This story consumed me from the very first page. I could nitpick a few things that I did not care for, but none of them distracted from the essence ofThis story consumed me from the very first page. I could nitpick a few things that I did not care for, but none of them distracted from the essence of the writing. This book did what every excellent novel is supposed to do… it transported me out of my family room and into the story.
I read this (plus ‘Our Town’) over the course of 3 days, and not much else got done in my house.
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NOTE: This novel is a homage to Thornton Wilder’s ‘Our Town’. I would caution anyone who has not read it to go read that prior to reading this novel. You can thank me later.
UPDATE: Nov 8, 2023 Most of my book club disagreed with me, and did not care much for this book. They found it slow-paced and boring. At best they thought it was just "ok". I guess it must have hit me just right, because I really enjoyed it....more
My reading comprehension is usually pretty good. Could someone who has read the book please explain to me what I am missing here?(view spoiler)[
“MollMy reading comprehension is usually pretty good. Could someone who has read the book please explain to me what I am missing here?(view spoiler)[
“Molly, what are you doing here?” Mr. Snow asked when I showed up for work the day after Gran died. “I’m so sorry for your loss. Mr. Preston told me that your grandmother passed away yesterday. I already called in a replacement for your shift. I assumed you’d take today off.”
“Mr. Snow, why did you assume?” I asked. “As Gran used to say, when you assume, you make an A-S-S out of U and ME.”
Mr. Snow looked like he was going to regurgitate a mouse. “Please accept my condolences. And are you sure you don’t want the day off?”
“It was Gran who died, not me,” I replied. “The show must go on, you know.”
His eyes widened, which perhaps suggests shock? I’ll never understand it—why people find the truth more shocking than lies.
Still, Mr. Snow relented. “As you wish, Molly.”
A few minutes later, I was downstairs in one of the housekeeping change rooms donning my maid’s uniform as I do every day, as I did just this morning, as I’ll do tomorrow even though someone else—not my gran—died today. And not at home but at the hotel.
Yes. That’s right. Today at work, I found a guest very dead in his bed. Mr. Black. The Mr. Black. Other than that, my workday was as normal as ever.
Then we have this flashback scene between Molly and Giselle Black...
“Tell me something, Molly,” she said. “You live alone, right? You’re all by yourself?”
“I am now,” I said. “My gran died a few months ago. Before that, it was just the two of us.”
I thought that first Gran died, and the very next day Mr. Black died? What am I missing? Cuz this is making me nuts! (hide spoiler)]
Ok, other than my fixating on the timeline, I enjoyed most of the story. It had a very strange (and unbelievable) ending, for which I am deducting ½ star.
1) that after Molly called Housekeeping and reported that there was a dead body in the room that she had time to faint, have a conversation with the murderer, clean up the room again, and subsequently report the death for a second time (because she knew that no one would be coming after the first phone call because "they don't listen well" to her - even though she was reporting a DEAD BODY!)
2) that when she testified in court that she saw a person in the room with the dead body, that NOBODY PRESSED HER TO IDENTIFY WHO SHE HAD SEEN, not even under cross examination?
“Molly, is the person you saw standing in that dark corner present in this courtroom today?”
The author has an engaging style of writing and a good story to tell, but....
“She needed to tell him that she’d looked at his latest piece of3 ½ stars
The author has an engaging style of writing and a good story to tell, but....
“She needed to tell him that she’d looked at his latest piece of writing too, that she didn’t like it, all the to-ing and fro-ing, all that jumping around in the timeline. Like the last one, the awful crime thing. Just start at the beginning, for God’s sake. Why couldn’t people just tell a story straight any longer, start to finish?” – A Slow Fire Burning
Is this passage tongue-in-cheek? Is the author mocking herself and/or those of us that prefer that a story be told in linear fashion? Because this story bounces around all over the place, and is anything but a “straight” story. And I REALLY dislike that most chapters end with a mini “cliffhanger", after which the author ricochets to a different time and/or character.
Additionally, I guessed the rather obvious “twist” on page 84. For these reasons, I am rounding down instead of up....more
This is everything one could hope for from a new novel by Liane Moriarty. Her masterful storytelling brings chick lit to a whole new level. It is thorThis is everything one could hope for from a new novel by Liane Moriarty. Her masterful storytelling brings chick lit to a whole new level. It is thoroughly enjoyable reading!
I am so happy that I did not read the book blurb prior to starting this book. Everything was fresh and unexpected - which is exactly what you want.
