Title: The Peacock Emporium

Author: Jojo Moyes

Publisher: Penguin Books 2004

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 389

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; Monthly Motif - Through the Years;

In the sixties, Athene Forster was the most glamorous girl of her generation. Nicknamed the Last Deb, she was also beautiful, spoiled, and out of control. When she agreed to marry the gorgeous young heir Douglas Fairley-Hulme, her parents breathed a sigh of relief. But within two years, rumors had begun to circulate about Athene's affair with a young salesman.

Thirty-five years later, Suzanna Peacock is struggling with her notorious mother's legacy. The only place Suzanna finds comfort is in The Peacock Emporium, the beautiful coffee bar and shop she opens that soon enchants her little town. There she makes perhaps the first real friends of her life, including Alejandro, a male midwife, escaping his own ghosts in Argentina.

The specter of her mother still haunts Suzanna. But only by confronting both her family and her innermost self will she finally reckon with the past--and discover that the key to her history, and her happiness, may have been in front of her all along.

This was one big confusing bore. There were too many time periods, jumping back and forth, but also spending too much time in one period. I wasn’t super engaged in the storyline. And was super confused for the longest time about the meaning of the first chapter and then the first section. I figured it out by the end, but was utterly bored with the story. On the other side, the characters were self-absorbed and whiny. I just couldn’t find myself liking any of them at all. I thought this was a new book by Jojo Moyes, but it turns out it was published in 2004 in the UK. It’s come to the US only this year.

Next up on the TBR pile: