and free from the bondage of her inner demons. At time same time, she feels caught between her passion and her love for her family, especially her daughter, Cass, who is fighting her own personal battles.

The themes of self-respect and setting healthy boundaries play throughout the story, showing us that many of our obstacles are truly of our own making. Nearly every mother finds herself making deep sacrifices for her children, and Annie slowly comes to terms with meshing her personal goals with her roles as wife, mother, and grandmother.

There were a couple of threads that ran throughout the book that did little to move the story forward. For example, Anne's hatred of Dick Cheney is mentioned several times. This felt more like the author's personal political platform than it did a part of the heroine's personality. I was also distracted by the side story of two lesbians caught in the middle of their own family drama with an upcoming wedding. The stories of Anne's relationships with her husband, children and father provided more than enough drama to keep the story interesting without adding some inconsequential side bars.

Overall, I found Okimoto's fiction work to be a fascinating tale of redemption and healing. I enjoyed watching Anne Duppstadt mature and grow, and I took to heart the idea that people are capable of huge paradigm shifts even later in their lives. "The Love Ceiling" inspires hope and courage to move through life with deliberate purpose.

I was given this book by a friend of my own age who knew I would relate to the main character, Annie Duppstadt. The term love ceiling refers to something we've both encountered, as have probably most women, a change in our life's pathway caused by the needs and desires of the people we love.

Annie should be an artist. She has the talent, but her famous artist father destroyed her artwork when she was a child, telling her that she didn't have anything to offer. She has spent the rest of her life avoiding him because her stomach rebels at the very thought of him. He is egotistic, selfish, arrogant, and treats her mother like a servant. He has also cheated on her throughout their married life. Just before her death, her mother makes her promise that she will pursue the serious study of art.

Meanwhile, Annie's husband is nearing retirement and, without other interests, is feeling lost and like he's being shoved aside. Their daughter, early 30s, is suffering from the breakup of her relationship with a young doctor, the man she thought she would marry until she discovers he has been cheating. Despite these problems and her great love for her son and daughter-in-law's young son, Annie signs up for art classes. This decision spurs great turmoil in the family and requires great courage from Annie.

By the end of the book I felt like Annie was an old friend. I related so much to her feelings because, like most women, I've hit that love ceiling myself. It takes such courage to make time for oneself. You think you're selfish and a bad wife/mother/caregiver, etc. I must say Annie's story inspires me and I think it will inspire others. I recommend this book; it won't appeal to everyone, but most women will I think find something in this story for them.

The story centers on Annie who is an over sixty married woman who works to come to terms with the recent death of her mother. Her father is a famous artist, who has never allowed Annie to express her true creativity. Annie's daughter Cass is a married mother with marital problems. She feels the numbness of a marriage gone sour, and Annie wants to comfort her, but can't be close to her daughter. The personal stories of Annie and Cass are intertwined with the common threads of love, self-acceptance and renewed spirits, as each chapter explains and highlights the lives of the characters and their relationships with their loved ones.

Annie has always had to live in her father's shadow. When she finally gets a chance to spread her wings in the story, she is surprised that it's actually difficult to let go of her painful past. Annie's finally ready to be true to her authentic self, even at her age, and takes the needed opportunity to breathe and take flight. The story avoids being generic, because the character's emotions are always at the mercy of the people that they love the most.

It would be easy for Annie to make the decision to go and paint. In a free world, Annie would be free to become an artist any time she desired. The fact that she struggled with her choices, was haunted by her past memories of her father's discouragement and doubted her success - meant that Annie was as real, and as fragile, as the rest of us. And that special quality is what makes Annie and the other characters so appealing in this book. I'd recommend it to readers of any age, but especially to women switching careers or rebounding after a loss.

A light-hearted, easy read about how womwn try to achieve their goals in today's society, while at the same time trying to take care of their loved ones.

With her empty nest & grandsons tugging at her heartstrings, her mother dying of cancer & her husband battling retirement fears, Annie must face both her traumatic childhood legacy delivered by her world renown artist father & the reemergence of her own artistic yearnings.

Pleasingly written, alternating chapters between mother & daughter, Jean Davies Okimoto brings to life the times & trials of a well-married Pacific Northwest woman in her sixties & the white waters she & her family are currently navigating: lost or confrontational loves, feminism & aging, long distances lives & leftover contempt... all thought-provoking without being preachy.

I especially enjoyed Annie's insights into what makes a marriage work, her belated declaration of independence from her domineering parent, following her & her daughter as they unpeel their misunderstood memories.

One of the fun things about writing your own books is that you can have the characters do what you want or think (if they let you!) - unless you let your pet political peeves pop out in a couple of anachronistic moments. Say what?

THE LOVE CEILING is a memorable, useful & elegant read.

The Love Ceiling fills a unique niche in contemporary fiction -- it's a coming of age novel for women over 50, 60, 70, and on up! This is a character driven novel that tackles the challenges women face as they balance love for family and the need to create a separate identity. Set in Seattle and on an island in Puget Sound, The Love Ceiling follows the courageous journey of Annie Kuroda Duppstadt. Raised by her Japanese mother to value restraint and self-sacrifice, intimidated by her father, a famous narcissistic artist, and pulled between her roles as daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, Annie begins, at the ripe age of 64, to travel the bumpy but compelling road to reclaim her long-denied self-expression as an artist. "There is a glass ceiling for women ... and it's made out of the people we love." Excellent book club book.

There is something that holds many women back, and it isn't necessarily a bad thing. "The Love Ceiling" is the novel of one Anne Koroda Duppstadt attempting to chase her own dream late in life. At sixty-four, she embarks on her dreams of artistry, but there are many things restraining her as she tries to balance the needs of her loved ones with her artistic passion. "The Love Ceiling" will ring true with many women.