The Paper Palace (Reese's Book Club): A Novel

4.5 wth stars!!I absolutely loved this book (other then the end). This was a book with so many lessons and so many hardships. While going through the past you get to enjoy watching characters blossom. With that there was a lot of pain in so many characters lives throughout. It was necessary. I can see why this book was chosen as a book of the month club book there is ALOT to discuss. Shoot I am discussing with myself nonstop.I think my favorite part is jumping from past to present. I needed that. It was all perfectly placed as well. It gave you background on why you ended up here with these characters. I mean I was in the Paper Palace with all the girls and I grieved with them. It was not all about negative stuff there was a lot of growth and love. It felt like a true story. Like was this someone’s life because I’ll be damned if it didn’t feel like it. And so I give you my second favorite thing is the characters. Omg I love everyone of them and despise many others too. You cheer them on and you cry with them. You second guess everything and wonder what could have been as well. This book was deep for me.Be aware there is a lot triggers and that comes with people writing all these negative reviews. What I say to that is know your boundaries and what you are comfortable with. There are warnings and people say I can’t handle child sexual trauma and that’s understandable. But it’s a part of a story. It builds this story. The pain, the strength, the hopelessness leads to the growth. I don’t think it was done poorly either this is real to some peoples life and I think it felt like it could have happened to anyone. Sadly it has.Now my only critique and the reason I could not give this 5 stars is because the damn ending. She left me. She has me mind boggled. And in some case that’s good.I guess it made me think non-stop about this book, so yea, that’s good. But I need more!! I told my hubby about it because even the next day I am frustrated. He says “is there a part two?” No dang it there is not!!!Get ready to ride the rollercoaster of emotions with this book. I think it is a fabulous summer read.

I found that The Paper Palace is a meticulously detailed and constructed story, that paints a vivid picture of life and emotion. It takes you through the deepest perspectives that the protagonist/her family experience throughout their lives, back and forth in time. The author creates an atmosphere that feeds a deep sea of emotions, nostalgia, and heartbreak, all while wanting to be left with hopefulness. The characters are raw, realistic, and make you question different decisions/perspectives/situations.The ending leaves you wanting more; to know what happens after it ends. It may been seen as unsatisfying to some, but I found it to be fully intentional, as to put you in the same shoes of the protagonist.I’m giving it 3.5/5, only because the details sometimes became muddy and hard to follow at times, but otherwise provided a vivid story. It is definitely something you need some tissues for, as well as the understanding that it is triggering (concerning childhood abuse), and almost leaves you with a sense of longing.

The rot, decay, and various vermin infestations of the protagonist’s family summer camp on Cape Cod is an obvious clue this will not be a frolic-y, frothy, “lite” summer romp of a read, in the spirit of, say, Elin Hilderbrand's Nantucket-based romances. Not that there’s anything wrong with Hilderbrand’s novels, which I truly enjoy and devour like snack bags of cheese doodles. By contrast, Miranda Cowley Heller’s deeply lyrical writing style, which in some places reads like Creative Writing 101 on steroids – i.e., no adjective or description left unturned – takes “some getting used to.” And then, she settles into an elegant prose reminiscent to me of the beauty of Donna Tartt’s evocative details in “The Goldfinch,” and bam – I was hooked. The novel, in “real time,” takes place over a 24-hour period, and yet covers 50 years of memories and the backstory of a deeply troubled family. In my humble opinion, the author’s method of storytelling, though at times whipsawing, meandering and even maddening, is brilliant and compelling. Yes, there are deeply disturbing and graphic episodes of child neglect, rape, and molestation, but these were essential to propel the plot – and the protagonist -- toward conclusion. And yes, some characters are underdeveloped, overdeveloped, obtuse, and/or unlikeable. But, though fictional, they are human, including the protagonist and her mother (whose actions, at some points, left me scratching my head). And readers may disagree with me, but the ending is PERFECT. In sum: go for it! I read tons of popular (and unpopular) fiction, and this is the best novel I've read this year. But, if you are looking for the literary equivalent of a beachy summer read (to which you are certainly entitled), turn elsewhere.

I wanted to love this book because I know the setting, but ultimately I didn't care about the main character. Elle is self-absorbed, pretentious and unsympathetic, despite her history.The story is told in present tense first person which creates a feeling of intimacy and immediacy, and captures the languid pace of summertime. The narrative is structured to unfold almost minute by minute on a fateful day August day, as if in real time and alternating with loads of backstory-- but this device becomes tiresome and tedious by the second half of the book. The writer has a gift for sensory details and description, but overdoes it-- devoting entire paragraphs to a fly, or an old thermos, or some other minutiae. Yes, it's a page turner, but mostly because I wanted to be done with it.As other reviewers have said, there's a whole lot of trauma and gratuitous vulgar language -- not a big problem for me (though definitely off-putting) but I can understand how some readers could be triggered or disgusted. But trauma sells and this will probably be made into an HBO drama. Ugh