Bitter Like Orange Peel

Bitter Like Orange Peel by Jessica Bell focuses on six women with an interconnected relationship. In a rather awkward scenario, three are daughters of Roger and three are the mothers of those daughters. Ivy, an anthropologist with a masters who is recently divorced and working as a barista, is the daughter of Eleanor, a pediatric surgeon who is the only women who was ever actually married to Roger. Kit, also an anthropology student, is the daughter of Ailish, an English literature professor who had an affair with Roger. Eydie is the last sister (and a surprise to Kit) and her mother, Beth is an alcoholic who slept with Roger.

The secrets revealed were not that earth shattering when held up in comparison to a woman (Eleanor) who show more encouraged a relationship between half-sisters (Ivy and Kit) and, in fact, had a friendship with the mother of the woman who had an affair with her husband (Ailish). That's not even taking into consideration the completely worthless deadbeat father who apparently was fathering daughters everywhere and then disappeared without even trying to continue a relationship with his children.

The problem I had with Bell's book was not with her writing, which, even though it was a bit over-wrought at times, was certainly well executed. (This is assuming I ignore inclusion of Australian slang in American characters - I'm running with the premise that Ivy's acquaintances picked it up from her.) The problem I had was with every single character and everything they said and did. In the end I actually loathed every character in this book. That is a mighty high hurdle for any storyline/plot to overcome. Bell still might have won me over but the ending was unsatisfactory to say the least. Sadly, Bell just couldn't pull this one out of the hole for me.

I'm giving Bitter Like Orange Peel a so-so rating based on the quality of the writing alone.

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of the author via Netgalley for review purposes. show less

This book has a good story. It has good characterisation. It's quite punchy. It has an interesting style. And yet. Ultimately, it's not for me.

This is the story of several dysfunctional families, all with a single connection, and how the secrets they keep affect their lives, and more Importantly, those of the people they love.

I was not even halfway through this fairly slim novel before I had concluded that I was not its demographic. I reached that conclusion long before I had answered "me" to the question posed by one of the characters "What teen wouldn't recognise a marijuana plant browning next to a bed of Chamsonetter Pink Gazanias". That's not to say I didn't enjoy the story. It did hold my attention, I wanted to know where it was show more going, and the characters are very well drawn, sufficiently for me to feel something for them, be it like or dislike.

But there was something holding me back from really liking the book. Partly, it is the style of writing, in very short, punchy sentences. In some ways, it adds a leanness to the book, which makes the stripy move along apace, but sometimes, for me, it feels like I have no feel for the surroundings the characters are in. It is a style I am sure would suit many, which is why I am not saying this as a criticism, but just saying that I am not the demographic this book is aimed at.

Whilst being light on description, there are numerous analogies, and I will admit I found the pharse "like a" rather tireseome after a while. I particularly didn't take to something being described as "like a fertilised egg in a uterus". There sometimes seemed to be too much detail: I didn't need to know that a character was "snapping the 250-gram bunch [of spaghetti] in half". But on the other hand, writer Jessica Bell can produce lines such as this, from a young woman who lives with her alcohlic mother, feeling that hope has left, that "sympathy claimed its freedom long ago, descending down their street in triumph", and there are moments of brilliance, such as when Brian's thoughts are in turmoil. This is a time when the short punchy sentence es really work, perfectly capturing the restlessness in the character's mind.

The concept of moving the story on from the perspective of 7 different people works well together, particularly where the same scene is viewed from more than one perspective. But it does also give the novel the feeling if a film script, and I couldn't help wondering if that was the ultimate aim the author had. show less