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A review by heidirgorecki
Hidden Treasures by Michelle Adams
2.0
I’m not quite sure what to say about this one, but I felt like it was an overall rather unlikeable book, and felt constantly frustrated with each of the characters. I almost gave up about 20% in but pushed thru to finish it, however I didn’t change my mind by the end even so.
This is a dual timeline between 1981 and 2022. It really had almost nothing to do with WW2 but a rather inconsequential detail about the box that was a central item in the book, so just a heads up to other readers like me who thought, based on the description, that WW2 was a far more central theme/setting.
The major issue for me was that for the whole book, practically every character was lying to or hiding things from each other, refused to risk vulnerability, and constantly abandoned each other. No one fought for each other or their circumstances - they just let life happen to them.
The abandonment/leaving was a consistent theme in the book, but it wasn’t even viewed as a negative half the time. Even in the ending the sentiment was, if you love something you’ll set if free - and while in theory that’s true, in this setting where people were constantly either leaving each other or not fighting in the least for each other, that no longer holds true. At that point it just becomes an excuse to be selfish and self-protecting, or just resigned and lazy.
In addition, there were a number of unrealistic factors. A 16 year old that’s orphaned, legally can’t be left as an adult - she’d be in foster care even if she is a mother so she would not have been alone or been able to make some of the decisions she did. And for a 30 year old man to not just find and renew relationship with his biological mother but to decide to live with her - in her hoarding environment that you have to tunnel to the kitchen or sleep in a chair because you can’t get to a bedroom?? And in the process completely ditch every relationship but your work? Not believable. There were many others as well. It made the story hard to swallow, in addition to the unlike-ability of the above.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a dual timeline between 1981 and 2022. It really had almost nothing to do with WW2 but a rather inconsequential detail about the box that was a central item in the book, so just a heads up to other readers like me who thought, based on the description, that WW2 was a far more central theme/setting.
The major issue for me was that for the whole book, practically every character was lying to or hiding things from each other, refused to risk vulnerability, and constantly abandoned each other. No one fought for each other or their circumstances - they just let life happen to them.
The abandonment/leaving was a consistent theme in the book, but it wasn’t even viewed as a negative half the time. Even in the ending the sentiment was, if you love something you’ll set if free - and while in theory that’s true, in this setting where people were constantly either leaving each other or not fighting in the least for each other, that no longer holds true. At that point it just becomes an excuse to be selfish and self-protecting, or just resigned and lazy.
In addition, there were a number of unrealistic factors. A 16 year old that’s orphaned, legally can’t be left as an adult - she’d be in foster care even if she is a mother so she would not have been alone or been able to make some of the decisions she did. And for a 30 year old man to not just find and renew relationship with his biological mother but to decide to live with her - in her hoarding environment that you have to tunnel to the kitchen or sleep in a chair because you can’t get to a bedroom?? And in the process completely ditch every relationship but your work? Not believable. There were many others as well. It made the story hard to swallow, in addition to the unlike-ability of the above.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.