Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Knopf Publishing Group (2014). Hardback, 288p.
Description
"From the author of the best-selling and universally adored No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series--a stand-alone, big-hearted, and often heartbreaking novel about unrequited love and the unexpected places it takes us. At age 4, Thursday chooses her own name. At age 6, she falls in love with her best friend, James, with whom she happily spends all her time. But in the adult world, things are not so simple: at the same time that Thursday's mother finds she's fallen out of love with her husband, she realizes that James's father is interested in her. As the children grow into adulthood, their connection becomes more complicated as well: James drifts away from Thursday, but she keeps him in her sights: she attends the same college in Scotland and then follows him to London, Sydney, Singapore, rebuilding her life in every city, hoping each time that James will see what he is missing. As Thursday and James, and their parents, navigate their irresistible but baffling mazes of emotion, we are given a beautifully realized tale about how love, even if unrequited, can shape a life"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Clara53
I honestly think that when A.McCall Smith ventures into more "weighty", serious tone of writing (like in "Trains and Lovers"), and away from the likes of his "44 Scotland Street", "Corduroy Mansions" or even the mildly philosophical Isabel Dalhousie series, he loses. His charming, light, cosy prose
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becomes oversimplified (even though not without insights - like the ones on the subject of "love" in this one - but somehow ordinary). Being a seasoned writer, it still comes out all right, but not as perfect as his smashingly successful aforementioned series. Show Less
LibraryThing member brangwinn
I'm a big Alexander McCall Smith fan, but I hope this book will not have a sequel. The best part of the book was the settings, the Caribbean, Scotland, Australia, and Singapore. Clover and James have grown up on Grand Caymen, Clover falls in love with her best friend, but James only sees her as a
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sister. I just wanted to say "give up the lost love and move on, Clover! That Padriac you're dating looks like a good guy." I guess I should be glad the ending made Clover happy. But she still should have moved on with her life! Show Less
LibraryThing member em0451
The Forever Girl follows the love stories (or perhaps lack of love stories?) of a mother and daughter. Amanda, the mother, who has been married for years with two children, slowly realizes that she has fallen out of love with her husband. Meanwhile her daughter Clover falls in love with her
First, I really didn't like the way Amanda just decided she had fallen out of love with her husband. She seemed so flippant about the idea, like it wasn't a big deal at all. And the conversation about it between Amanda and her husband David felt the same. In the matter of just a few sentences, they both agreed they didn't love each other and they should separate, as if neither of them had any sort of feelings at all. It just didn't feel realistic to me.
I can see how many people would not like Clover as a character, as she is fairly pathetic in her continual moping about James and her refusal to move on with her life. I didn't find this as obnoxious as others have described, and I think I preferred her story over Amanda's story. But by the end, I was ready to shout at her, "Either move on or tell him how you feel already!!"
This story held my interest at times, while at other times I didn't care much what was happening. Towards the end, Clover goes to Australia and Singapore, and it was at this point that I thought the book was finally getting interesting. At least it felt like something was finally going to happen! Then the book ended. I don't want to spoil the ending, but it was very sudden and not really that believable based on everything that had already happened in the book. It kind of felt like Mary Poppins just walked in and snapped her fingers and everything fell into place. If Alexander McCall Smith wanted to end his book this way, he should have written it in more detail to help the readers understand why the characters were doing what they are doing, which might possibly make it a more believable and realistic ending.
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childhood best friend, but he doesn't seem to feel the same way about her. That's pretty much the story as this novel follows them through the years of their lives.First, I really didn't like the way Amanda just decided she had fallen out of love with her husband. She seemed so flippant about the idea, like it wasn't a big deal at all. And the conversation about it between Amanda and her husband David felt the same. In the matter of just a few sentences, they both agreed they didn't love each other and they should separate, as if neither of them had any sort of feelings at all. It just didn't feel realistic to me.
I can see how many people would not like Clover as a character, as she is fairly pathetic in her continual moping about James and her refusal to move on with her life. I didn't find this as obnoxious as others have described, and I think I preferred her story over Amanda's story. But by the end, I was ready to shout at her, "Either move on or tell him how you feel already!!"
