Looking Back

Looking Back
By Belva Plain
1402520689 (book on CD)

This was supposed to be a book about a group of three girls who graduate college together and go off into the world, their friendship as the years pass and their lives inevitably change. Instead, it is a book about one of the girls, the others are just supporting characters. We never know enough about anyone other than Amanda for the last few chapters to 1) make sense or 2) be cared about. Once the main character is gone, the rest just seems empty. Not that the story was wonderful when Amanda was there. Her motivations made no sense and her incessant internal ramblings were, quite frankly, boring. I'll spoil the story, although most people will see the plot coming around page 50. I never understood how her affair could consume all her thoughts. Didn't she have a life? Yes, love is all-encompassing and all that, but it seemed that she did nothing but obsess over her feelings. Were we supposed to feel sorry for her? I wasn't ever sure, because I didn't. I'll try another book by this author, since she's highly respected, but this one fell very short of the mark.

6/10