Friday, December 2, 2011

Book Review- The Lake of Dreams

The latest book BlogHer book club is reading is The Lake of Dreams by bestselling author Kim Edwards, who also wrote The Memory Keeper's Daughter. Lucy Jarrett is back in her hometown Lake of Dreams to visit her mother. Haunted by the death of her father ten years ago, Lucy has not been back for several years. On one of her first days there, she discovers some old letters in the house that take her on a fascinating journey through her family's history.
I had a couple issues with this book. First of all, I found the main character, Lucy, distinctly unlikable. She's 29 years old, but acts like a spoiled nosy brat when faced with the possibility of her mother becoming involved with another man. She leads on her high school boyfriend even though she is in a relationship with someone else. When her current boyfriend tells her he's resigned from his job because of a conflict with his principles, she says she supports him, but then follows up with statements like, "even if it means we're broke."
Second, I'm not clear on how the letters came to be at their house. The authors of the letters never lived at the house, nor did the collectors of the letters that we know of. The plot seemed a little too coincidental and convenient. If you discount the mysterious circumstances under which the letters came to be in Lucy's possession, the story of her ancestor is quite interesting. Unfortunately, the story is bogged down with too many characters and too many other storylines to keep you interested.
The Lake of Dreams: A Novel
Check out what other reviewers thought, as well as the discussions on BlogHer's The Lake of Dreams page.
This was a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own

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