Fellowship Point

DNF. I liked the premise, but I got too stressed out by the slow conflicts evolving. Then, there was an animal cruelty, for which I have very little tolerance. I was also frustrated with a couple of the characters, although I know that will be resolved by the end. Perhaps I will come back to it.

While certainly not unreadable, Fellowship Point had a few different story threads going and my final impression is one of a disjointed, vague, and overly-long novel.

Some of the plots don't have much of a conclusion. The one thread that is fully developed, the tragic tale of how Agnes developed her When Nan series, resolved with an unbelievable coincidence that was more annoying than satisfying.

There are also some chapters that are pointless, such as the one showing the characters reacting to 9/11. It really had nothing to do with plot or character, just a vague nod to the time in which it's set.

It could have used some sharpening up and a better editor.

Tremendous exploration of love (platonic and romantic), loyalty, aging, and ownership. I found some parts a bit tedious but overall it was compelling.

Fellowship Point is the story of respected children's author Agnes Lee and her best friend Polly Wister. The two women are in their eighties and Agnes desperately wants to protect Fellowship Point from developers. The long and complicated history of Agnes and Polly is gradually revealed as book editor Maud Silver tries to talk Agnes into writing her memoirs.

This book was very, very slow, and the plodding felt tiresome at times. I'd consider giving up and then the author would throw in a beautiful and wise thought (both Agnes and Polly are exceptionally wise eighty-year-olds) and I'd renew the desire to clomp on to the end.

One beautiful little quote:

“The world through the looking glass, the parallel universe where life is as it should be, so close to us yet impenetrable except when we accept the graces and the love offered to us. What I have learned is that grace and love are offered all the time, in every new moment, at every glimpse of the sky, or dawn of a day that has never before existed, or squirrel skittering along a branch, or conversation with a sister or a friend, or the sense of time suspended when reading a good book. We are free, always, to accept what is offered; it is we who don't recognize this.”