Florida by Lauren Groff

Title: Florida

Author: Lauren Groff

Publisher: Riverbed Books 2018

Genre: Short Stories

Pages: 275

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Popsugar - Stranger Read; Modern Mrs. Darcy - 2018 Award Nominee

In her thrilling new book, Lauren Groff brings the reader into a physical world that is at once domestic and wild—a place where the hazards of the natural world lie waiting to pounce, yet the greatest threats and mysteries are still of an emotional, psychological nature. A family retreat can be derailed by a prowling panther, or by a sexual secret. Among those navigating this place are a resourceful pair of abandoned sisters; a lonely boy, grown up; a restless, childless couple, a searching, homeless woman; and an unforgettable, recurring character—a steely and conflicted wife and mother. 

I had heard great things about this collection of stories and decided to read it after loving Groff’s The Monsters of Templeton. Although I must say that I did like Fates and Furies at all. And so I dove into this story collection, but just couldn’t find myself loving these stories at all. I’m not a fan of Groff’s writing. Her vagueness in plot and insubstantial characters can’t keep my attention. I finished this collection, but I think I’m done with Groff’s writing…

Next up on the TBR pile:

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

Title: Fates and Furies

Author: Lauren Groff

Publisher: Riverhead Books 2015

Genre: Literary Fiction

Pages: 400

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Popsugar - Unreliable narrator

Every story has two sides. Every relationship has two perspectives. And sometimes, it turns out, the key to a great marriage is not its truths but its secrets. At the core of this rich, expansive, layered novel, Lauren Groff presents the story of one such marriage over the course of twenty-four years.

At age twenty-two, Lotto and Mathilde are tall, glamorous, madly in love, and destined for greatness. A decade later, their marriage is still the envy of their friends, but with an electric thrill we understand that things are even more complicated and remarkable than they have seemed. With stunning revelations and multiple threads, and in prose that is vibrantly alive and original, Groff delivers a deeply satisfying novel about love, art, creativity, and power that is unlike anything that has come before it. Profound, surprising, propulsive, and emotionally riveting, it stirs both the mind and the heart.

Our book club selection for September and a huge disappointment. I had heard mixed reviews with the book being compared to a literary Gone Girl. And I would have to agree if they meant that this is a story of two horrible people and their life. I couldn't stand the main characters or the side characters. I was thoroughly disgusted by how the characters treated one another. I was bored with the storyline. I slogged through this one, but definitely didn't want to. Not recommended at all...

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff

The last few days have been crazy busy with snow days, household chores, birthday parties, and distractions.  My regular blogging schedule was majorly disruppted, but hopefully I'll be getting back to it in the next few days.

Title: The Monsters of Templeton

Author: Lauren Groff

Publisher: Voice (Hyperion) 2008

Genre: Young Adult

Pages: 361

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: YA; 2011: YA or YA Not; Support Your Local Library: A to Z Authors: G

"The day I returned to Templeton steeped in disgrace, the fifty-foot corpse of a monster surfaced in Lake Glimmerglass."

So begins The Monsters of Templeton, a novel spanning two centuries: part a contemporary story of a girl's search for her father, part historical novel, and part ghost story, this spellbinding novel is at its core a tale of how one town holds the secrets of a family.

In the wake of a wildly disastrous affair with her married archaeology professor, Willie Upton arrives on the doorstep of her ancestral home in Templeton, New York, where her hippie-turned-born-again-Baptist mom, Vi, still lives. Willie expects to be able to hide in the place that has been home to her family for generations, but the monster's death changes the fabric of the quiet, picture-perfect town her ancestors founded. Even further, Willie learns that the story her mother had always told her about her father has all been a lie: he wasn't the random man from a free-love commune that Vi had led her to imagine, but someone else entirely. Someone from this very town.

As Willie puts her archaeological skills to work digging for the truth about her lineage, she discovers that the secrets of her family run deep. Through letters, editorials, and journal entries, the dead rise up to tell their sides of the story as dark mysteries come to light, past and present blur, old stories are finally put to rest, and the shocking truth about more than one monster is revealed.

I've recently started reading young adult fiction, and I must say I am surprised at the good quality.  I picked this book up based off of recommendations from lost of book bloggers.  The beginning of the book was a bit confusing.  I really couldn't tell if I liked it or not.  Thirty pages in, I really started to get into the story.

The story has everything: monsters (both supernatural and human), a paternity mystery, family relations, and historical research.  The various elements wove together to form a layered story that really kept my attention.  The characters (likable or not) were complex.  I didn't find a single one-dimensional character in the bunch (and that's saying a lot considering there are a lot of characters).

I won't spoil the ending, but let me say it's a biggie.  The ending did a nice job of wrapping up all the story lines.  I especially loved the ending to the "monster's" story.  This will definitely go on my favorites list for 2011.