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Trebalo mi je malo vremena da se zaljubim u ovu knjigu. Slabost su mi novele gde se prepliću prošlost i sadašnjost, naročito kada je napetost na visokom nivou. Ima uzbudljivih preokreta, iako su neki od njih bili predvidljivi, i plus je kraj bio u pravom trenutku, bez nepotrebnog produžavanja.
Dete je napušteno na brodu koji ide za Australiju 1913. godine. Nel, izgubljeno dete, ključan je lik oko koga se sve tajne i dešavanja vrte. Ova priča počinje u Engleskoj i širi se preko celog sveta do Australije i vraća kući u Englesku da otkrije sto godina tajni. U drugoj vremenskoj liniji, žena beži od svoje aristokratske porodice i živi siromašan život sa svojom decom. Kad ona umre, ćerku usvaja ista porodica od koje je njena majka pobegla. U trećoj vremenskoj liniji, jedna ženu je napustila majka i odgajila baka. Sve ove priče su povezane. Upoznajemo Elizu, Nel i Kasandru na intimnom nivou, one su glavni likovi, ali takođe imamo priliku da zavirimo u umove Rouz, Natanijela, Adelajn, i Lajnusa. Obožavam to koliko su uvrnuti Montrašei.
Ova priča puna je misterije, privlačnosti i nagoveštaja. Postoji neizvesnost od samog početka sa tajnama u tajni i novih zagonetki koje se gomilaju iznova i iznova. Enigma će vas privući, a likovi zadržati. Svideli su mi se prelazi između prošlosti i sadašnjosti. Čak i najjednostavniji detalji su tu sa razlogom. Priča se toliko obrće i zahuhtava da tajne izgledaju nerešivo. U osnovi, ovo je priča o ženi koja je napravila pogrešnu odluku iz plemenitih razloga, a posledice toga će loviti sledeće generacije. Radnja skakuće od osobe do osobe, uz ubacivanje perspektiva drugih likova, što bi moglo da iritira neke ljude koji preferiraju manje naratora. Postoje neki neprijatni i uznemirujući likovi, poput Lajnusa i Adelajn, i nekoliko fundamentalno pogrešnih odluka napravljenih od strane likova koji su inače dopadljivo, poput Rouz i Elize. Iako je zaplet predvidljiv u nekim delovima, i dalje vas tera da pogađate do samog kraja.
Nisam veliki ljubitelj Nel niti sam posebno uživala u njenoj tački gledišta, iako je tu bilo različitih korisnih informacija. Ona je namerno vodila usamljenički život, i izgledalo je kao da samu sebe kažnjava za nešto što nikako nije bogla da bude odgovorna. Isto tako, ona je bila nepristojna, frigidna i neprijateljski raspoložena, zbog čega mi je bilo teško da se zaljubim u knjigu. I tu leži najveća greška koju je Nel napravila. Ona nikada nije u potpunosti živela svoj život, već je stalno jurila za tim izgubljenim delom sebe, a zaboravila je da je okružena ljudima koji su je zaista voleli takvu kakva jeste. I ona ih je bez pardona odgurnula od sebe.
Kasandra je bilo u redu, ali nije imala stvarnu dubinu osim tog jednog tragičnog događaja, pa nisam bila toliko obuzeta njenim životom. Pri kraju mi je ipak prirasla za srce. Ona je žena koja se još uvek bori sa PTSP skoro 10 godina kasnije, i ako uključimo smrt njene bake u to, izgleda da se neće skoro oporaviti.
Eliza imao tako tragično detinjstvo. Stvarno ne znam kako je preživela i ostala razumna. Pa, polu-razumna. Ona ima dobro srce i želi dobro, ali svi je stalno kažnjavaju zbog majčine nezavistnosti. Ona je previše verovala ljudima previše i nadala se da će se njeni voljeni nesebično brinuti o njoj. Takođe je imala previše ljubavi u svom srcu, ali nikome da je pruži. Njena sudbina je najtragičnija i svakako je nije zaslužila.
Moja osećanja u vezi Rouz su strašno protivrečna. Dok je odrastala, bilo ju je lako voleti i mislila sam da je jaka i da ne odustaje tako lako, ali kada je malo odrasla, sve što sam videla od nje jeste sebičluk i ponašanje bezobzirnog derišta. Bukvalno joj nije stalo ni do koga sem do same sebe.
Lajnusov um je tako uvrnut. Nisam mogla da se oslobodim osećaja da, ako mu se pruži prilika, on bi uradio nešto duboko uznemirujuće. Gori je od Adelajn, jer je čekao svoju šansu da uradi nešto veoma loše. Srećom, tu šansu nikada nije dočekao.
Adelajn je očigledno užasna osoba. Nadam se da nikada neću sresti nekoga poput nje, jer verovatno ne bih uspela da se uzdržim od toga da ih naučim pameti. Ona je toliko nesrećna, opsesivna, zatucana, puna predrasuda, egocentrična i puna negativne energije. Bukvalno, niko nije mogao da diše u njenom društvu.
