Review by Gudamercy -- We Drank Wine by Marion Reidel
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Review by Gudamercy -- We Drank Wine by Marion Reidel
[Following is a volunteer review of "We Drank Wine" by Marion Reidel.]
We Drank Wine by Marion Reidel is a unique book that consists of a collection of compelling stories that follow the lives of Sandra, Janice, Celeste, and Beth. The stories are glimpses into their lives from their days in university to their prime ages in retirement. Instead of one continuous narrative, it is glimpses of various periods of their lives. The women are close friends, married, and mothers. However, their lives take completely different turns and challenges, putting some of them to the ultimate test of resilience.
The first story is an introduction of the women and their respective husbands and children. Throughout the whole book, Marion Reidel carefully tackles different everyday life changes and their effect on us. The stories are not only enjoyable, but they also resonate with our situations. The topics covered range from difficulties in parenting, children’s personalities, toxic friendships, troubled marriages, betrayals, crime, sexuality debate, and overcoming depression. As Celeste’s life is seemingly perfect, her friends face incredible challenges. Beth’s husband just up and left her and her daughter without a trace or explanation. Sandra’s husband also divorced her and came out as gay. This results in a whole set of complications and confusion for their two children as well.
The stories follow a chronological order and relate to each other. The author incorporates enough drama to make them captivating, thrilling, and full suspense. The character and scenery descriptions are vivid, and the distinctive attributes of the women and their children are notable. The book also has instances of humor, making it more engaging.
The aspect I love most about the read is how the author highlights the women's children and husbands. It is easy to follow and see the other characters as well as their personalities. For instance, Taylor, Beth’s daughter, is stubborn, highly intelligent, and very inquisitive. The section where she interacts with her father is engaging, funny, and adorable. I found nothing to dislike. However, I noted some instances of unintended repetition. For instance, the story of how the women met on campus is in more than one passage. Additionally, for sustainability purposes, it would be ideal for the author to reduce the number of blank pages. It is about the little things we do to save our dwindling resources.
The book is excellently edited; I found no grammatical or spelling errors. The profanity was mild and minimal, so comfortable to read. The stories cleverly outline various societal problems and perceptions, making the book quite informative. For these reasons, I give We Drank Wine a rightful 4 out of 4 stars rating. I recommend it to any woman facing parental and marital challenges and is looking to find herself among the chaos. Moreover, the book is suitable and applicable to women of different age ranges, as it is a story of the women from their youth to retirement.
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We Drank Wine
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
We Drank Wine by Marion Reidel is a unique book that consists of a collection of compelling stories that follow the lives of Sandra, Janice, Celeste, and Beth. The stories are glimpses into their lives from their days in university to their prime ages in retirement. Instead of one continuous narrative, it is glimpses of various periods of their lives. The women are close friends, married, and mothers. However, their lives take completely different turns and challenges, putting some of them to the ultimate test of resilience.
The first story is an introduction of the women and their respective husbands and children. Throughout the whole book, Marion Reidel carefully tackles different everyday life changes and their effect on us. The stories are not only enjoyable, but they also resonate with our situations. The topics covered range from difficulties in parenting, children’s personalities, toxic friendships, troubled marriages, betrayals, crime, sexuality debate, and overcoming depression. As Celeste’s life is seemingly perfect, her friends face incredible challenges. Beth’s husband just up and left her and her daughter without a trace or explanation. Sandra’s husband also divorced her and came out as gay. This results in a whole set of complications and confusion for their two children as well.
The stories follow a chronological order and relate to each other. The author incorporates enough drama to make them captivating, thrilling, and full suspense. The character and scenery descriptions are vivid, and the distinctive attributes of the women and their children are notable. The book also has instances of humor, making it more engaging.
The aspect I love most about the read is how the author highlights the women's children and husbands. It is easy to follow and see the other characters as well as their personalities. For instance, Taylor, Beth’s daughter, is stubborn, highly intelligent, and very inquisitive. The section where she interacts with her father is engaging, funny, and adorable. I found nothing to dislike. However, I noted some instances of unintended repetition. For instance, the story of how the women met on campus is in more than one passage. Additionally, for sustainability purposes, it would be ideal for the author to reduce the number of blank pages. It is about the little things we do to save our dwindling resources.
The book is excellently edited; I found no grammatical or spelling errors. The profanity was mild and minimal, so comfortable to read. The stories cleverly outline various societal problems and perceptions, making the book quite informative. For these reasons, I give We Drank Wine a rightful 4 out of 4 stars rating. I recommend it to any woman facing parental and marital challenges and is looking to find herself among the chaos. Moreover, the book is suitable and applicable to women of different age ranges, as it is a story of the women from their youth to retirement.
******
We Drank Wine
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
