Rose

Wow what a book. I devoured the second half of this today, I ignored hunger, thirst and a full bladder for a very long time so I could keep reading uninterrupted. I adored the way it was written and the repetition of certain phrases or words contributed to how attached you get to the characters. It's so endearing. You cannot keep your emotions hidden when you're reading it, but you're so engrossed you don't even care.

I couldn't put this book down. I can't remember how or why I came to be reading it, it's not something I would usually choose, but I think the fact that Jennifer Lawrence was going to play Serena in the film this year made me automatically assume it would be good! It didn't disappoint and, neither did the film although based on the length of the book, the film version was obviously drastically shortened.

I really liked this book until I was half way through and I found it wasn't really going anywhere. There was nothing particularly wrong with it, it was a memoir as you expect, but I just found it a little dull when not much had really happened by the time I had read half of it. I hate giving up on books but so I compromised and watched the film and I didn't find the film that riveting either. Perhaps it just wasn't the book for me, I prefer a bit more drama and I didn't find much drama in the storyline. Having said that, it is absolutely a memoir of a Geisha which I had little to no knowledge of before and I did learn a lot about their traditions and way of life which I found interesting.

I really enjoyed this book. But I have to admit I was wondering when the big ‘thing' was going to happen. Perhaps that's because it took me a while to figure it out. Maybe people who got it sooner found it a little more riveting. But I don't think the book was meant to be riveting. It certainly opens your eyes to Alzheimer's and the difficulty for all those involved that they experience every day. It was brilliantly thought out, and it felt very real. I became so attached to the family, how they were dealing with it all. How everyone has their part to play. I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would when I started reading it. the crime/mystery aspect of it gave it the ‘oomph' I'm used to when reading a good book, but then like I said, it's not meant to be that kind of book. It certainly was the kind of book it set out to be. Sad, funny, informative, enlightening. I would definitely recommend it.