Overall, what did you think of Won’t Be Long Now? (No spoilers in this topic, please.)
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I really enjoyed this book, especially the author’s writing style. While the subject matters aren’t light fare, the book was surprisingly easy to read. I thought the characters were interesting and well developed.
This book was very nostalgic for me and brought me back to memory lane.
My family lived in Hutchinson, KS from the fall of 1983 to the summer of 1991. My son and daughter were 2 years apart and spent their preschool and elementary years in Hutchinson. It was a great town for raising children.
I know all the places mentioned in the book and at times I wish I could go back in time and relive those years.
Yes I love the story and Billie reminded me of my daughter Elizabeth who had the same imaginative personality.
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I thought this was an interesting book. I found it to be a life and family that I had difficulty relating to. But sometimes I think it is good for me to look into a much different world than my own.
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Overall, I liked this book. The writing style is unique and I have come to appreciate this type of story telling. It makes the book easy to read and difficult to put down because you’re drawn in to see what happens next!
I did not like this book. I thought it was very slow moving in the beginning and then wrapped up with a nice artificial bow at the end. I can’t recommend it to my book club.
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I really didn’t care for the book, but finished reading it anyway. I found it sad and depressing and too many nitty gritty details. However, I was surprised that I almost cried at the end because I was so happy for Billie.
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I have a mixed response. The story was well written, but Billie’s character left me pondering. I didn’t dislike her. I empathized with her. She was so very different from other main characters in my recent reads. She teetered on an edge all her life until the ending.
I went through different emotions reading this book. I didn’t like most of the characters except maybe the father. Billie annoyed me in not fighting for herself. I liked the book but not enough to recommend it to many people.
I liked it. The novel is quiet but emotionally intense. It’s less about “what happens” and more about how it feels to live inside Billie’s mind.
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It was just an okay read for me. It focuses more on internal thoughts and emotional development than plot. It was difficult to stay engaged at times, but I eventually started to enjoy Billie’s journey
Joyce, I’m with you. The story did not hold my interest. I wasn’t sure where it was going and since Billie was the only voice, it got a bit tedious.
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This book went on and on. Finally get to the last 50 pages and everything is wrapped up. I could have read those last 50 pages and get the gist of the book. 3
at best.
I really didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped to. It was very slow moving and hard to engage. It did get better in the end.
I found Won’t Be Long Now to be an interesting story that reveals the struggles and hardships of navigating life. It seemed that all of the characters dealt with adversities and that Billie was given the extra challenge of feeling different and being perceived by others as different. I liked that the story showed the importance of never giving up on people and how helpful counseling can be. This story gave me a lot to reflect upon, and it touched me.
I found the book to be a bit tedious. However, some parts were interesting. It might be more enjoyable for someone who grew up in the 50s and 60s. If I recommended this book, it would be someone who grew up in the 50s or 60s And in Kansas.
I really enjoyed this book and the character of Billie is still with me. I would caution, however that this is not a book for everyone. If you are looking for a novel with lots of action, this is not your book. This is a slow moving character driven story with an autistic person as the main character. I found it absorbing and emotional.
Again, the word mundane. Having recently finished The Correspondent, in which Sybil describes her life as as strange balance of miraculous and mundane, I was wishing for a few more miracles in Billie’s life.
I did, however, enjoy revisiting familiar childhood memories.
I enjoyed this book, even though it’s not one I would have picked up on my own. It kept my attention, and I was especially drawn to Billie as a child. We have some autism in our family, and I could see similarities in the way she experienced and responded to the world. It gave me a lot to think about in that respect. Overall, I’m glad I read it
I wanted to like this book more than I did. When I read it, I pictured everything in sepia tones and that describes my feelings towards the book. Billie’s character was very nuanced, the others less so, but I appreciated the descriptions of a child growing up with obvious neurodivergent tendencies during a time when very little was known about those conditions. Billie’s life was so depressing that I had a hard time reading parts of the book. As a Kansan, I was so happy there wasn’t the obligatory tornado scene!
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