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Comments (51)

Community comments are the opinions of contributing users. These comments do not represent the opinions of King County Library System.
What did you think about this title?
1 to 25 of 51 items
Mar 09, 2024steedy rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
As did a number of readers, I found this book rather overrated. In my opinion, it is a Harlequin romance for intellectuals. The plot was implausible; in the end, the heroine does not find true love, but rather, her long lost father. In…
Sep 15, 2023GPL_Anne rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
A little slow to get started, but the writing, and the attention to historical detail kept me going: the Brooklyn Naval Yard during WWII and the women who took jobs normally filled by men who were off at war; a character with cerebral…
falconhawk
Sep 01, 2023falconhawk rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
an excellent book. very interesting facts that i didn't know. i would have never thought i would have been interesting in a book like this.
Oct 26, 2022tjdickey rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
There's a lot going on in this rich historical novel - WWII on the home front, ethnic gangs of midcentury New York, family mysteries, race and gender and class, and washing around it all the sea, the sea...
Aug 24, 2021steverino4 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
A tour de force. The big picture of WWII on the NY home front and the little picture of the Irish American family linked up. The seams showed like the joints on one of those heavy diver's suits in the Brooklyn naval yard that our heroine…
May 19, 2020CALS_Lee rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Jennifer Egan writes superb scenes. Countless places in this novel I admired and reread a certain encounter she describes, between character and character, or between character and environment, or in a character's inner monologue. Her…
Feb 13, 2020maipenrai rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I liked the interconnectedness of the story lines and the bravery of the heroine. The only part of the narrative that I found highly unlikely involved diving gloves and a monogram. Kristi & Abby Tabby
Dec 31, 2019
Great historical fiction and a real page turner. Gritty story that weaves a naval yard, gangsters and a father's disappearance
Oct 27, 2019
No ebook
Oct 22, 2019jennywile rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I love Jennifer Egan's writing. This is a wonderful historical fiction piece of gritty, but modern, New York leading up to and during wartime. It is a coming of age piece of a strong female character against a sometimes menacing, but…
May 27, 2019
The novel opens in New York City in 1934. Eleven year old Ann Kerrigan accompanied her father, a union lackey named Eddie Kerrigan, to a business meeting at Manhattan Beach, home of Dexter Styles… a meeting that proved to be fateful for…
Mar 24, 2019suekrachko rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Enjoyed this historical fiction about a young adolescent woman who challenges and grows up within the male-dominated environs of the Brooklyn Navy yards during WWII. The technical lingo of the shipyards and of the Irish-gangster…
Feb 07, 2019ellenmargaret1953 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Set in NY during WWII, Anna Kendrick has come of age just when American women are starting to work outside of their homes in non-domesticated jobs. First as a factory worker measuring plane parts to ensure quality and then as a dock diver…
Jan 22, 2019
Beautiful Historical Fiction. I loved it so much, I am hunting for a book just like it as I miss reading Manhattan Beach already. The descriptions of life, characters, moments and thoughts of the era seem perfect. And to imagine that the…
Dec 10, 2018krsbozo rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
A good work of historical fiction by a master writer. It's set in NY City during WWII. The protagonist is a woman who dives in support of the shipbuilders in NY. It has a bit of the mob, some mystery, and a lot about how difficult it was…
Dec 07, 2018KarenTee rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
Being a huge fan of historical fiction, I was looking forward to reading this book. My book club chose it partly because of its long tenure on the NYT bestseller list. I started it three times. The first two, I couldn't make it past the…
Nov 27, 2018lpreston214 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
This book is very good historical fiction. Beginning before WWII and continuing during the war we see how a chance meeting with a gangster has a huge impact on Anna and her family. The story abounds in sea imagery including underwater when…
Nov 06, 2018CJTroffe rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
The protagonist goes and makes decisions that are exactly the opposite of what one would think she should do, and yet they turn out to be the best decisions and they give a happy ending. Sometimes the least likely, least rational course of…
michaelfwood
Oct 16, 2018michaelfwood rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Too many implausible aspects. For example, allowing a 115 pound person to work underwater with apparatus weighing over 200 pounds. Sure. Or, how about having the heroine discover her father's watch on the ocean floor while scuffling…
Sep 17, 2018
Outstanding book.
Sep 03, 2018leahrei rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
The young woman in this book gets a job at the NY shipyard, first as a calibrator, then as a repair diver. Her dad disappears, presumed dead, killed by mob connections. Reminded me of my mom's work during WWII at the torpedo base. Really…
Jul 17, 2018StoriedLife rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
The farther into this book you read, the more disappointing it becomes. Obviously, Egan researched extensively, but then she couldn’t resist the urge to throw in unnecessary information. At the same time, her characters have no more…
Jul 02, 2018uncommonreader rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
This is a work of historical fiction set in the 1930s and 1940s in New York City. It tells the stories of two families whose lives interconnect. I found it an enjoyable read although at times Egan's research was a little too obvious.
Jun 21, 2018Rock_Shadow rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
This book is coming up for my book group discussion; the others in the group have liked it. One reader said it was good but there were quite a few passages that could have been shortened. The book promises to touch on a lot of fascinating…
Jun 18, 2018lukasevansherman rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Like her previous acclaimed novel, "A Visit from the Goon Squad," this was hyped, but ended up being really boring, despite the Brooklyn shipyard in World War 2 setting.