'A Soft Place to Land' - a moving-on book on 2 young sisters' separation after their parents' sudden deaths


A Soft Place to LandA Soft Place to Land by Susan Rebecca White
(This is a review I originally wrote for my Goodreads.com account, which I'm posting here because I believe the book's about 'moving on' - the main theme, too, of this blogsite. The 3/5 rating just means 'I enjoyed reading the book', OK?..and not for anything else :-D)
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is one of those books I happened to start reading because I didn't have any other book in my bag - I happened to have picked up my copy from the curb in one of the streets in Brooklyn. I've not heard of the book nor the author before; I think generally that the book's well crafted with so many specific details that actually got me impressed and got me finishing my reading of it. Its story about two half-sisters who were separated after their parents died of plane crash got me gripped with fear and excitement at the same time - I actually didn't like the idea that they had to be separated. But as with life, things happen and we all make the best of what life throws our way.

I like the older sister (who was beautiful and sexy, addictive, foolish and stupid, a straight women who discovered her being a lesbian toward the end parts of the book) far better than the younger (she's can really be a difficult sister to have, from what I read of her) one because I can strongly relate with her being a writer, which is my work as well. A number of characters helped a lot in capturing my imagination on what would be taking place in the book's many pages.

Soon I was figuring out how the book would progress and end. I postponed reading the book for sometime in between my activities but the story would get me back to continue doing my reading (I was also reading Jonathan Franzen's 'The Corrections,' which also got me into writing down a review here). The character of the boyfriend-who-became-the-husband of the younger sister was absorbing and believable in the sense that I've met someone very similar to his character in my own life. From what I've seen so far, these types of guys end up with women who are generally clueless as to how lucky they are for having been able to attract and to keep the love and attention of such beautifully-made creatures who could be their defender, lover, pet, driver, cook, housecleaner, husband and/or provider all at the same time (but these guys don't necessarily have to be black, white or of any color - it's just that they're really gentle spirits you may have the chance to meet one of these days). But then again, this younger sister's has some defective traits, as well (which you may have to discover if you read this book).

I doubt if the writer meant to give unsolicited advise to her readers to endeavor to be more grateful with the many unappreciated gifts they have received (so far) in their lives. And the book's not meant to share out tips to its targeted readers on how to live meaningful lives despite unwanted life tragedies (that can happen to anyone's family)- it's just that the characters felt so filled-with-life when you read through its pages. It's also been a good introduction to perceptions taking place among members of social classes in communities in Atlanta (Georgia), San Francisco (California), and other places in the MidWest.

View all my reviews

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Of Penis Rings, Nude Yoga, and the Ancient Sexual Custom of Palang in Pre-Hispanic Cebu

Image
Update: HNY has already closed shop with the lead yogi Aaron Starr focusing his energies on Blue Osa , a yoga retreat and spa in Costa Rica. I've since then written 3 articles from what I learned by engaging in yoga: Men and Yoga The health benefits of yoga for men A guide on how and where to get yoga instructor certification in New York Read about what got into my mind in one of those times when I showed up at the former HNY's studio in Chelsea below: Last night's nude yoga session ( see Hot Nude Yoga ) led to a brief chat that gave me the opportunity to quench my curiosity over the penis rings that hang on the genital region of one of the participants. The metal rings would glisten in the space where Luke, the name of the said participant, has him making his stretches on his yoga mat. As all of us participants would work on the stretches and (challenging, whew!) poses being coached to us ably by our teacher, Hollis, in one session, I took note of Luke's p
Read more

Where Do I Start Moving On From The Tragic Demise of A Very Good Friend?

Last Friday evening (Philippine time), a very good friend of mine (as well as the friend of many, many others) was murdered in his apartment. I got the message from another friend on Facebook. I was since then grappling with the shock, grief and anger over the whole tragedy. Gratefully, I've managed to compose a brief poem on my grief . But the sadness still continues. This friend also happened to be posting comments to several of my blogs here, the last of which came out here . click on the title for more...
Read more