Caroline's Daughters

I have to preface this by saying this was a quick read. The characters keep you glued to the page. One of the major themes of Adams's Caroline's Daughters is dissatisfaction. To start with, Caroline has five daughters from three different marriages and each one couldn't be more different from the another. The only thing they really have in common, besides their biological mother, is the need for something more in their lives. Eldest daughter Sage is a failing ceramics artist with a philandering husband. What disturbed me about her story is that everyone around her knows her husband is a cheat but no one has that conversation with her. Overweight Liza is mother to three but wants to be a writer. She is the only one who is truly show more satisfied, relationship-wise...at least she thinks she is (stay tuned). Fiona is a restauranteur who really doesn't like food and can't keep a boyfriend. Jill, as a stockbroker lawyer, is fixated on wealth so much so she has prostituted herself for the excitement and extra cash. Portia, the youngest, simply doesn't know what she wants. Her sexuality as well as her entire life is ambiguous. True to all sibling rivalries, there is competition and jealousy among all five of them. In the midst of all this chaos is Caroline, powerless to help her daughters find their way. She has her own drama to deal with when her third husband suffers a debilitating stroke. show less

I started to read this cause Nancy Pearl recommended it in Book Lust, but I just couldn't get into it! The author is good, very detailed and I'll still try the rest of the books she recomends, but I just didn't care for this one!

I enjoyed it, but I had forgotten how insufferable San Francisco was in the 80s.

Though I found myself pulled into the story for the greater part of the book, the end left me feeling like I had wasted my time.