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Skylight Confessions
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Skylight Confessions
Author: Alice Hoffman

Book Information
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Book Type: Paperback
Rating:

ISBN-13: 9780316017879 - ISBN-10: 0316017876
Publication Date: 2/11/2008
Pages: 304

Book Description:
"Achingly beautiful and filled with heart-wrenchingly real characters: one of Hoffman's best." -Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Writing at the height of her powers, Alice Hoffman conjures three generations of a family haunted by love.

Cool, practical, and deliberate, John is dreamy Arlyn's polar opposite. Yet the two are drawn powerfully together even when it is clear they are bound to bring each other grief. Their difficult marriage leads them and their children to a house made of glass in the Connecticut countryside, to the avenues of Manhattan , and to the blue waters of Long Island Sound. Glass breaks, love hurts, and families make their own rules. Ultimately, it falls to their grandson, Will, to solve the emotional puzzle of his family and of his own identity.

"Hoffman's shimmering, multigenerational melodrama bewitches with supernatural imagery while imaginatively dramatizing all-too-common heartaches." -Booklist

"Alice Hoffman has written her most spellbinding, accomplished novel yet. . . . Although this is Hoffman's nineteenth book, it feels utterly fresh. Her voice-touched by the cadences of fairy tales-buoys us through the novel's saddest currents." -More

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Top Member Book Reviews

Brodi W. (farfella68) wrote on 4/2/2009...

1 member(s) found this review helpful.

I have enjoyed almost all of the Alice Hoffman books, and this one is no exception. Arlyn is 17 when her father passes away. She tells herself the next man to walk down the street will become her lover and she will marry him. John is lost while driving to a party and stops at Arlyn's house to ask for directions. John tries to leaves three days later, and Arlyn follows him back to college. Eventually they do get married, but it is obvious that John really wants nothing to do with her. They have a son, whom John never interacts with. John is an architect that does a lot of travelling. Arlyn falls in love with the window washer that comes to wash the windows every week in their infamous glass house. She and the window washer, George, become lovers and a daughter is born from the connection. Arlyn breaks off the relationship. She then gets cancer and dies three months after the daughter is born. The son, Sam, is six and from then on is unreachable. John gets remarried but keeps seeing Arlyn wherever he goes. I have already gone into too much detail and hope not to spoil it. It was a really wonderful book that I read in an afternoon. I recommend this book to all Alice Hoffman fans.

Wendy C. (Froggie) wrote on 3/24/2009...

1 member(s) found this review helpful.

I just finished this book and was very dissappointed in the ending. Hoffman knows how to spin a tale for sure. I found myself not really liking any of the characters in this book yet I was having a hard time putting the book down.

Whil the story is quite unusual I found myself very interested. But, there is a point in the book where it fast-forwards about 10-15 years and then from that point the book goes downhill. It is almost like Hoffman got bored with the book and just gave up. The last half of the book could have been written by someone else because the style of writing is different and the ending makes no sense (at least to me).

I don't know what kind of recommendation to even give this book. I think it is worth the read as Hoffman is a very talented writer. But, I don't think this is her best book.


Please Rate these Book Reviews

Kayla B. wrote on 6/27/2009...


I thoroughly enjoyed Skylight Confessions.

I think the characters were well developed and intriguing, and I had a difficult time setting the book down. I read the entire thing in two sittings and when it ended, I wrote the author's name down so I can pick up more books by her.

It has an interesting ending - not the one I predicted. Typically, I prefer a different sort of ending to a story but this was unique. The story was told from different points of view and I think that really helped make each of the characters easy to relate to.

It wasn't my favorite book in the world, but I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in stories that aren't typical and predictable. I would read it again.


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