PS Of course, I had to Google the frog in boiling water…
While reading this book I took lots of notes, but now I just don’t have the energy to rehash everything. Every move these two have made has already beWhile reading this book I took lots of notes, but now I just don’t have the energy to rehash everything. Every move these two have made has already been WIDELY reported, and people will have formed their own opinions. Nothing I say here will change anybody’s mind about them. And I don’t think the sycophantic drivel contained in this book is going to change anyone’s mind either!
For whatever it’s worth, here’s my take on things:
I don’t care – and have never cared – how the media portrayed/portrays them. As a matter of fact, I think the media coverage has been frequently negatively biased and often venomous. Sometimes it was warranted, other times not. But I am able to make up my own mind without having my opinion guided by the slant that the press puts into their coverage.
I also think that ALL of the British Royal Family have been mercilessly skewered by the press at times. Most maintained a dignified silence and waited it out until the press moved on to other targets. (Those that did not usually had it all blow up in their faces.) So I don't think Meghan was treated any differently than anyone else. Remember "Waity Katie" and "The Duchess of Pork"? As a friend forewarned Meghan "They hate royal wives and girlfriends. They will come after you."
I have been a great admirer of the Royal Family for decades, and initially that included Harry and Meghan. I can fondly remember my sisters and I getting together and watching every Royal Wedding for the past 40 years and it was no different in this case. We gathered at my sister's home, donned on our pajamas, busted out the snacks, crawled into our sleeping bags, and settled in to stay up all night and watch ALL of the wedding coverage. We were delighted that the couple were obviously very much in love, and also a tiny bit proud that Harry was marrying an American. No one cared that Meghan was an unknown actress, no one cared that she was black, no one cared she was a commoner and no one had any problems with the unusual wedding service. Although admittedly, we had to chuckle just a bit at the over-long, rambling sermon given by Bishop Curry. NOTE: We had a contest to see who could most closely guess how many times he had said the word “love”. It was 63 – and I won!
It first started going south for me after I read reports that Meghan had announced that she was pregnant while at Eugenie's wedding! Who upstages the bride like that? I wondered if it could possibly be true, but when no public pregnancy congratulations came from the Yorks, I decided that it probably WAS true. (Omid confirms this in his book, but of course excuses it.) How incredibly tacky - and a tactic that I was to see time and time again from the Sussexes. It seemed like whenever another Royal was doing something newsworthy, there was some news from the Sussexes knocking the others off the front page.
Another thing that really bothered me was a video of Harry marketing Meghan to Bob Iger while at the premier of The Lion King. WHAT!!! Using your royal position at an official event to solicit a job opportunity for your wife? As Meghan “kiddingly” said, their being there “was all about the pitch”. I was pretty shocked – and dismayed. Then Harry and Meghan’s PR people later tried to put it out there that Meghan already had the job and Harry was just “singing her praises”. That didn’t wash, because Bob was obviously taken aback and was heard to have said “We’d love to try”. My dismay turned to disgust.
That was the beginning of the end for me, and it was all downhill from that point. Each new story served to heighten my dislike of this pair. When these two were SO disrespectful to the Queen after they “stepped back” from Senior royal duties, I decided I was done with them. (How incredibly snotty of them to assert on their website that the Queen does not own the word royal across the world.) They have done nothing ever since to change my mind. Actually, my dislike of them has been reinforced over and over again.
I feel they are absolutely trading on their royal titles. On Feb 26, 2020 Prince Harry told an audience to “just call me Harry”. He has never said that again that I could find anywhere. I surmise that when he got home Meghan gently pointed out to him the error of his ways and asked him never to make that statement ever again. You’ll notice that she has NEVER said “just call me Meghan”, and is identifying as Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex every chance she gets. I saw a thank you note that she had written last July, and her stationery still has the initial “M” with a crown over it. What’s with that? Why are they both clinging so tightly to their titles? If royal titles are SO burdensome, why not give them back? Or at the very least, stop using them as Harry did that ONE time? I’ll take a wild guess… it’s probably because they know that this connection is what is necessary to rake in the big bucks. Without titles they are nothing special, just a couple of hypocritical blowhards who enjoy preaching to the masses “do as I say, not as I do”.
