Off Season

Outstanding work Ms. Siddons! Loved it...

I am a huge ARS fan. The first ARS book that I read of hers was 'Colony' and I loved it. Sine then, I have read almost all of her books. 'Off Season' is very reminiscent of 'Colony' with a big twist and a surprise ending, dare I say, a la J. Picoult, that has apparently stunned her readers based on many reviews that I have read. However, instead of being disappointed with this ending, I relished it 'but only after reading those last few pages about 2 or 3 times...'! I enjoyed the complex writing at the end. Why do books have to tie-up so nice & neat in the final pages in black and white for so many readers? I find nice & neat endings predictable and boring. If you have read ARS's 1978 classic, 'The House Next Door' then you would know that this type of story ending is not uncommon for ARS. 'If you have not read THND, then read it soon!' THND book & ending left me thinking about it and talking about it for days with other ARS readers. I am happy to say that 'Off Season' has left me in the same frame of mind! I love an ending that stays in my mind for days and leaves me wanting to discuss with so many others who have read it. Thank you Ms. Siddons!

7 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

Ugh.

I have tried to read this book for weeks, picking it up time after time, slogging through chapters, waiting to be grabbed. It's not happening. It's slow and the storyline is not well represented in the synopsis. I'm only halfway through and may not make it the rest of the way. Save yourself the frustration. Choose a different title.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Lyrical and Compelling

OFF SEASON
Anne Rivers Siddons
Grand Central Publishing
$13.99
358 pages
ISBN: 978-0-446-52787-3
Reviewer: Annie Slessman

I have been a regular reader of Anne Rivers Siddons works. Her writing is somewhat "lyrical" or what my writer teacher would deem as descriptive writing. OFF SEASON, her latest works, is no exception.

The story begins as Lilly loses her beloved husband, Cam. They had been partners in the truest sense and were thought of as a happy couple by those who knew them best. When Lilly loses Cam suddenly she travels back to the place she had spent her best childhood years and the place where she and Cam had fell in love - the Coast of Maine.

When Lilly arrives at their beach cottage in Maine she spends her days reliving her childhood years, the love she once lost as a child and discovers secrets about Cam she never wanted to know.

The story is one that will keep you reading, so don't expect to get anything accomplished while reading this work. It is a compelling tale of a woman's lost love and her attempt to deal with the ghosts that surround her.

The ending is a surprising one and no, I didn't see it coming. I thought I knew all the tricks of the trade and should have been able to figure out the ending of this tale. This was not to be. If you buy one summer book, make it OFF SEASON.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Off Season

I really enjoyed this book. I have lived long enough to experience the loss of a loved one. People that we love dearly can disappoint us too. And there are mysteries following death that have no explanation. I loved the ending too! Meoow!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Loved the book

Anne Siddons is one of my favorite authors. I really enjoyed the book. Was caught off guard by the ending. It's well worth the time to read and enjoy. I'll be re-reading in the near future.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Surprise ending but overall classic Siddons

While I agree with the other reviewers that the ending is a surprise and I found quite confusing as well as atypical of Anne Rivers Siddons - it seemed to lack the detail and emotional backstop that her story lines usually have - I nonetheless enjoyed it immensely. Several points of contention with one reviewer, however - nowhere did I get the impression that the main character Lilly hated her father, quite the opposite to the extent that she felt both protective of him and protected by him, and I feel it's quite a stretch to say that Peaches coveted specifically a father who taught at GW, etc. - it would give away some juicy details to mention why, but I simply can't agreet with that assessment. Aside from that,Siddons' way of describing people and places continues to enthrall me.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I am only about 1/3 of the way through this book and moderately

I am only about 1/3 of the way through this book and moderately enjoying it. However, I have come to the part where she expresses her political leanings by gratuitously tossing her political opinions into the story; i.e., the vile old man and the unlikeable father of the boy are Republicans. The rest of the really nice people are Democrats. I have absolutely no interest in her political opinions and they have absolutely nothing to do with the story line. She has done this time and again in various books and it has annoyed me to the point of coloring my enjoyment of her book, so I just won't purchase them anymore.