Natanijel je bio izgubljen umetnik koji nije imao hrabrosti da donosi samostalne odluke već je dopuštao da njegova tašta odrauje sve prljave poslove umesto njega. Shodno tome, osećao se zaglavljenim u dosadnom životu, kao da je živeo u zatvoru, sa ženom za koju nije znao da li mu je stalo do nje ili ne. Bilo mi ga je žao.
Rouz je bio suviše sebična da vidi šta je ona radila Elizi. Eliza je bezuslovno volela Rouz, što je ona itekako znala kako da iskoristi.Ispada da je Rouz ista majka. Baš sam ljuta na nju. Eliza je bukvalno volela Rouz više nego samu sebe, ali za Rouz ona je bila samo sredstvo da ostvari svoju verziju sreće.
Kasandra i Nel su imale čudan, ali funkcionalan odnos.. Nel je odgajila Kasandru, i odradila je odličan posao. Obe su napuštene i u stalnoj potrazi za sopstvenim identitetom i jedna drugoj su uteha. Nel je sačuvala Kasandrinu dušu kada ona više nije imala volju za životom. Ponekad neko može da te sačuva umesto da ti spašavaš samog sebe.
It took me a while to fall in love with this book, but I did. I’m a sucker for books where past and present intertwine, especially when suspense is on its high point. This book had the right twists, even though some of them were predictable, and it ended in a good place, without unnecessary prolonging.
A child is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. Nell, the lost child, is the pivotal character around who all mysteries and actions revolve. This tale begins in England and she travels across the world to Australia, comes home again to England to uncover a hundred years of secrets. In the second time line, a woman flees from her aristocratic family and lives a life of poverty with her children. When she dies, the daughter is taken in by the same family her mother escaped. In the third timeline, a woman is abandoned by her mother and raised by her grandmother. All of these stories are connected. We get a chance to know Eliza, Nell and Cassandra intimately, they are the main narrators, but we can also see inside the heads of Rose, Nathaniel, Adeline, and Linus. I adore how twisted Montrachet family is.
This story is full of mystery, allure and foreshadowing. There is suspense from the start with secrets within secrets and new riddles piling up over and over again. The enigma will draw you in and the characters will keep you there. I liked the coming back and forth between past and present. Even the simplest details are there for a reason. The story twists and turns, making the secrets seem unresolvable. Basically, this is a story about a woman who made the wrong decision for the right reasons, with consequences that hunted down the next generations. The story line skips from person to person, with tossing other characters’ point of views, which might irritate some people who prefer fewer viewpoints. There are some nasty and disturbing characters, like Linus and Adeline, and a few fundamentally wrong decisions made by characters that are otherwise likable, like Rose and Eliza. Though the plot is predictable in some parts, it still keeps you guessing until the very end.
I wasn’t a big fan of Nell nor I particularly enjoyed her viewpoints, though they consisted of different useful information. She led such a lonely life on purpose, and it seemed like she had punished herself for something she couldn’t even be responsible for. Also, she was rude, frigid and unfriendly, which made it hard to fall in love with the book. And their lies the biggest mistake Nell made. She never fully lived her life, she constantly kept chasing what she thought was missing, and forgot she was surrounded by people who TRULY loved her for who she was. And she just pushed them away.
Cassandra was okay, but had no real depth except that one tragic event, so I wasn’t that much consumed by her life. She grew on me towards the end, though. She is a woman still struggling with the PTSD almost 10 years later, and with death of her grandmother it looks like she won’t be recovering anytime soon.
Eliza had such a tragic childhood. I don’t even know how she survived and stayed sane. Well, half-sane. She has a good heart and means well, but everyone kept punishing her for her mother’s independency. She trusted people too much and believed her loved ones will altruistically take care of her. She also had too much love in her heart, but no one love. Her destiny is the most tragic one and she most certainly didn’t deserve it.
My feelings about Rose are so contradicted. While she was growing up, I liked her and thought she was strong and not one to easily give up, but when she became a young woman, all she was is selfish and inconsiderate brat. She literally cared about no one but herself.
Linus’ mind was so twisted. I couldn’t shake the feeling that if given the chance, he would’ve done something profoundly disturbing. He was even worse than Adeline, because he kept on waiting for his chance to do something very bad. Luckily, that chance never came.
Adeline is plainly a horrible person. I hope I never meet someone like her, because I probably won’t restrain myself from teaching them a lesson. She’s so unhappy, obsessive, narrow-minded, full of prejudices, egocentric and full of negative energy. Literally, no one could breath in her company.
Nathaniel was a lost artist who didn’t have the guts to make decisions for himself and let his mother in law do all the dirty work for him. Consequently, he felt stuck in a dull life like he was living in a prison with a wife he didn’t know if he cares for or not. I felt so sorry for him.
Rose was too selfish to see what she was doing to Eliza. Eliza loved Rose unconditionally and Rose took advantage of that. Rose was just like her mother in the end. I’m so angry with her. Eliza literally loved Rose more than she loved herself, but for Rose she was only an asset to get her own version of happiness.
Cassandra and Nell had an odd, but functional bond. Nell raised Cassandra, and she raised her right. They were both abandoned and in constant search for their identity and they were each other’s consolation. Nell saved Cassandra’s soul when she literally didn’t have will for life anymore. Sometimes a person CAN save you instead of you saving yourself.
K.K.
Goodreads review
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