The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett takes the age old question of "what could have been?" and blows it up. It's just a regular day in 1958 in Cambridge. Will Eva meet Jim that day on the side of the road or will he pass her by? If she does meet Jim, do they fall in love right then? We start with just this single scene, but then we follow three versions of the lives Eva and Jim might live.
The Good: It's an interesting premise. I felt like some of the portrayals of daily life in a long-term relationship were particularly well done, if a bit stressful for me to read. I ended up thinking about this book a lot - what's The Moment in my life when everything changed? Is my husband secretly cheating on me with a much younger woman at work? Which one of the versions is actually the "happiest"? So, if nothing else, this was a thought-provoking book.
The Bad: Boy, was this book ever confusing to read. There are complex relationships in each timeline and you had to keep track of each one. You should see my notes for this book - just to keep track of who is with who and who has what child and what's even going on. I think it would have been better if it had been told as all of version one, then all of version two, and then all of version three instead of alternating chapters.
The Ugly: Why are we rooting for this couple anyway? There's not a single version in which the two main characters don't cheat on each other and/or other people. I know that adultery happens, but would it have done Barnett a personal injury to have at least one version in which the hard work to maintain relationships is done? It could still have been difficult and presented challenges and added to the plot. I know I've preached about this before, but I think there's room in contemporary literature for more portrayals of successful long-term relationships and I wish Barnett had noticed that lack in the market and fulfilled it partly in this novel.
So, there you have it. I thought about this book a lot. It made me melancholy. But I don't think I really liked it.
3/5 stars
I love the concept of "what could have been" but I'm not sure if this book sounds like it's for me.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it was a great conceit, but the execution was not exactly what I wanted.
DeleteHmmm. Interesting that you thought about this book a lot (which usually is the mark of a good book for me) but ultimately decided you didn't like it. The premise sounds good, but it does sound confusing. I agree, I think I would like it better if it just told all of one story, then the next, then the next. My TBR is so long, this probably won't get on it. OH, but I've started The Assassin's Apprentice! I'm only about 50 pages in but I'm enjoying it so far.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm so happy you're reading The Assassin's Apprentice! It's really a gateway into a crazy saga.
DeleteI often play the What Could Have Been Game myself. So many different variables of our lives could change with one single thing.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to enjoy people who are cheaters. Right?
It IS hard to enjoy endless chapters of cheating. I want to be able to root for someone, right? Ha. I guess if all authors did was write about happy relationships, there'd be no conflict and literature would be very boring.
DeleteThis sounds very similar to the Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano! Except in that one there were MANY MORE lives to keep track of so it was even more confusing. But I agree that we need more explorations of long-term relationships/middle marriage that doesn't revolve around a cheating plotline.
ReplyDeleteOh, no! I found this one confusing - I'll definitely steer away from Rose Napolitano.
DeleteThis is a book that I abandoned! I was so confused and frustrated by how confused I was, so I gave up! I liked the premise of the book but the execution just wasn't there for me.
ReplyDeleteIt's a relief to hear that I wasn't the only one who found the structure confusing. I knew as soon as I had to go get a second post-it note for tracking who was who that I was in for quite a process!
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