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Bezig met laden... The Other Side of Himdoor Alice Rene
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Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. Alice Rene's The Other Side of Him is a realistic fiction romance which considers themes of finding oneself, coming of age, and portrays the complexity of life's challenges and human darkness. It is clear that Rene is a talented author. The beginning of the novel offers a vivid depictions of poverty. The struggles are contrasted by a beautiful ending. Realistic Fiction fans will enjoy this book. However, the gap of time between scenes left me wanting to know more about the main character's perspective, which focused on her experience of relationships with men for three quarters of the work. This, and the repetitive nature of the main character's experiences and observations made it difficult to care about her. I also found the work predictable and somewhat cliche. After one of my novels won a 2017 CIPA Evvy award, I thought it might be fun to read the other winners in the historical fiction category. The Other Side of Him by Alice Rene won one of the two first place awards. I loved the book! In the beginning Rene's writing felt a little rushed, as it jumped among short glimpses of Claire's younger life, living with her brother and her poor, single, immigrant mother in a Chicago housing project. But after Claire moved to San Francisco, the novel settled into a careful study of her life, a young woman working first on a bachelor's degree then a master's degree in social welfare. The novel is set in the 1950's, a time that presented a number of problems for women trying to establish careers and dealing with limiting expectations from society. Claire also faces family issues common to second generation Americans. Claire's brother, Tom, moved to the San Francisco area before she did. After she had lived on the west coast for some time, Tom set her up with Greg, a man he met at a gym. Greg had many wonderful qualities, but also, as the title states, another side. The slow, careful way Greg's personality is revealed through Claire's point of view is the greatest strength of this wonderful, intense story. I couldn't put it down. Steve Lindahl – author of Hopatcong Vision Quest, White Horse Regressions, and Motherless Soul Claire is a young woman with a dream. A dream to go to college and get a job of her very own. Growing up in Chicago with her older brother and her German mother in the 1950's have been hard and she wants more. When she hears her brother Tom will be moving to California, she uses her scholarship and goes to university in San Francisco. She enjoys her studies at the hospital and enjoys her time with Greg, a handsome surgeon and friend of her brother, until Greg starts to change and things start to happen. See my complete review at The Eclectic Review
The Other Side of Him paints a rough urban scene with only a few strokes of the pen: a girl is traversing her urban ghetto home, switchblade in hand, but determined to go to college...A scholarship is the route that will make her dreams come true. Alice Rene crafts exact, realistic settings that are one of the strengths in her story line... Claire begins dating a doctor but there are early warning signs on their first date that he may be a controlling stalker. Not without a series of unexpected encounters which make The Other Side of Him a powerful recommendation for readers of fictional stories of abuse who want the superior, and more revealing, device of "show" over the more common approach of "tell." This is an accomplished first novel. ... infused with authenticity ... A touching and sometimes chilling survivor's tale.
It's the middle of the twentieth century, World War II is finally over, and Claire Wagner is on the brink of an exciting new life. With a well-deserved scholarship in hand, and much to her immigrant mother's dismay, Claire flees the Chicago tenements for a prestigious graduate school program in California. At first Claire keeps her nose tucked firmly into her books, but when her brother asks for a favor, she reluctantly agrees to a blind date. Greg turns out to be handsome, successful, and rich--and he's definitely smitten with Claire. He introduces her to a sophisticated world she thought only existed in the movies, and before she knows it she's trading her bobby socks and German home cooking for black silk and caviar. When Greg starts to show signs that he's not as perfect as he appeared, Claire's friends urge her to overlook his occasional short temper and controlling behavior. But the warning signs pile up, building to a crisis that will test even Claire's power to persevere. Inspired by true events and steeped in the details of the 1950s, when vulnerable women weren't protected by the law or society, The Other Side of Him is a provocative look at how darkness can lie under the most polished exteriors. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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4 out of 5 stars
I received a complimentary copy for review. ( )