Comments (22)

What did you think about this title?
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Mar 09, 2024ChesterChester rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Beautifully written. The elements of historical fiction are strong. It’s haunting but important. And the characters are well fleshed out.
Oct 14, 2023danskpige54 rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Not my cup of tea
Sep 20, 2022peacebenow rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Esme was born to domineering parents who expect her to follow the mores of their day. Esme is a free spirit and a possibly a little different. Combining these qualities w people who don't have her interests at heart, things fall apart.…
Sep 02, 2022RosaReads2 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
4.75 Stars! I'm a little bit gutted and a little bit shocked. I went into this one completely blind. After reading my first book by O'Farrell (This Must Be the Place), I was gobsmacked by this story. I wasn't really expecting an upbeat…
Aug 27, 2018wyenotgo rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
I'm probably the only reviewer to assign this book a mere 2 stars. Once again, I'm at odds with the vast majority. Sorry, folks, I just could not warm up to this novel. The basic premise is very intriguing and contains the bones of a…
Mar 21, 2018Urbano rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Beautiful and tragic. I read it in one sitting, unable to look away.
Oct 09, 2017
Iris gets a stunning phone call - she has a great-aunt named Esme, and Esme is being released from a mental hospital after sixty-one years - can Iris take her in?
Aug 09, 2016hildesanders rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
Great ending. I'm not crazy about the author's writing style.
KathyS82
Jun 21, 2016KathyS82 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Thoroughly enjoyable. Quick easy but "stays with you" read.
Nov 18, 2015fionathehun rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Beautiful lyrical writing. I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend!
Dec 12, 2014kristikaye rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Sad and twisted, a scrumptious read. As the story unfolds, past truths are revealed, and it gets darker. The ending shocked me, I had to read the last couple of pages twice because it caught me off guard. Really enjoyed my time with this…
Mar 06, 2014campingmomma rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I don't know what I was doing when this book came out, but boy did I miss a good one! This is the story of Iris a single young woman who possibly is in love with her step brother (just as an aside). Iris is contacted by an insane asylum…
Dec 05, 2013oboechica88 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This was one of my favourite books of the year, and quite possibly of the past decade. Maggie O'Farrell perfected the balance of what to reveal and when, and what to just let peek out. This novel is very dark, and very twisted - as it…
Dec 03, 2013finn75 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This book had some great twists and was so sad on so many levels. Told from the perspective of a mental hospital detainee, her sister who has alzheimers and a modern young woman caught up in sixty years of betrayal. Well worth a read.
LaBeteNoir
Mar 11, 2013LaBeteNoir rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Good story that shows how the past of family (and its secrets) impact the present. Reminded me a little of Joanna Trollope.
Sep 16, 2012Pisinga rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
When I started to read this book - I got the impression that it would be - neither fish nor fowl. But later, when appeared the element of mystery, so to speak, I was more interested in further reading. But unfortunately, I think, the…
Sep 04, 2012alexxburry rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Gorgeously written, breathtakingly sad... I practically ate this book.
patienceandfortitude
Mar 14, 2012patienceandfortitude rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
An interesting, easy read. I liked the way she changed points of view seamlessly. But the book didn't really wow me. Some of the action seemed a little too sensational, even trite.
Jun 03, 2011sillyducky rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
eye opener to the treatment of women back then
Jul 24, 2010
Sisters Esme and Kitty have lived lives with secrets closely guarded until one day when Esme leaves an asylum where she's been kept for years and years. Her great niece Iris will have to put this seemingly Gothic puzzle…
Aug 27, 2009ontherideau rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
a story that makes me glad to be lliving in the time and place that I do
Feb 08, 2008
Amazon.ca top 25 books of 2007.