Off Season

A very typical ARS book. Mentions of Lilly Pulitzer and exclusive clubs. The tidewater and sailing. Kitten smiles and staring into the abyss. We have an outsider marrying into a family who closes ranks. I thought it would take place in its present timeframe more, but it dwells in the past. She describes Lilly's growing up and time in Maine. It's sweet and heartbreaking in that special way ARS does it. Lilly is a real character, too, flaws and all and when she met Cam it was a little Hollywood Movie, but I didn't mind. There are some secrets revealed at the end, but nothing too earth shattering. Comfort reading!!

When I first received the book, I thought "Oh no, it's so long" (358 pages). I really like to read shorter books. But as soon as I started reading I loved the characters and the descriptions of Edgewater made me feel as if I was there with them at the sea, smelling the food from the kitchen, feeling the excitement at being a child in the summertime. The only down side was I felt the book should have concentrated more on Lilly and Cam's life together, since there are missing years we know nothing about. I felt Lilly's pain at losing her loved one and loved that she talked to him and "heard" him talk to her. I've read mixed reviews about the ending, but if you read carefully and pay attention to what comes before, you might have an idea show more of what is coming. I did, and loved it from a readers point of view, but hated it for Lilly. This will definitely not be my last Anne Rivers Siddons book! show less

Book on CD read by Jane Alexander

Lilly Constable, reeling from the sudden death of her husband, decides to go to her family’s Maine cottage to regroup and reflect on her marriage to the love of her life, Cam McCall.

I thought this would be a book about her marriage, but at least half of it was about Lily’s first love, at the tender age of eleven to the “boy next door,” Jon Lowell. It was tender and sweet, with drama provided by Peaches, a girl who has lost her parents and is being raised (and coddled) by her grandparents. Still, it’s an idyllic summer that Lily remembers; or it was idyllic until tragedy struck.

I’d previously read another book by Siddons, and I liked her writing. But that was a horror / supernatural read and show more this one was not. Oh, she does include a “presence” (ghost?) in the story, but it’s not the focus of the book. In any case, I kept turning pages, but it was hardly memorable.

Jane Alexander does a fine job of narrating the audiobook. She has a lot of characters to handle. But she sets a good pace, and I found her performance easy to listen to. Still, I read at least a third of the book in text format. show less

Oh gosh....I've always loved Siddons' books and I loved this one about 99% of the way through, too -- especially the first half about Lilly's childhood and summers at Edgewater in Maine, the descriptions of her family especially were lovely, very sympathetic and interesting people, a lovely, warm family. So much was evocative of my own summers when I was a child, the feel of the days and nights, the smells -- even the fact Lilly believed she could fly at one time -- I understood it all and loved it. It seemed idyllic and of course we know that doesn't really last even in our own lives. Lilly's first love, first kiss -- and then the tragedies, the years hiding from the world -- it was heart wrenching and sad and I had some tearful show more moments, that's for sure -- but it all made sense, I could understand it. Then after Lilly meets Cam, too little was said of the years of Lilly's marriage to Cam, and on reflection it was sketchy and didn't seem to hang together with the intense emotion of the early part of the story -- I'm still trying to piece it together to make sense of what followed. I was also waiting for a bit of revenge somewhere in regard to the horrid Peaches from childhood - felt sure it would come in some way, at some point. The last pages totally shocked me -- not only was there no revenge but I felt Lilly had been completely betrayed -- and that I, the reader, had been too. I was first shocked, upset enough to cry, and then I got very mad. I am still trying to figure this out and what Siddons was trying to say. What Cam did was so very cruel and there was never any indication that he was a cruel person -- he seemed to be a pretty sensitive and understanding guy. There were a couple of other things that made no sense and I had hoped for a wee bit of enlightenment -- the letters sent to Cam that Lilly has thrown away by the post office, and why the boy David went to his mother's house "only when he had to" -- what? why? I may change my review later, might have an ah-ha moment, but right now I don't know quite how I feel about this book, aside from anger! show less

While I enjoyed this latest book by Siddons, I read it closely on the heels of Peachtree Road. As you can see in the review in my library for that title, I found that to be an amazing work. I think that any Siddons that I have left to read or anything that she produces in the future will always pale in comparison to that. I found the first half of the novel a little choppy and disjointed. The leap back in time from the present threw me off and made it difficult for me to get in to the book. About midway the narrative really took hold and drew me in much more strongly. I found it very compelling from that point. As with all Siddons work, it was a moving story of what life deals to each of us and how we face it. Certainly a very good show more book, but not in the same league as some of her other work. show less

Loved this book! Siddons is one of my all-time favorite authors and this is one of her best works to date. I didn't want it to end. There is a surprise ending that I had to go back and read a couple of times to tie up all the loose strings. It leaves you emotionally drained but wanting more! Would be a great book for a book club discussion. Anne Rivers Siddons comes through with another winner!

This book left me with such a let down by end. Lilly thinking she had the perfect marriage and only had issues with her childhood. Cam, her husband, letting another woman so into his life was shocking - not that it was Peaches but that it happened at all and repeatedly. This was Lilly as a girl's first experience with the opposite sex thinking and caring for her. Jon had a terrific personality yet you felt sorry for him carrying the burden of his brother's death. It was understandable the loss of a friend being traumatic for Lilly. The mother's behaviors were strange but OK until the episode with the old man ( what would the father think?). The father definitely considered his daughter a replacement in the years after mother's death but show more was happy he found a life with another woman. show less