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Trying to get into the characters and were unable to care about the buildup heading into the weekend reunion. It was one I didn’t finish.
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The Birthdays
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A beautifully told debut in the tradition of Sue Miller about a unique family on the brink of a new generation.
On an island off the coast of Maine, the Miller family reunites to celebrate the father's seventy-fifth birthday. Each of the adult children is expecting a first child, and at the same time each is at a major crossroads in life. The eldest, Daniel, still reeling from a car accident that has left him a paraplegic, is also grappling with the fact that his wife had to be artificially inseminated. Jake, the middle child, discovers that his wife is carrying twins after many trying years of fertility treatments. Hilary—the free-spirited youngest daughter—arrives in Maine five months pregnant with no identifiable father in sight. As the family gathers, something shattering happens from which no one will emerge the same. The Birthdays deftly explores the myriad ways of seeking sustenance after disappointment or loss and announces the arrival of a poignant new voice in fiction.
On an island off the coast of Maine, the Miller family reunites to celebrate the father's seventy-fifth birthday. Each of the adult children is expecting a first child, and at the same time each is at a major crossroads in life. The eldest, Daniel, still reeling from a car accident that has left him a paraplegic, is also grappling with the fact that his wife had to be artificially inseminated. Jake, the middle child, discovers that his wife is carrying twins after many trying years of fertility treatments. Hilary—the free-spirited youngest daughter—arrives in Maine five months pregnant with no identifiable father in sight. As the family gathers, something shattering happens from which no one will emerge the same. The Birthdays deftly explores the myriad ways of seeking sustenance after disappointment or loss and announces the arrival of a poignant new voice in fiction.
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Genres
contemporaryfiction
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1,2007
This edition
- Format
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288 pages, Hardcover
- Published
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June 5, 2006 by W. W. Norton \u0026 Company
- ISBN
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9780393061277
- ASIN
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0393061272
- Language
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English
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Community Reviews
Rating(4 / 5.0, 79 votes)
5 stars
30(38%)
4 stars
19(24%)
3 stars
30(38%)
2 stars
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1 stars
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79 reviews All reviews
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This book had some definite bright spots - some nice writing and interesting characters, although none of the characters were particularly likeable. It was a fast read, though, despite the somewhat aggravating characters. I probably would've given this a 3 but I was really bothered by how the writer handled the "miscarriage" scene. When you're well into your third trimester, you don't just start bleeding and then have a D&C with no attempts to save the baby or even see if the heart is still beating. It was a very WTF kind of scene for me. I was so distracted by that, it was hard to finish the book.
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This novel held such promise. It had enough mystery to propel me to finish the book. There were some really good moments where the author wasn't afraid to make the reader uncomfortable, but it lacked sincere depth to hold it all together. Maybe the author deliberately made the characters so neurotic, it failed to make them endearing.
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When I first started reading The Birthdays, I thought it was a story I would enjoy...I was wrong. This one was just okay. The characters never seemed to mesh. I did not like the flow of the story and most of the time I just wanted to put the book aside and start something else.
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Nick never thought he’d choose a date with a dog over a date with a hot looking woman . Capt Jack told Nick how he appreciated him coming out on a night like this. Nick said he had just been pulled from a date. Than Nick said Sugar the dog and new mom was a better date than the woman he had left at the Seafood Shak. Capt told Nick he needed a woman, that the right woman would give him the real warmth he needed. But the right woman hadn't showed up. Marriage required commitment. He refused to walk in the wake of his parents, poster children for a bad marriage. Nick was determined that wasn’t going to happen to him. Biloxi Noel Dutrey ended up in a water filled ditch, not the homecoming she had planned. She knew this road like the back of the hand, had traveled it hundreds of times. Now she had to ruin her clothes and get out and assess the damage. Than she went to open the door and a force on the the other side yanked. She held onto the door but it pulled her from the seat. She ended up on her back, feet still inside the car. A man asked if she was alright and she said no. Strong hands grasped her under her arms and got her on her feet. Than he said “ Brana Lind?” “What are you doing out here?” But he had called her by her cousins name He offered to run her home in his truck but fear gripped her. Biloxi had worked too hard on her plan to give up on it now because of a minor setback. Home provided the security she craved and with Branna gone, it was her time to shine as number one. She had a mission. Biloxi felt Nick was a stubborn man just like Gregory. Men who liked to dominate. She had enough of them. Biloxi stumbled into a gaping hole.Than Nic again rescued her and taking her to the E R. Nick and Biloxi’s family have a long standing feud yet Nick and Biloxi are very attracted to each other. Nick would like to find someone, settle down, and start a family. Biloxi wants control as the keeper of the family to bring them into today’s world Biloxi wants to save her family home.. Both Nick and Biloxi had been hurt by the past.Nick’s mom had left him when he was ten years old. Why, when he was an adult he hired the best to find her. Biloxi knew she should avoid Nick but she can’t resist him or he her. Biloxi had a jet setting photography career but decides her family is more important and goes home. Nick was a vet. Will Nick and Biloxi get past their family’s differences?
I loved this book It was a sweet easy read. I loved the plot and pace. I advise you read the first book in this series for a smoother read. I loved Biloxi and Nick together and how they interacted together. I loved Biloxi gave up her photography career to come home and try to help save her family home. I didn’t want to put this down. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I highly recommend it.
I loved this book It was a sweet easy read. I loved the plot and pace. I advise you read the first book in this series for a smoother read. I loved Biloxi and Nick together and how they interacted together. I loved Biloxi gave up her photography career to come home and try to help save her family home. I didn’t want to put this down. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I highly recommend it.
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Actually 31/2. Pretty good.
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I thought this was going to be a quick light read but what I found instead was an intricate well thought out fascinating family with legitimate but interesting turmoil in their lives getting together at the family home for a long weekend in Maine. Never predictable and with a smatter of humor I was captured the whole way through. I felt sad to put this book down at the end.
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The chapters were way too long. It would have greatly benefited from more divisions.
Also the story just didn’t go anywhere. It was about a bunch of self absorbed brats in one family that just sniped at each other.
Nothing was resolved and I did not like that.
Also the story just didn’t go anywhere. It was about a bunch of self absorbed brats in one family that just sniped at each other.
Nothing was resolved and I did not like that.
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