|
Loading... Tomorrowby Graham Swift
LibraryThing recommendationsMember recommendationsLoading...
won't like
will probably not like
will probably like
will like
will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. It is a credit it Graham Swift’s writing style that I, mostly, made it through this story at all. During the span of one evening the narrator, Paula Hook, reveals, in painstaking and inappropriate detail, the story of her and her husband Mike’s meeting, their family histories, her one night infidelity, and their infertility problems. You will already know as soon as you begin reading (or listening) that this infertility problem is somehow resolved because Paula’s entire dialog is really a preparation for the talk she and Mike will be having the next day with their now sixteen year-old twins. The denouement, that it is not the virile veterinarian that was so comforting to their lost and recovered cat, Otis, as well as to Paula, but an anonymous in vitro process is a letdown that is only slightly less off-putting because it has been preceded by so many intimate details that no child, in vitro or not, would care to know about their parents. (  ) stonelaura | Sep 7, 2008 |  Well-written, but ultimately a long drawn-out portentous pondering by a woman about what turns out not to be a very big deal - telling their children the truth about their father. (  ) bobbieharv | Mar 8, 2008 | I couldn't even finish it. The main character went on and on about this big earth shattering secret to the point that I wanted to reach through the book and shake her. And then when I found out what it was I was unimpressed. I felt no reason to continue so I shut the book and breathed a sigh of relief. (  ) amberlinabooks | Feb 18, 2008 | Nicely structured novel, discussing everyday worries and concerns as the narrators lies in bed awake, but the concerns were over-dramatic - I was unclear if this was deliberate - this is how it is during the night and everything looks better in the day light. Sometimes too long-winded, but well written and tight enough. Nice observations about relationships, which I liked. ( ) Tifi | Jan 15, 2008 | This book just didn't work for me. The story is basically a monologue where the mother of twins lies awake one night, knowing that in the morning, she and her husband will reveal a family secret to their 16 year old twins. SPOILER ALERT.... My problem with the story is that, if the mother was that conflicted about artificial insemination, she wouldn't have gone through with it. Her views on "real" parenthood are so far removed from the route she chose, it's difficult to understand why she did it in the first place. There was just too big a disconnect between the thoughts and actions of the narrator to make the story believable in any way. ( ) LynnB | Dec 30, 2007 |  no reviews | add a review
References to this work on external resources.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Book description |
|
In his first novel since The Light of Day, the Booker Prize–winning author gives us a luminous tale about the closest of human bonds.
On a midsummer’s night Paula Hook lies awake; Mike, her husband of twenty-five years, asleep beside her; her teenage twins, Nick and Kate, sleeping in nearby rooms. The next day, she knows, will redefine all of their lives. A revelation lies in store. Her children’s future lies before them. The house holds the family’s history and fate.
Recalling the years before and after her children were born, Paula begins a story that is both a glowing celebration of love possessed and a moving acknowledgment of the fear of loss, of the fragilities, illusions, and secrets on which even our most intimate sense of who we are can rest. As day draws nearer, Paula’s intensely personal thoughts touch on all our tomorrows.
Brilliantly distilling half a century into one suspenseful night, as tender in its tone as it is deep in its soundings, Tomorrow is an eloquent exploration of couples, parenthood, and selfhood, and a unique meditation on the mystery of happiness.
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:22 -0400)
The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details.
Quick Links |
Wikipedia in English