Recommend

Anne Rivers Siddons has created another good ¿colony¿ tale in OFF SEASON. Still reeling from her husband¿s death, 58 year-old Lily Constable McCall escapes to her family summer home in Edgewater, Maine. Here, Lily is truly happy. A malevolent spirit has kept her safe since the summer of 1962, when her world began to spin out her control. She gained her 1st love and lost Jon there. Her free-spirited mother found her voice as an upcoming painter and activist there. Her father buried himself in College Academia there. And she married Cam there. Here in Edgewater, Cam¿s ashes will be spread ¿ he loved the house as much as she did. He died here too. We learn of Lily¿s 11th summer as she remembers. She talks to Silas, Cam¿s grumpy cat and to the kind spirit that is close to her. We learn of Peaches Davenport¿s treachery that summer amid Lily¿s first love and outings on the island. Then we see her troubled relationship with her parents and her somewhat unconventional courtship with Cam McCall who has suffered loss early in his own childhood, before their two daughters come for Cam¿s ceremony. But the ending of OFF SEASON is jarring and unexpected. I have to ask why Siddons ended Lily story in that manner. Strong characters and story does NOT make up for that ending. I took 1 star off of a beautifully written novel because of that ending.

Loved it - you must check it out!

Off Season is a nostalgic look at childhood, young love, and how it influences the adult one becomes. Lilly has returned in the off season to the island cabin her parents took her every summer as a child. Her husband has passed away and she has sought refuge in the place that holds so many memories for her. It kept me riveted through each chapter and has a surprise ending. You must check it out!

Not her best

Not one of my favorite reads from this author. I found it to be a little slow and I wanted it to end long before I got to the last page. Too bad as I usually love Anne.

Off Season

Hard to get into. But once you do it is a great book.

Still with me .....

Really enjoyed this ARS book. Haunting but beautifully written. The story and characters are still with me. Immediately passed it on to a friend who I suspect hears her cat talking, too. I know mine does!

awful book

very very depressing from beginning to end. must not ever read another book from this author.

Just awful!

She created the characters and they all changed half-way through - no rhyme or reason to any of them. The story never came together. Terrible book.

Loved it!

A must read. The story and characters stay with you long after finishing the book.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Hard to say

While I enjoyed the words, sometimes re-reading sentences about family, death and love, I was very surprised by the ending and didn't care for it. The 11 year old romance seemed a little far-fetched to me. Like her conversations with the cat! I guess sometimes I like a happy ending.

Another great book by ARS

I bought this book a year ago and have a hard time making time to read. Once I finally got into the meat of this book, I couldn't put it down! I was sucked in and couldn't wait for the next spare moment I had to pick it up again.

IT WAS GREAT

I REALLY LIKE THIS BOOK. TO BE HONSET IT WAS BORING IN THE BEINGING BUT AS I READ ON I GOT LOST IN THE BOOK SHE REALLY MAKE U FEEL LIKE YOU ARE IN THE COAST OF MAINE AND THE FEELING OF YOUR FIRST LOVE SEEM TO COME BACK.

Do not get sucked into reading or purchasing this book from the fawning reviews!!

Read Colony. Just about the same book and well written. Has no one noticed how similar these 2 books are? Nothing like throwing in the son no one knows about until the end. There really wasn't much about Lilly and Cam in the story. It really should be filed under fantasy. I think ARS has passed her prime. There was an interview with ARS at the back of my paperback that asked her about her writing process. She stated that her editors have NEVER asked her to do a rewrite. I think her editors need to earn their money. I will not be buying her next book.

0 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Good character development, but not much plot to speak of

I'm shocked by the positive reviews this book has received. "Off Season" was a real yawner for me. The author certainly has a gift for description, but most of the things she describes (at great, nauseating length) are completely unimportant to the characters, plot, or outcome. And nothing seemed to happen for many, many pages. I felt the story could have been told in half the pages.

The last couple pages were good, but the book did not live up to the expectations that the book's inside-the-cover description set up for me. In fact, it didn't even come close. I wondered, most of the way through the book, if the publisher had accidentally attached the wrong description to the book jacket.