I was about a third of the way through this book when I realized it didn’t really have a plot. And I didn’t mind at all. This novel was a very in-depth character study of a woman named Rhoda, who, at the beginning of the novel, was expecting her first child. The story began in 1940 and continued over an almost 20-year period, all taking place from Rhoda’s point of view. She didn’t narrate the novel, but the story was told from her point of view.
Rhoda was not always the most likeable character, but she was certainly fascinating, mostly in the relationships that she had with her daughters. You could clearly see how she was driving her daughters away from her with her behavior towards them, so that even though their actions were continually a surprise to Rhoda, they were less of a surprise to the reader.
Rhoda led a seemingly ordinary life, but the author turned it into something extraordinary. Even though I didn’t always like Rhoda, I felt like I understood her motives and her behavior.
