The Sins of the Mother: A Novel Author: Danielle Steel | Language: English | ISBN:
B008ADQLZ2 | Format: PDF
The Sins of the Mother: A Novel Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Every woman makes choices. And no one has made more difficult choices than Olivia Grayson. The enormously successful businesswoman missed out on much of her children’s lives while she built her legendary home-furnishings empire. In Danielle Steel’s character-rich new novel, Olivia faces the past, tries to balance the present, and makes amends where due, while still running her vastly successful business.
THE SINS OF THE MOTHER As a way of making up to them for time lost, Olivia spends months every year planning a lavish holiday that everyone in her family will enjoy. This summer she has arranged a dream trip in the Mediterranean on a luxurious yacht, which she hopes will be the most memorable vacation of all. Her lavish gesture every year expresses her love for them, and regret at all the important times she missed during her children’s younger years. Her younger daughter, Cassie, a hip London music producer, refuses the invitation altogether, as she does every year. Her older daughter, Liz, lives in her mother’s shadow, with a terror of failure as she tries to recapture her dream of being a writer. And her sons, John and Phillip, work for Olivia, for better or worse, with wives who wish they didn’t. In the splendor of the Riviera, this should be a summer to remember, with Olivia’s children, grandchildren, and daughters-in-law on board. But as with any family gathering, there are always surprises, and no matter how glamorous the setting things don’t always turn out as ones hopes.
Family dynamics are complicated, old disappointments die hard, and as forgiveness and surprising revelations enter into it, new bonds are formed, and the future takes on a brighter hue. And one by one, with life’s irony, Olivia’s children find themselves committing the same “sins” for which they blamed their mother for so many years. It is a summer of compassion, important lessons, and truth.
The Sins of the Mother captures the many sides of family love: complex, challenging, funny, passionate, and hopefully enduring. Along the way, we are enthralled by an unforgettable heroine, a mother strong enough to take more than her fair share of the blame, wise enough to respect her children for who they really are, and forgiving enough to love them unconditionally.
BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Danielle Steel's Winners.- File Size: 1477 KB
- Print Length: 370 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0385343205
- Publisher: Delacorte Press (October 30, 2012)
- Sold by: Random House LLC
- Language: English
- ASIN: B008ADQLZ2
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,264 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #44
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Women's Fiction > Sagas - #63
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Family Life - #64
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Sagas
- #44
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Women's Fiction > Sagas - #63
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Family Life - #64
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Sagas
A few of DS's recent books have been readable and higher concept. But Friends Forever signaled a reversion to thin plots, hastily crafted scenes, and detail overload. Unfortunately, The Sins of the Mother suffers from the same problems.
We're given a glimpse into the world of Olivia Greyson...er, Grayson (has DS been watching Revenge?) as she manages a global business called The Factory. She's a workaholic and left the raising of her children to her husband and mother. To win back their affections she indulges them with a luxury vacation every year. It takes ninety pages to get to the South of France, where a world-class yacht waits to transport the Grayson family to Mediteranean hotspots like Portofino and Elba.
An overwhelming number of characters bounces in and out of the sputtering plot. The descriptions of the destinations are disappointing, even mundane, and the dialogue is uninspired ("No more travel plans for August?"). Much of it rephrases what has already been explained in paragraph upon paragraph of narrative. I had a hard time developing an emotional connection to the characters. Liz was too spineless, and how her "allegorical" book will have commercial appeal remains to be explained. (It's ridiculous to think she wouldn't at least know her previous literary agent had died.) Amanda reminded me of Brianna from Betrayal, especially with her ultimatums and luxury label addiction, and Granibelle was a lot like Buster, another character from Betrayal. Olivia's relationship to her grandson, Alex (who is about to enter college but sounds like he's ten years old for much of the trip), had potential, but a more skillful writer could have handled his revelation with more sensitivity and realism.
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