This story held my interest at times, while at other times I didn't care much what was happening. Towards the end, Clover goes to Australia and Singapore, and it was at this point that I thought the book was finally getting interesting. At least it felt like something was finally going to happen! Then the book ended. I don't want to spoil the ending, but it was very sudden and not really that believable based on everything that had already happened in the book. It kind of felt like Mary Poppins just walked in and snapped her fingers and everything fell into place. If Alexander McCall Smith wanted to end his book this way, he should have written it in more detail to help the readers understand why the characters were doing what they are doing, which might possibly make it a more believable and realistic ending.
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LibraryThing member St.CroixSue
This is one of McCall Smith’s ‘stand alone’ novels about love, deception, choices and consequence set on the island of Grand Cayman's community of wealthy expatriates and in Scotland.
LibraryThing member alanna1122
I really enjoy Alexander McCall Smith. I am amazed at how many characters and stories he has in his head.
So far I have been reading two of his series - 44 Scotland St (my favorite) and No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.
This book doesn't have the overall charm of the other two series - but I thought
******************SPOILERS*************
The main character in this book is called Clover and she is hung up on a boy that she grew up with and then grew apart from. She ages and goes to school and lives her life but can not shake her feelings of love for him and that she is destined to be with him or with no one at all. She lives a life distracted and unhappy always longing for him.
It sounds like a downer of a book - and although it sometimes almost gets a bit uncomfortable at the lengths she goes to force their lives to intersect, there was something that felt very true and made me feel sympathetic towards her.
I enjoyed it very much but would suspect it is not everyone's cup of tea.
So far I have been reading two of his series - 44 Scotland St (my favorite) and No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.
This book doesn't have the overall charm of the other two series - but I thought
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it was very good anyway.******************SPOILERS*************
The main character in this book is called Clover and she is hung up on a boy that she grew up with and then grew apart from. She ages and goes to school and lives her life but can not shake her feelings of love for him and that she is destined to be with him or with no one at all. She lives a life distracted and unhappy always longing for him.
It sounds like a downer of a book - and although it sometimes almost gets a bit uncomfortable at the lengths she goes to force their lives to intersect, there was something that felt very true and made me feel sympathetic towards her.
I enjoyed it very much but would suspect it is not everyone's cup of tea.
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LibraryThing member nyiper
Loved the book and listened to the audio version read by Susan Lyons. How does Smith do it again and again? This is such a sad/sweet story. The pauses by the reader are perfect. Alexander McCall Smith is incredibly prolific and just plain amazingly delightful with his imagination.
LibraryThing member TerriS
I think I have read all of Alexander McCall Smith's books and usually really like them. But, I hate to say -- this one was a waste of time, and really not even written that well, IMO. It is about a girl who "falls in love" with a boy when they are both 6 yrs old & continues to love him into her
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early 20's even though he barely pays any attention to her. And, not to give anything away, the whole issue resolves itself in the last 3 pages of the book in a very cliche way. Also, there were parts of it that I couldn't even figure out why they were included. I'll keep reading his books, but I'm sorry, I'd tell anyone to skip this one. :/ Show Less
LibraryThing member nyiper
Well, I did it. I usually check my Library Thing listings to see IF I have read/listened to the books/CDs in my hand(s)--but I was just SURE I hadn't heard this one before and, I didn't recognize it until I entered it into my LibraryThing books---and there it was---I loved it when I listened to it
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two years ago---and I loved it again, now. However, the fact that I didn't recognize ANY of it leads me to wonder just what goes on in my head when I listen. Oh well---it was still good. Show Less
LibraryThing member INorris
This is not my favorite book by this author.
LibraryThing member Charlotte1162
Unconvincing.
Original publication date
2014-06-03
ISBN
9780553544329
Local notes
Amanda and her husband, David, feel fortunate to be raising their son and daughter in the close-knit community of ex-pats on Grand Cayman Island, an idyllic place for children to grow up. Their firstborn, Sally, has always listened to her heart, deciding at age four that she would rather be called Clover and then, a few years later, falling in love with her best friend, James. But the comforting embrace of island life can become claustrophobic for adults, especially when they are faced with difficult situations. At the same time that Clover falls in love with James, Amanda realises that she has fallen out of love with David and that she is interested in someone else.