Thanks for sharing. I think this sums it up!
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There’s a sequel - Black Wolf - coming out sometime in 2025!
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The last book I truly hated, did not finish, threw down in disgust was Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. I’m not a prude and am totally opposed to book banning, but I thought it was nothing but child pornography under the guise of great literature.
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I did not even need to think for this one! Lauren Groff’s Vaster Wilds! I fully appreciated her writing skills…but I thought it would never end and it was a short book!
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I am of a similar mind, Dee. I tried reading Vaster Wilds three different times and finally gave up, with absolutely no plans to give it yet one more try. There are far too many good books to spend time with so I just spend it with the ones I truly resonate with.
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Well, you were smarter than me…I kept reading thinking there would be a big payoff…Better to read something else…so well done for you!
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Too many 
Too little 
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Hahaha, @Sunny! So very true!
OK, so now I’m super curious about The Women. It’s always fascinating to me to encounter books that are so polarizing. Hoping to get to that one soon, although my husband may get to it before I do. Not that that matters; our tastes definitely differ.
How interesting, @Lana_Maskus! It remains one of my favorite novels - one I’ve read more than once. I love unreliable narrator books, and Humbert Humbert is probably the best example of one I’ve encountered. (Interestingly, the other example I come up with is also a Nabokov protagonist - Pale Fire’s John Shade.)
I agree with you that the subject is unpalatable, but there’s something delightfully creepy about viewing something so reprehensible from the perspective of the criminal.
For anyone who’s interested, we’ll be holding a discussion of Lolita sometime early next year.
And I’d also like to recommend the audiobook version as read by Jeremy Irons. He doesn’t so much narrate the book as act it - and it’s an amazing performance.
Not to be too suspicious, but I kept thinking about the TV series “China Beach” (which I loved!) while reading The Women and wondered if Kristin Hannah was subconsciously influenced by it. The TV show predates the timeframe Hannah states that she started to think about writing the book and other details kept popping up for me . . . China Beach’s main character (played by Dana Delaney) was Nurse Colleen McMurphy (hmmm…sounds similar to “Frankie” in The Women) and key plot points . . . such as the reception that McMurphy received when she lands back in the states in the airport is similar to the description in The Women. Might just be coincidental since they’re both based on actual experiences during the Viet Nam war, but I’m left with the feeling that the China Beach TV show was much more innovative and original than Hannah’s book.
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I’m going to give it another try sometime, because I didn’t finish it and maybe I just need to give it more pages, but I really struggled with Amor Towles’ A Gentleman in Moscow. A book club member once suggested that I try the audiobook version, which I’m considering.
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Educated by Tara Westover. I felt the whole story was embellished to the max!
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Agree. Enjoyed China Beach and was totally underwhelmed by The Women. It was actually a DNF for me.
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Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. I liked the discussions around game design and business/marketing strategy but disliked the characters. Read about 60% and then tossed it aside.
And am in agreement with all the comments above about The Women. Found the story cliche and the writing too simplistic.
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Absolutely! Thank you!
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The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, et. al
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Hello, Beautiful by Ann Napolitano. No way was that an homage to Little Women. Just terrible people doing terrible things. And I’ve loved her other books.
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Den of Vipers was horrendous imo
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So funny, how our tastes are so different. I loved MARGO and her first book, The Knockout Queen. I believe the writer, Rufi Thorpe is an acquired taste.
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