Play Book Tag discussion

We Own the Sky by Luke Allnutt - 2 stars

PBT Comments: This story fits the "life" tag, but be forewarned that t's not a cheery tale. I went into it not realizing it would be quite as sad as it is.

Decently written contemporary fiction about a family dealing with illness, suffering, and grief. It is set in England in the 2000’s. I can’t say too much about the plot without spoilers. Several of the descriptive passages, especially of the photographic settings, were quite eloquent. I also found it engrossing in places. The author does a good job of showing the impact of grave illness on a family.

In my opinion, the book summary, which I assume is provided by the publisher, is misleading. It states this book is “a tender, heartrending, but ultimately life-affirming novel that will resonate deeply with anyone who has suffered loss.” Personally, I did not find it “life-affirming” at all and think many people who have experienced loss will be upset by this book, as I was. It stacks one episode of misery on top of the next. I have a reasonably high tolerance for sadness, but I found this book extremely depressing.

Numerous people liked this book, but unfortunately, I was not one of them. Since this is a debut, I would be willing to read another work by this author, especially if the subject matter is not as tragic.

Link to: My Review

Good review. I always dislike when a book is misrepresented so that I am expecting something else. It almost always effects my rating.

If it was true to the representation, I might have chosen not to read it.

Yes, I wouldn't have read it if I had known. I had one of these at the end of last year, and I was sure it's the publisher trying to sell more books.

Joy, I also felt that about my book, for number 17. Too much sadness and loss in a life. I also preferred to be uplifted when I read. I like the characters that transform our learn something and it and that makes me feel like I am raised and lifted too. I had a similar feeling when I write my review a few minutes ago. That the characters endured so much pain and sadness over a lifetime, and they were lifeless as a result.

It's nice to be in good company, Amy! :-)

I don't need all my books must be cheery but sometimes it's a bit overwhelming to read about non-stop pain. I totally agree that it's much better when a transformation occurs.

In fairness to this particular book, I think the author tries to insert a bit of optimism toward the end, but there was just too much sadness to overcome (for me anyway).

I just read my goodreads offering of friends who read my 17 book. All four and five stars and raves!

I just finished my #17 and it's pretty much the same for me.