*I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*
Title: Modern Lovers
Author: Emma Straub
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Publication Date: May 2016
ISBN: 9781594634673
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Friends and former college bandmates Elizabeth and Andrew and Zoe have watched one another marry, buy real estate, and start businesses and families, all while trying to hold on to the identities of their youth. Now nearing fifty, they all live within shouting distance in the same neighborhood deep in gentrified Brooklyn, and the trappings of the adult world seem to have arrived with ease. But the summer that their children reach maturity (and start sleeping together), the fabric of the adult lives suddenly begins to unravel, and the secrets and revelations that are finally let loose—about themselves, and about the famous fourth band member who soared and fell without them—can never be reclaimed.
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Set in the suburban streets of Brooklyn, Modern Lovers follows the lives of a group of friends brought together through music in their youth, but now in middle age, they are all searching to find solid ground. Their children are ready to head out of high school and into the world. As they reach the age that their parents were when they first met, many feelings arise and memories resurface. It dives into themes of romance, love, and friendship, as well as sexual awakening and self-discovery.
I gave this book 3 stars on Goodreads. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. It was relatively entertaining, but it wasn’t great. It was a perfectly adequate story. I enjoyed the read well enough, but the story was not compelling enough to have me turning the page with fervour. This is a great airplane book, or a good poolside read on a week-long vacation.
This is a difficult review to write because I really have nothing to say. I didn’t love the writing and I didn’t dislike it either. There was some humour, but it wasn’t laugh-out-loud funny. I’d sum it up as a mildly entertaining, but not astounding or life-changing.
If you’re looking for something to pass the time then sure, give this one a shot.
Happy reading!
Worn Pages and Ink 