Moja ocjena: 5/5 (da mogu, dala bih ocjenu 10/5)
Goodreads ocjena: 3,94 / 5 (krajnje nepravedno, moram primijetiti)
Jutros sam stala na zadnjih 15 stranica. Najdinamičnijih i najdivnijih 15 stranica do raspleta čitave priče. Gledam na sat i jadna sam na samu sebe jer moram ići za drugim obavezama, a toliko sam obuzeta željom da doznam kako priča završava.
Iskreno, ovu knjigu, po razini mog oduševljenja, mogu svrstati bok uz bok sa fenomenalnom Zafonovom Sjenom vjetra ili prestrašno uzbudljivim Nijemim pratiteljima Laure Purcell.
I nemojte ovo shvatiti kao apsolutni nagovor da pročitate Posljednju gospođu Parrish, ali ako želite, slobodno možete moj uvod upravo tako shvatiti. :)
Kad sam po prvi put ugledala naslovnicu na Web stranicama naših izdavača i pročitala kratak sadržaj, donijela sam zaključak kako se radi o potencijalno zanimljivom štivu. Stoga sam Posljednju gospođu Parrish stavila na listu za čitanje, ali bez namjere da ju čitam tako skoro. "Neće se pokvariti", mislila sam si, evidentirajući ju na svojoj Goodreads stranici.
Ali tada se dogodio nevjerojatan preokret. Pri posljednjem posjetu karlovačkoj Gradskoj knjižnici, ta knjiga krajnje nezanimljivih korica i ja smo se ugledale - bio je to čaroban trenutak - virila je s police i dozivala me da ju premjestim na prvo mjesto na listi čitanja.
Već sam odavno došla do zaključka kako me, u većini slučajeva, prvo naslovnica privuče, a tek kasnije i sama priča. Znam, znam... "Ne možeš suditi knjigu po koricama, Goga". I u to sam se već mnogo puta uvjerila, ali ova mi je naslovnica bila krajnje nezanimljiva, kao što sam već prethodno naglasila. Ali neki me unutarnji osjećaj naveo da ju ipak uzmem. Upravo zato što mi je odavno zapela za oko, na svakom se papiriću sa "TBR listama" nalazi njezino ime i svaki put kad ju ugledam, osjećaj naprosto kaže: "Uzmi ju. Nećeš požaliti!"
Na samom početku čitanja, radnja mi je bila pomalo spora. Nadala sam se nekom zapletu na ranijim stranicama, nekoj široj slici, ali nije mi tako brzo dolazilo ispunjenje te želje za akcijom. Bilo je potrebno malo strpljenja kako bi se kasnije lupila po glavi i ispustila uzdah shvaćanja. Samo jednom kada se radnja zagrijala, počela sam čitati svaki dostupni trenutak u danu. Borila se navečer da ne zaspim nakon jedva pročitane dvije stranice, a zadnjih 15 spomenutih stranica sam pročitala sa zadnjim snagama u sitnim jutarnjim satima. I to bez daha.
Prvi dio priče vezan je uz djevojku Amber Patterson. Amber je pokvarena osoba, nezahvalna, nezasitna i bezosjećajna. Ona želi sjaj, novac i obožavanje, a ne život u pozadini i na granici siromaštva. Želi bezbrižan život gdje joj je sve savršeno servirano na pladnju i gdje svoju hranu uzima zlatnom žlicom. Unatoč tomu što se prikazuje kao dobra osoba, kao prijateljica, kao oslonac u teškim vremenima, ona nije ništa od svega toga. Amber je lovatorica iliti "gold digger", a u njezinu je fokusu apsolutno savršeni gospodin Jackson Parrish, koji je uz to i oženjen apsolutno savršenom Daphne Parrish.
Amber je osmislila plan kako će se, kroz prijateljstvo sa Daphne, uvući u njihove živote, postepeno izgurati Daphne te postati nova gospođa Parrish. Time rješava sve svoje životne probleme i ispunjava sve što je ikad željela. Savršen život uz savršenog muškarca prepunog love. San snova, zar ne? A Daphne? Ona je nevažna. Njihova djeca? Njih će isto nekako eliminirati. I sve će se posložiti onako kako je ona odlučila.
