I really enjoyed the format of this book. Each chapter is told from the viewpoint of that particular character. I feel like as a reader this helps you to learn each character in the story in a more intimate way, versus just from the voice of a narrator. It was also exciting to have heard about a character from others and then get to the chapter where you got to hear from "them" and their side of the story. It felt almost like you were finally getting to "meet" somebody you'd only heard about.
I think the story did a beautiful job of exploring the different relationships of mother and daughter, sisters, husband and wife, and parent and child. There were a lot of characters to build different dynamics, but not so many that you lost track of who was who or felt like they took away from the story.
It's been a few days since I finished reading this book and I find myself missing the characters, wishing I had more pages to read to revisit them again.

I admit, when I opened the mail and saw the size of this book, I was overwhelmed. Once I began reading, I was done with it within 3 days.
While the book is certainly long, and in parts very wordy and descriptive, it still holds your attention. Even though it is part of a saga, it still is able to stand on its own. The characters are well developed and the storyline has many twists and folds and subjects, so you never feel like you're in an area too long.
I loved imagining New Zealand while reading, all the beauty and different towns the characters visited and toured. The native aspect was interesting and so was the sheep farmer part. It's a book with so many different cultures and areas and stories, that you constantly feel drawn in and fulfilled. To go from a small town with an inn, to huge estates, to sheep farms and barns, to native villages, to musical tours and performance houses, to a poor mining village, to brothels, etc. made the length seem valid. There was so much to tell and describe, it was ever changing. If the author had only 3 or 4 things to discuss in 700 pages I would get bored, but she kept a great pace with lots of subjects, locations, and character lines.
Upon completion of the book, I ordered the prequel so I could learn about the previous generation. And I'm looking forward to future books to see where the story unfolds in the future!

I really found this book interesting because it focused on things I don't know about - rowing, and National Geographic film making. Both were fascinating to learn about. At times I really felt like I was in the sweaty exercise room, one of the team. Or I felt like I was in the studio apartment with cabin fever from hours of editing.

I did find parts kind of slow going. We didn't need to hear about every.single.stroke of an exercise, or we didn't need to know excessive details (like about the shed, for example) that weren't pertinent to the storyline. The middle of the book had the feeling of a movie that ran about 30 minutes longer than it should have, in my opinion.

I thought the beginning was brilliant. You were hooked immediately and you knew the story was going to culminate and explain this big secret that rowing team shared with a dramatic climax.

I loved learning about the team members and I loved that the storyline kept switching to keep your attention and leave you wondering. We were looking at Rob's present with Carolyn, the past with Carolyn, his past at the school, his past with his family, and eventually the present at school, with the team, and with Carolyn at once.

As tiring as parts of the middle were, I'm glad I stuck it out. It was a great book I'm glad to have finished. I finished a few days ago and find myself missing the characters and the team's practice and progress.

Five Days is the story about one woman's life and how everything can change in the blink of an eye.

We're introduced to the character in her "every day" life. Her job, her family, her husband, and just day-to-day routine. The next three days entail a work trip to nearby Boston and how events are set in motion to change her life forever. The last day is a year later, checking in on the storyline and seeing where the dust settled after those events.

The beginning and end of the book are well written. Pretty captivating, hook you in to the story, develop characters, and hold your attention.

The middle of the book is incredibly long winded and slow. I actually had to set the book down and didn't pick it up again for about a week because this part was so boring to me.

The heroine is very hard to like. In the beginning of the book we see snippets of her being short tempered, jumping down a stranger's throat, undermining her husband's parenting, and the like. By the center of the book she is a complete pompous snob. Exactly like Diane Chambers from Cheers. You want to like her, and she's the star, but boy does she REALLY grate on your nerves sometimes. Even making her husband a very pessimistic jerk doesn't do much in the way of pleading a case where you take sympathy and feel sorry enough to like her or bond with her.

Overall it's a very cool concept to have a whole novel showcase such a short part of a character's life and the impact that moments in time can have on a person's life. I just wish the heroine was more likeable and that it moved faster in some parts. Not a book you would re-read, but not a book to overlook either.

I was nervous to begin this book, described on the cover, by the author, as "fifty four variations on voice." I was afraid it would seem disjointed and I wouldn't "get it." Surprisingly, the pages just flew by and before I knew it, I had finished from cover to cover in just 3 hours!

I have never read any of Williams' prior works, including the precursor to this, "Refuge." Because of my unfamiliarity, it took me a bit to realize where she was going. I was unsure if this was a novel, fiction, biography, or a combination of the three. Once I stopped trying to put a label on it and just enjoyed it, I stopped caring.

As included in the book, it's about: Great Salt Lake, Bear River Bird Refuge, Flood, Division of Wildlife Resources, Mother, Family, Cancer, Mormon Church. The author realized none of these had anything to do with one another. Until she realized, they all had to do with her. With the author as the common denominator, she does manage to weave all of these subjects together in one story.

The only part of the book which felt slow to me was the part about Congress and lobbying and board meetings with male chauvinists. I felt this had a political agenda vibe and also had a few hypocrisies. That's just not my cup of tea.

The rest of the book with quotes, poetry snippets, personal recaps, historical and cultural lore, is quite captivating. It feels a bit like Wikipedia, in that information is presented in an encyclopedic way, but at the same time it's approachable and not overly scholarly and pretentious.

Overall, it left me with the feeling that I'd enjoyed a really diverse, interesting conversation with a bright woman.

I found this book hard to get through. It was a slow read, difficult to pick up again.
I found the story a bit far fetched, with plot lines I just found unbelievable. I could not get past these holes to fully believe the book or actions of the characters.
I also do not agree this book is about a family, or even the rebuilding of a family. I found this book to be a lot more about pedophiles and perverse things. It actually was unsettling to read an entire book devoted to this subject, especially featuring underage children and related family members.
I have never read a book with this subject as the plot and am unsure which category to even place it in. I suppose crime or suspense. However, the ending has no true resolution. A lot of the questions formed remain unanswered, or vaguely touched upon, left to the reader's imagination to fill in the blanks.
Overall, this book left me with a disturbed feeling. I read it on high alert, weary of upsetting plot lines. I wish more pages had been devoted to the family and their rebuilding, as well as resolving the crimes for a more concrete ending.