Aristotle’s ideas are essential and enduring, and Finn explains them well. But fiction is powerful because it embodies ideas, rather than explaining them ... Perhaps counterintuitively for a former television writer, Finn often resorts to exposition to weave a voluminous back story into the narrative, and not always seamlessly ... She directs her best talents into Stafford’s journey to redemption, which gathers momentum in the final chapters, giving way to an immensely moving conclusion. The storytelling might be uneven, but like an old television pro, Finn knows how to stick the landing.
Finn’s debut novel weaves philosophical discourse throughout this leisurely paced and wryly funny story of redemption and forgiveness. Readers and book clubs who appreciate quiet, bittersweet stories about the lives of everyday people and fans of Elizabeth Strout and Richard Russo will want to pick this one up.
The beauty of this novel is that you can read it for the compelling story alone, which is inviting and well-paced and gives great insight into Stafford and Agnes’s characters and growth. Along the way you may pick up some philosophical principles, and Finn’s textual structure makes this an easy thing to do ... A novel that will satisfy with its engaging storytelling, excellent pacing, and clever writing ... An entertaining and enriching reading experience, and full of ideas that could bring insight to one’s own life.
Sags in places ... Its concluding chapters see a change of tone and perspective, and wrap up rather tidily, but the softening leads to a place of tenderness rather than sentimentality. A tale of second chances delivered with wit and heart.
Finn crafts a convincing depiction of an aging married couple, who feel overwhelmed by the effort it would take 'to undo the many years of battering and need that had replaced love,' but the listless plotting and delayed revelations wear thin. This one doesn’t quite hang together.