Drugi dio priče vezan je uz Daphne i njezinu prošlost, ali i sadašnjost. Doznajemo otkud potječe, upoznajemo njezinu obitelj te obiteljsku tragediju uz prerano preminulu sestru Julie. Također, dobivamo uvid u ogromnu predanost, trud i rad kroz zakladu koja pomaže ljudima oboljelima od iste bolesti od koje je izgubila sestru. Ali... što je ključno za povezivanje kockica, dobivamo uvid u njezino vrijeme provedeno sa Jacksonom Parrishem, njime u ulozi zaručnika, oca i muža, poduzetnika, bogataša te moćnika. Dobivamo uvid u događaje unutar njihove kuće, spavaće sobe, kuhinje, putovanja i slično, ali sve iskreno i živopisno prikazano. Dobivamo njihovu ljubavnu priču prezentiranu na toliko realističan način, da sam povremeno imala osjećaj kako moram pobjeći jer je realnost postala preopipljiva.
Amber mi se nije svidjela od prvog trenutka - nešto mi je iz nje zračilo nekakvom odbojnošću. Možda zato što je od prve stranice prikazana u takvom svjetlu. Smatram da je u redu ostvarivati svoje snove, težiti boljem životu, ali ne pod cijenu toga da pritom hodaš po leševima. A Amber je redovito gazila po Daphne i njezinim djevojčicama, ali i drugim ljudima. I nije ju bilo briga.
S druge strane, Daphne mi je bila tako nježna i mila - gotovo iritantno draga. Nitko nije toliko umjetan, mio i drag. Nekako sterilan. Slijep na okolinu. I nitko ne bi smio dopuštati toliko lako sobom manipulirati. Takvo mi je bilo mišljenje sve do trenutka u kojem su se sve kockice posložile, a Daphne konačno prikazana u svom pravom svjetlu.
U tom mi je trenutku neizmjerno prirasla srcu jer se ne radi samo o bogataškoj ženi koja ima kup slame u glavi već se radi o sposobnoj i samouvjerenoj ženi, koja je svjesna situacije u kojoj se nalazi, svjesna je što je najbolje za nju i njezine djevojčice, a zna i kako situaciju posložiti sebi u korist.
Daphne vidim kao nadasve snalažljivu i inteligentnu osobu, ali i osobu obdarenu iznimnom moći samokontrole. Ona je snažna žena. I ja joj se apsolutno divim. A Amber? Nju mogu samo nastojati razumjeti zašto je poduzela korake koje je poduzela te biti zahvalna što nisam poput nje.
Mogla bih vam još satima sipati svoje oduševljenje, ali ostavit ću vam onaj najzanimljiviji dio da pročitate sami. :) Jednu vam stvar mogu reći - zadnju ćete stranicu zaklopiti apsolutno ostavljeni bez teksta.
Ako vas je ova objava zaintrigirala, slobodno posjetite Web stranicu autorica Liv Constantine i budite u toku sa njihovim radom: https://livconstantine.com/
Kao što možete i zaključiti po duljini ove objave, knjiga me apsolutno oduševila. Mogla bih satima pokušavati ući u psihu svakog pojedinog lika i analizirati njihove postupke. Autorice su odlično segmentirale svaki od prikazanih likova, stvorile slojeve njihovih ličnosti, koje tokom čitanja postepeno otkrivate, i time su dodatno začinile čitavu priču.
Nadam se da će i "Posljednji susret" biti jednako zadovoljavajuća knjiga, kao i "Posljednja gospođa Parrish". Vidjet ćemo... Kući sam ju već donijela, samo ju trebam početi čitati. :)
Do iduće objave,
Voli vas vaša Goga
My rating: 5/5 (if I could, I would give a rating of 10/5)
Goodreads rating: 3.94 / 5 (extremely unfair, I have to point out)
This morning I stopped at the last 15 pages. The most dynamic and wonderful 15 pages until the end of the whole story. I look at the clock and feel miserable because I have to go after other commitments, and I am so obsessed with wanting to know how the story ends.
