The Paper Palace: The No.1 New York Times Bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Bookclub Pick

The sense of place is beautifully written, Cape Cod, the ponds, the wildlife, nature... but it's not enough to make this book a good read.Too many characters, too much flitting back & forth in time (every section like this lasted a couple of pages that was all then you're back in another time). Then one long chunk that oddly went on too long to set up the great awfulness that has caused all the trouble in this book.No one was worth caring about not even the main character (despite everything that happened to her), apart from the older sister Anna who is refreshingly herself, and Jonas who doesn't get nearly enough space in the book and was the reason I thought I'd love this book. He's kept far too much in the background, I suppose like a siren call but really the author squandered what might have been a USP for this book. The husband Peter was nauseatingly a stereotype of Hugh Grant - an American's idea of what a posh Brit is like - and actually rude & dismissive. Why stay married to this man? The sex scenes were well described.The ending was a terrible zero. I get that it was supposed to be mysterious & ambivalent it just felt like an under-cooked roast chicken.A very episodic read, emotionally & intellectually unsatisfying it was a jumble of good ideas badly executed.And then there's all the gushing blurbs from authors who are clearly pals - this author is well connected.Not worth the money, could have been so much better.

"There is no such thing as unforgivable between people who love each other. But even as I’m thinking it, I know it’s not really true."Ever since she was a child, "The Paper Palace" had been a place where Elle and her family would spend their holidays. Now married and with children of her own, it is still a place she visits with her family and friends.Following a rash decision made in the heat of the moment, the story jumps between the past and present, revealing generations of complicated relationships and some questionable, heartbreaking decisions...OK, so I went in with no expectations and knowing next to nothing about the plot, but I never imagined how invested I'd become in the story. This is compelling, domestic drama at its absolute finest. 👌🏻One thing that stood out to me was how certain traumatic events can happen to a member of one generation and indirectly affect another. Additionally, without going into too much detail, there were some prime examples of how (in my opinion) parents can fail at protecting their children.Miranda has nailed everything here from the absolutely stunning imagery to a captivating story. Her writing is fantastic and I just cannot fault it. Put it this way, I loved this book so much I've already ordered a physical copy.Granted there's some pretty heavy topics I wasn't entirely prepared for, so do be aware of the trigger warnings:*Some triggers to be aware of in this book are: child abuse, sexual assault, infidelity and non-consensual incest.

📖: Every summer Elle and her family stay at their cabin in the woods in Cape Cod. After developing a childhood friendship with a boy named Jonas, the strong feelings between the pair never develop romantically. Elle, now in her 50s, enters into a summer fling with her first love, jeopardising her family unit and making her question her marriage.💭: Initially I thought this book would solely focus on Elle's inner turmoil, the choice between her devoted husband and the man she has loved since she was a child; which didn't appeal to me. The very short snappy sentences irritated me and the constant switching of timelines and numerous characters confused me a little and I found it hard to get into. That was until I got passed the first section and into the secrets of Elle's past. This book is not lighthearted as I first thought. The topics are disturbing, the characters are unlikeable and the ending unclear.

Stunning debut, eagerly await her second novel. I devoured this book in a couple of days, I normally read before bed but found myself carrying my kindle round the house, reading whilst brushing my teeth, loading the dishwasher, something I cant remember doing since reading The Goldfinch. Beautifully written, exquisite characterisation. Yes it does deal with some very sensitive issues and yes does include a few sexual encounters (shock horror) but life can be messy and painful and dark and explicit and beautiful much like this epic family saga.

I do not often feel compelled to write a review, but in this case I do, having read a few reviews here that seem to misunderstand this novel completely.There is no doubt as to the meaning of the end of the book, there are no two ways of interpretation, and you do not need to re-read the beginning to make it any clearer (although once I read the last page, I wanted to start again, as I did not want it to end).The plot does jump, but never in a way that makes you wonder where you are. Each time jump is meticulously crafted to shed light on what happens in the future or has occured in the past (usually explained in the chapter following).It is a memoir, a love story, a murder - this book has it all, and the writing is so crystal clear if not downright poetic, you feel you are in the narrators head, understanding every move (whether you agree with her actions or not).It is beautiful, unputdownable, a future classic of American realism.

It was a bit slow to get going with a few stories going on at once. In lots of different settings. In the middle it got really interesting and I enjoyed reading it. But it seems to end quite abruptly.The main setting was cabins on a pond and by the beach so it was lovely to escape too.Not sure I warmed to the lead character that much, cheating on husband etc.There were some nice ideas in the book but not sure I followed the story well until the middle. Some quite dark storylines too (death of a sister) which felt quite brushed over.Overall, an okay book. I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it, but I have read worse.