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I could not finish this book - it just bored me and the characters did not grab me. Every bok has it's reader - I was not well matched with this one.

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This is the second book in Pierre Lemaitre’s Glorious Years series, and it is a terrific, complex story.
I gave it the following SCORE:
Setting: 1952, Paris France and Beirut, Lebanon
Characters: The Pelletier family - Louis and Angѐle, patriarch and matriarch of the Pelletier family, their grown children, youngest son Francois and his girlfriend, Nine, daughter Hélѐne, oldest son Jean and his wife, Geneviѐve, and daughter, Colette, and an extensive list of interesting, supportive players
Overview: Each family member is involved in their subplots of distinctly different moods and directions in this well-developed saga. If you like secret pasts, clandestine love affairs, journalism, spontaneous murders, towns being flooded, boxing underdogs, business startup perils, women facing difficult issues in the 50’s, people you love to cheer for, and people you love to despise, then this is a perfect epic tale for you.
Recommendation: I rate this book a full 5 stars
Extras: While this book could stand alone, it is highly recommended that the first book in the series, The Wide World, be read first to capture the full characteristics and motivations of the key family members.
Thanx to NetGalley and Little Brown and Company for the opportunity to provide this candid review

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To be sure, this book was an epic, sprawling, magnum opus. The characters were rich, the writing was excellent, and the stories within were compelling. I received an advance copy of this novel through net galley, so it was fun to get to read it months before it officially releases. Though I can’t quite put my finger on what, there were certain elements that made me like, but not love, this book. I appreciated the delicate topics that it addressed, and I appreciated the historical fiction aspect of reading about characters living in France in the 1940’s. I think my favorite parts were those that dealt with abortion and with unions/strikes/fair wages and working conditions for women during this time period. I will say that I’m quite used to tackling lengthy reads with no problem, but this took me weeks to get through. Perhaps some parts were unnecessary, but, still, a book full of heart and very human characters that is certainly worth reading, particularly if you like the humor of the absurd and historical

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