I really am sick to death of these two. I don’t care what they do so long as they give up their titles and go live their lives as private citizens. But who are we kidding, there is no way that they will ever voluntarily do that because they recognize that their monetary value is tied to the English Monarchy. Hence all the recent references to Harry’s “grandmother” (Queen Elizabeth) and “my family back in England”. Their PR machine must have directed them to remind the public as often as they can just how closely related they are to the Queen. How much do you want to bet that they will be traveling back to England in 2021 for a photo op on the balcony of Buckingham Palace?
Good God, I never thought I would see Royals for Sale! I feel that what Meghan and Harry are doing by marketing themselves to the highest bidder cheapens the monarchy, and tarnishes its allure. They have pulled back the curtain on the Wizard of Oz and sucked much of the mystique right out of it.
NOTE: The concept of "duty" is unrecognizable to these two. It is impossible to understand why the Sussexes would post the following quote to their prior SussexRoyal Instagram account when they OBVIOUSLY don't agree with the sentiment.
I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong. - Her Majesty The Queen
NOTE: Just let me add that I am beyond FURIOUS that Meghan would meddle in our upcoming presidential election. Don’t insult Americans by telling us she never specifically named which candidate she supports. She made it crystal clear. We are not idiots!
NOTE: If Meghan felt so “unprotected” because no one in the Royal Family came to her defense when there was bad press about her, may I ask why she has not publicly come to the defense of her best friend Jessica Mulroney? She seems to have an opinion about everything, but has been strangely silent about this. People in glass houses….
NOTE: This book is ramming it down our throats that Meghan is black. Good for her. Who cares? Why can no one ever give any concrete evidence of the racism that Meghan was "frequently" subjected to while in England? Why is it always "undertones" and "understood" and "alluded to". Is everything that is derogatory necessarily racist? Of course, I think that there are SOME racist people in this world, but to label an entire country racist is very unfair. Unsubstantiated charges demean those that have actually been discriminated against.
NOTE: It my personal opinion that Meghan has ghosted her father not because of the staged paparazzi photos, but rather because Thomas Markle was rude to Harry in a phone call and hung up on him. I think Harry was furious (I wonder if anyone had ever hung up on Prince Harry prior to this?) and Meghan had to placate his enormous ego. Because as far as I can ascertain, this was the last verbal communication between Thomas, Meghan and Harry. So long Daddy!
NOTE: I'm not even sure I can label this book as non-fiction.
NOTE: I can’t believe I read this whole book. It took forever because I had to read it is small chunks because it was so nauseating. What a complete waste of time.
UPDATE: The Queen is supposed to review the status of Megxit in the Spring of 2021. In my opinion, that will now be meaningless. Harry and Meghan have already inked their multi-million deal with Netflix, and can laugh at anything the Queen chooses to do. They have used their Royal Status to cement their Hollywood celebrity, so it would be too late to lock the barn door - the horses have already bolted.
UPDATE: A spokesman for Meghan and Harry said in a statement: “A contribution has been made to the Sovereign Grant by The Duke of Sussex."
“This contribution, as originally offered by Prince Harry, has fully covered the necessary renovation costs of Frogmore Cottage, a property of Her Majesty The Queen, and will remain the UK residence of The Duke and his family.”
I'm curious about the wording of the statement that they made a "contribution"? Is that basically a tax dodge?
UPDATE: For the love of God, not another video. SHUT UP AND GO AWAY.
UPDATE: So now they want a 12 month extension to Megxit agreement? Anyone remember this petulant posting of theirs?
"While there is precedent for other titled members of the Royal Family to seek employment outside of the institution, for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, a 12-month review period has been put in place."
What a bratty comment!
UPDATE: I'm not sure if it's true, but I think Meghan is pregnant again, and that is why she wrote that article about her miscarriage - to gain sympathy because this new pregnancy will be so "high-risk" and she can't be "stressed". (That's also how she got her court case deferred for 9 months.) In the meantime they will continue to monetize their titles every chance they get. I guess they must not have made quite enough money yet.
UPDATE: The Queen has decided that the Sussexes cannot continue to fulfill their Royal Patronage roles since they are no longer working royals and don't even live in England anymore. Here is Harry and Meghan's pissy reply:
"As evidenced by their work over the past year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the UK and around the world, and have offered their continued support to the organisations they have represented regardless of official role.
"We can all live a life of service. Service is universal."
I guess that is a big FU to the Queen. They are basically saying that they don't need the damn official Royal Patron label, they'll do as they please, and will upstage anyone who is assigned as the new Patron. These two have ZERO class.
