The Paper Palace (Reese’s Book Club) A Novel

Children of the 60s/70s will especially relate to many things in this book. The characters were fascinating, and there were only two unlikable characters in the book, in my opinion, and they are supposed to be unlikeable!I found Wallace’s upbringing fascinating and relatable in some ways. I would not have read this book based on the description of a married woman having slept with her childhood friend. To me, that is the secondary story of the book. I loved reading about the childhood of the main character, her mother, her sister, etc. There is a lot of bad language and very explicit sexual terms. This book in no way glamorizes incest or rape at all. So many young women experienced this, especially “back then” and before…and you didn’t talk about it! You swept it under the rug. I think many readers who were sensitive to it may be of a different generation or had a traumatizing experience themselves. Great book, great writing! Excellent character development! I only wish her decision had been different in the end.This will SURELY hit the screen in some capacity. I see Meryl Streep or Diane Keaton as Wallace. Sandra Bullock would make a great Elle, as would Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, and other great actresses whose names I don’t know.

The Paper Palace will be your next favorite book and deserves a spot on your top ten list. This literary masterpiece is Miranda Heller’s first novel. One day at their family summer Cape Cod retreat, Elle, mother of three and happily married to Peter, finally has sex with Jonas, her best friend from childhood through her teens whom she probably should have married. Three pages into the novel, Elle thinks, “I love him. I hate myself; I love myself, I hate him.” For the rest of the novel, Elle wrestles with whether to leave Peter, whom she also still loves. Elle grew up with parents and grandparents who divorced often. A sad part of the book is Elle’s protectiveness of her mother. After her mother’s broken marriages, she finally finds a man who makes her happy. However, to protect her mom and that peaceful happiness, Elle keeps a harmful secret that leads to a tragedy at Cape Cod and connects her emotionally to Jonas forever. This book is beautifully written. Normally I skim over detailed descriptions of nature, but I found myself jotting down some of Heller’s phrasing about the ocean, campsites, and swimming. Pay attention to what she says about swimming. It’s a metaphor for the book’s ending which I am sure you will want to discuss as thousand of readers are debating it on several on-line forums and at book clubs. This deeply emotional book is on several best book lists and Target and Reese’s Book Clubs. I will read this book again.

I did not expect to get swept away by this book, but amongst busy holiday preparations and kid stuff, I finished it in three days. Completely and utterly fell into the world of the paper palace. It’s not something I can explain, it’s something you have to experience. Don’t hesitate, just read it!

4.5 wth stars!!I absolutely loved this book (other then the end). This was a book with so many lessons and so many hardships. While going through the past you get to enjoy watching characters blossom. With that there was a lot of pain in so many characters lives throughout. It was necessary. I can see why this book was chosen as a book of the month club book there is ALOT to discuss. Shoot I am discussing with myself nonstop.I think my favorite part is jumping from past to present. I needed that. It was all perfectly placed as well. It gave you background on why you ended up here with these characters. I mean I was in the Paper Palace with all the girls and I grieved with them. It was not all about negative stuff there was a lot of growth and love. It felt like a true story. Like was this someone’s life because I’ll be damned if it didn’t feel like it. And so I give you my second favorite thing is the characters. Omg I love everyone of them and despise many others too. You cheer them on and you cry with them. You second guess everything and wonder what could have been as well. This book was deep for me.Be aware there is a lot triggers and that comes with people writing all these negative reviews. What I say to that is know your boundaries and what you are comfortable with. There are warnings and people say I can’t handle child sexual trauma and that’s understandable. But it’s a part of a story. It builds this story. The pain, the strength, the hopelessness leads to the growth. I don’t think it was done poorly either this is real to some peoples life and I think it felt like it could have happened to anyone. Sadly it has.Now my only critique and the reason I could not give this 5 stars is because the damn ending. She left me. She has me mind boggled. And in some case that’s good.I guess it made me think non-stop about this book, so yea, that’s good. But I need more!! I told my hubby about it because even the next day I am frustrated. He says “is there a part two?” No dang it there is not!!!Get ready to ride the rollercoaster of emotions with this book. I think it is a fabulous summer read.

Loved the beginning and most of the book. However, kept waiting for what I wanted to happen and it never happened so it keeps you guessing. I would have loved different ending.