Just okay

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While there was nothing wrong per se about this book and the writing itself was excellent, I don’t know that this book in its form needed to be told. She is obviously a skilled writer but there was just something missing in the way the story was crafted.

I wanted more contemplation on Malabar, not just the thoughts Adrienne had at the time but also an examination of those thoughts in the present. I don’t know if she shied away from this because her mother was ill when she was writing it but I wanted more peeling of layers and a more honest confrontation of what her mother roped her into all those years ago. Supreme narcissism is such a fascinating topic so the fact that it wasn’t really touched on much was a missed opportunity. In the end, it’s just a privileged woman desperate for the love of her mother and too much time was spent on the what and not enough on the why.

Margo and Jack were the only characters I liked and that’s really uncomfortable for me to say about a memoir but that’s how I felt the whole time. I just didn’t care for any of them and the story itself was lackluster, hence the average rating.