I struggled with this Brenda Novak Book Club read for July. It is a debut novel by Emily Ohanjanians. The premise is intriguing but it fell flat for me from the beginning. The book finally hit a note with me at 86% in regarding how Ana’s mom didn’t allow her to grieve her father’s passing.
“You needed space to grieve just as much as she did,” Mar says. “But she sucked all the air out of the house, didn’t let you share the pain. Didn’t let you even feel it—keeping you running all the time.”
I ended up reading this on my kindle while on vacation and finished today. It was not a book that I personally wanted to reach for each day. I would have liked to have read more about the message the book and podcast of Ana’s. For such an important message I didn’t get what it was totally. Also I would have like more Armenian culture to shine through. A culture we don’t see represented very often.
It is a book that has much potential but left me wanting something deeper. The last 15% was my favorite.
Kentucky Book Lover 