Can't see why it was listed as 100 notable books 2013. The first part about Bea and her life 'sums up' and gives spoilers about the rest of her life about 1/3 of the way through the book. As if the author was tired of writing. Then it becomes diaries you can't tell whose, and disjointed things, more disjointed things and grandkids and too many names you don't recognize as grandkids or great-grandkids...and nothing meaningful. I was disappointed. Instead of feeling like an interesting construction for the book it felt like the author gave up, then made a mess of notes and tried to work them in for an ending. The entire last 2/3 was boring. Sorry, I tried to like it. I didn't get out of it the intense overwhelming feeling of a family coming back to the place they love as I was supposed to. You really couldn't emotionally connect with any of the numerous characters the way it was written.
