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Everything She Thought She Wanted: A Novel
Customer Reviews
Rating:  - Entertainment-lite
A good kick-back and enjoy the feminine view of life novel. I enjoy her work. Entertaining without too much thinking-good for just before bed or relaxing by the beach or pool.
Rating:  - Not what I wanted
I couldn't identify with either of the main characters, and the time shifts were maddening. Just as I adjusted to switching from present day to the 50s, the author would make another leap into the World Was II era. The way the two story lines were linked in the end was too contrived. The only reason I even finished the book was that it was all I had to read on an airplane trip. Buchan's other books are far superior. Mavis Cheek's are even better.
Rating: - chick lit for someone more mature
I really liked this book, for the writing style, story/
characters, and because it is written for the more than 30-something woman. A fast read that will leave you wanting to read more by this author.
Rating:  - Wonderful!
I see there are some mixed reviews for ESTSW, but I loved it. I like how the author told two stories at once. Each chapter was titled either Siena or Barbara, depending on who the chapter was about. I was trying to figure out why the author was telling the story this way and you eventually figure it out at the end. And ... it's not just that, there are other things that make you reflect upon the similarities between these two different women across the decades.
Elizabeth Buchan is still a top author and story-teller in my book!
Rating:  - Melancholy Buchan
I had a harder time relating to the two main characters - Barbara and Siena - than I did in Buchan's two other novels I've read and loved. ESTSW didn't truly engage me like The Good Wife Strikes Back and Revenge Of The Middle-Aged Woman did.
Barbara's story of wanting more after catching the eye of a younger man seemed at times cliche and common. But as cloistered as she was, I can imagine how it must have turned her life upside down. Her distress was palpable, and ultimately heartbreaking.
Siena's quandary over whether or not to have children with her second husband did not grab me at all. I didn't feel for her situation, didn't feel sorry for the fact that she might have to make a choice, and didn't really see her as a mothering type. I wondered why Siena and Charlie never had the baby discussion before they were married.
As an aside, the decision to underline the word Thought in the title was ridiculous and unnecessary.
The ending, with its linking up of Siena and Barbara, was poignant. Overall, I look forward to Buchan's next novel.
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