Not Without You
Jul. 7th, 2024 11:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearI didn't get on well at all with the previous Harriet Evans book I tried, but Not Without You was already on my shelf so I decided to give it a go and I'm glad I did!
It follows two different A-list movie stars - one in the 1950s and one in the 2010s - and of course their stories eventually end up intersecting in an interesting way.
There are very good parallels and contrasts drawn between life as a woman in Hollywood in those two time periods, and both settings are well drawn.
I initially didn't connect to Sophie (in 2012) and was much more interested in Eve (in 1950s) but it balanced out over time and I really liked how the two storylines eventually came together.
There were some issues with repeated phrases (within a couple of paragraphs), some muddled tenses and few logistical inconsistencies. I also felt that the couple of references to the title in the narrative were overdone and too similar. But generally the book kept me engaged throughout, but without making me want to skim to find out what happened.
I wasn't keen on some of the quite unpleasant sexual content - but it was realistic for the story. I also felt that, while both women were quite forthright and strong in some respects, they were both rather idiotic (or wilfully blind) about their relationships, despite noting the red flags and then basically just ignoring them.
It got a bit melodramatic towards the end, but the aftermath of the climax and the epilogue were great and I was very satisfied with the ultimate conclusion.
So, a great read overall.
It follows two different A-list movie stars - one in the 1950s and one in the 2010s - and of course their stories eventually end up intersecting in an interesting way.
There are very good parallels and contrasts drawn between life as a woman in Hollywood in those two time periods, and both settings are well drawn.
I initially didn't connect to Sophie (in 2012) and was much more interested in Eve (in 1950s) but it balanced out over time and I really liked how the two storylines eventually came together.
There were some issues with repeated phrases (within a couple of paragraphs), some muddled tenses and few logistical inconsistencies. I also felt that the couple of references to the title in the narrative were overdone and too similar. But generally the book kept me engaged throughout, but without making me want to skim to find out what happened.
I wasn't keen on some of the quite unpleasant sexual content - but it was realistic for the story. I also felt that, while both women were quite forthright and strong in some respects, they were both rather idiotic (or wilfully blind) about their relationships, despite noting the red flags and then basically just ignoring them.
It got a bit melodramatic towards the end, but the aftermath of the climax and the epilogue were great and I was very satisfied with the ultimate conclusion.
So, a great read overall.