UPDATE: I just watched the PR puff piece conversation between Oprah, Meghan and Harry, and I must say that I am very SAD... Shocked, Appalled and Disgusted. What exactly are they trying to accomplish by trashing the entire Royal Family? To make themselves "relevant"? And the cherry on top of the sundae is that Oprah just let them spout their "truths" with no follow-up questions.
Here's just one example: Meghan said " A few days before the wedding, she (Kate) was upset about something pertaining—yes, the issue was correct about flower girl dresses - and it made me cry and it really hurt my feelings, and I thought in the context of everything else that was going on in those days leading to the wedding that it didn’t make sense to not be just doing what everyone else was doing, which was try to be supportive, knowing what was going on with my dad and whatnot.
“There wasn’t a confrontation, and I actually think it’s...I don’t think it’s fair to her to get into the details of that because she apologized and I’ve forgiven her,”
Questions: 1. What was Kate so upset about? Was it anything YOU did? (The word is that you were rude and acting like a complete Bridezilla.) And if she didn't even confront you about it, how can she be blamed for having made you cry? Were you being overly sensitive?
2. Do you think that Kate was being the "bigger person" by apologizing?
3. I thought you said that no one was supportive of you? Yet, pertaining to the wedding, you said that EVERYONE was being supportive except Kate. Please explain.
I'm not saying that this is how I believe things happened. I'm just pointing out how easy it is to put your own spin on something. Oprah allowed them to say whatever they wanted without challenging a single thing.
If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen... but don't burn the place down on your way out the door.
UPDATE: History was repeating itself. My mother was chased to her death while she was in a relationship with someone that wasn't white and now look what's happened. You want to talk about history repeating itself, they're not going to stop until [Meghan] dies," he says.
"It's incredibly triggering to potentially lose another woman in my life, but the list is growing. - Harry
I am SICK TO DEATH of hearing about Harty's warped view of various events. We are being subjected to a constant bombardment of his opinions, complaints and directives. Of course, now his mother's death was due to racism... because isn't EVERYTHING about race these days? Harry and his wife's goals seem to be twofold, and they won't stop until they start a race war in this country and destroy the Monarchy in Britain.
If Harry was truly trying to protect his family, why the HELL would he move them to the Papparazzi capitol of the world? I guess there are no mansions big enough in Africa nor enough celebrities to hobnob with.
I am shocked at myself for how angry these two divisive race baiters make me, and how much I have come to loathe them both for their selfishness, arrogance and ego....more
I don't understand all the high ratings. I felt nothing for either character except some exasperation, and I disliked them both. I ended up skimming tI don't understand all the high ratings. I felt nothing for either character except some exasperation, and I disliked them both. I ended up skimming through the book.
(view spoiler)[I thought this story was complete bullshit. The reason that Mallory and Jake were not together never existed. Mallory was self-centered, and Jake was a complete milquetoast. The ending was terrible. (hide spoiler)]...more
My husband and I started listening to this while taking our daily walks. At first, I really, really, REALLY enjoyed it... but then Arthur and Ford wenMy husband and I started listening to this while taking our daily walks. At first, I really, really, REALLY enjoyed it... but then Arthur and Ford went into space and it all just turned into word salad.
"It consisted in large part of the engineers and researchers who had built the Heart of Gold-mostly humanoid, but here and there were a few reptiloid atomineers, two or three green slyph-like maximegalacticans, an octopoid physucturalist or two and a Hooloovoo (a Hooloovoo is a super-intelligent shade of the color blue). All except the Hooloovoo were resplendent in their multi-colored ceremonial lab coats; the Hooloovoo had been temporarily refracted into a free standing prism for the occasion." - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
I suppose it was GOOD, but I found it only mildly interesting. I'm not sure what all the buzz is about.I suppose it was GOOD, but I found it only mildly interesting. I'm not sure what all the buzz is about....more
Before my mother-in-law passed away a couple of years ago, she told me that it was a very sad thing to have outlived all of her contemporaries. As I wBefore my mother-in-law passed away a couple of years ago, she told me that it was a very sad thing to have outlived all of her contemporaries. As I was reading this book, I couldn’t help but wonder about my own situation as I age… who will still be with me and who’s names I will be crossing off in my (black) address book.
This novel was very well written. It was also haunting, thought provoking, and frequently sad. I was quite pensive after reading it, and a little bit depressed too.
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NOTE: I attended a dinner party earlier this evening, hosted by the widowed husband of one of my best friends who passed away 2 years ago. I’m sure that contributed to my feelings of melancholy....more
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