hard to follow characters and choppy language. stopped reading 1/4 through. Maybe will finish another time ( )

hard to follow characters and choppy language. stopped reading 1/4 through. Maybe will finish another time ( )

I picked up this book on sale on impulse, and I am so lost. I haven't even gotten halfway through it. I cannot keep up with all the names of the women and who their husbands are. Sometimes they are mentioned by first name, sometimes by last name. What happened to the 3 year old baby that fell? I was just at that part and tried to skim ahead a little but ugh. I'm not sure I can finish this.

Reading the other reviews here and I think other people have already said it. Beware. This might be a good story somewhere but I'm lost, completely lost! ( )

This is the story of a beach community in the summer of 1963, the year Cleopatra, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, was released. The community of Kalyna Beach consists of Ukrainian first and second generation families. The women stay all summer at the beach and the men drive up from Toronto every weekend.

I was not impressed by this book. It seemed to lack focus and I just couldn't keep track of the people. There were so many women and children and the names were so similar that I kept mixing them up. Plus the impact "Cleopatra" had on the community seems excessive as compared to what I recall about that movie. I was 10 years old in 1963 and I don't remember much fuss about it. I probably wouldn't have been allowed to see it but if it was a movie that was that pervasive I would have been aware of it and dying to see it.

Maybe if I was Ukrainian I would have gotten more out of the book because there are lots of sayings in Ukrainian that aren't translated. However, I think the story is meant to be more universal than that and it was not. ( )

The tumultuous 60's have not yet touched the women of Kalyna Beach. As first generation Ukrainian Canadians, they are enjoying advantages their parents never were able to provide. While their husbands work in the city, the women and their children are able to summer at their cottages. Each Friday, the husbands join them for the weekend; it doesn't get better than this.

Women cannot leave their work behind; the daily schedule still requires all the attendant duties. Instilled are the cultural rules and mores that not only bind them, but unconsciously pit woman against woman on a daily basis.

Friday afternoon gin and book discussions provide their respite before the men return. On Sasha's porch, they gather to discuss their books; books hidden in secret places in each cottage; what a disgrace it would be for a child or husband to find a copy of FANNIE HILL Relaxed and amiable, the discussions eventually digress to gossip.

With the release of the movie Cleopatra, Elizabeth Taylor provides a provocative twist to previous discussions. Richard Burton is rebuked, but given this group's mindset; Elizabeth Taylor as woman has taken the low moral ground and cannot be forgiven.

Each woman carries her secret burden: Sonia, a mother with four daughters drifts to thoughts of her previous life as a model. She and Laura, her oldest clash as Sonia struggles to regain her lost self while Laura begins the journey to find herself.

Sasha asserts herself as the group leader, intent upon keeping the ladies in line, while she struggles with her own ideology. Nadia, wife of the most successful man among them, flits in and out, a butterfly searching for the most fragrant flower.

The end-of-season party at Nadia and Jack's villa approaches and all that was will never be the same. Secrets are discovered, and promises are broken. Will summer at Kaylna Beach ever be the same?

I didn't want this book to end; it was a fantastic read. A different culture, but similar to mine as an immigrant of Polish descent. This book gave me a better understanding of my mother; especially as I read about Chucha Marta's past.

I read Caramelo recently, and was amazed how different cultures adapt to their new environment. Some flourish, some remain forever imbedded in the Old Country. ( )