Reviewed by Lianne on
It takes maybe a chapter or two to really get into the story and the narrative style used, but after that I was just totally drawn into the story. This story follows the life of Rachel Pomie, her upbringing on St. Thomas, her marriages, her family, her relationship with her son Camille Pissarro. Rachel is a headstrong woman whose passion and imagination just doesn’t conform with the close-knit Jewish community that she grew up in and especially not with her mother whom she does not get along. It was stressful to read at times as she faced off with her community over her relationship with Frederick and later with Camille; I just wanted her to be happy and to do what she wants (though she can be a little frustrating at times too!).
Like in Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman does a wonderful job in presenting a multigenerational story and the intricate nature of family relationships between motThere are of course secrets in this family that colour some of the relationships, namely between Rachel and her mother, but it was sort of introduced a little late for me to really be as interested as I would normally be to such revelations. I also learned quite a bit from this novel about places, events, and artists.
The Marriage of Opposites was overall an interesting read. I felt the narration at times sounded a little odd, namely when it switches from Rachel’s first-person to a third-person narration, but there were a lot of great lines throughout and I really came to care for the characters and what happened to them, even when they frustrated me at times. Readers of Alice Hoffman’s novels and historical fiction will want to check out this title.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 18 May, 2015: Finished reading
- 18 May, 2015: Reviewed