Honestly, this book, by the level of my enthusiasm, can be ranked side by side with the phenomenal Zafon’s Shadow of the Wind or the terribly exciting Silent Companions by Laura Purcell.
And don’t take this as an absolute persuasion to read The Last Mrs. Parrish, but if you want, feel free to take my introduction that way. :)
When I first saw the cover on the websites of our publishers and read the short content, I came to the conclusion that this is a potentially interesting reading material. So I put The Last Mrs. Parrish on the reading list, but with no intention of reading it so soon. “It won’t go bad,” I thought to myself, putting it on my Goodreads page.
But then an incredible turnaround happened. During my last visit to the Karlovac City Library, this book with an extremely uninteresting cover and I saw ourselves - it was a magical moment - peeking off the shelf and calling me to move it to the first place on the reading list.
I came to the conclusion that, in most cases, I am first attracted by the cover, and only later by the story itself. I know, I know ... "You can't judge a book by its cover, Goga." I have been convinced of that many times, but this cover was extremely uninteresting to me, as I have already pointed out. But some inner feeling made me take it anyway. Precisely because she caught my eye a long time ago, every piece of paper with "TBR lists" has her name on it, and every time I see her, the feeling simply says, "Take her. You won't regret it!"
At the very beginning, the plot was a bit slow for me. I was hoping for some plot in the earlier pages, some broader picture, but the desire for action did not come to me so quickly. It took a little patience to later bang my head and let out a sigh of understanding. Just once the story warmed up, I started reading every available moment of the day. I struggled in the evening not to fall asleep after barely reading two pages, and I read the last 15 mentioned pages with my last strength in the wee hours of the morning. And breathless.
The first part of the story is about the girl Amber Patterson. Amber is a bad person, ungrateful, insatiable and insensitive. She wants splendor, money and worship, not a life in the background and on the verge of poverty. She wants a carefree life where everything is perfectly served to her on a platter and where she takes her food with a golden spoon. Despite portraying herself as a good person, as a friend, as a support in difficult times, she is none of that. Amber is a huntress or "gold digger", and her focus is on the absolutely perfect Mr. Jackson Parrish, who is also married to the absolutely perfect Daphne Parrish.
Amber devised a plan to, through a friendship with Daphne, infiltrate their lives, gradually push Daphne out, and become the new Mrs. Parrish. By doing so, she solves all her life problems and fulfills everything she ever wanted. A perfect life with a perfect man full of money. A dream come true, isn't it? And Daphne? She doesn't matter. Their children? She will also somehow eliminate them. And everything will be arranged the way she decided.
The second part of the story is related to Daphne and her past, but also the present. We find out where she comes from, meet her family and the family tragedy with her prematurely deceased sister Julie. We also gain insight into the tremendous dedication, effort and work through a foundation that helps people suffering from the same illness from which she lost her sister. But... what is key to connecting the dice, we get an insight into her time spent with Jackson Parrish, with him in the role of fiancé, father and husband, entrepreneur, rich man and powerful man. We get an insight into the events inside their house, bedroom, kitchen, travel and other, but all honestly and vividly presented. We get their love story presented in such a realistic way, that I occasionally had the feeling that I had to run away because the reality became too realistic.
I didn't like Amber from the first moment - something from her radiated with a kind of repulsion. Maybe because she is shown in such a light from the first page. I think it's okay to make your dreams come true, to strive for a better life, but not at the cost of walking on corpses. And Amber regularly trampled on Daphne and her girls, but also other people. And she didn't care.
Daphne, on the other hand, was so gentle and kind — almost irritatingly dear. No one is so artificial, sweet and endearing. Somehow sterile. Blind to the environment. And no one should allow themselves to be so easily manipulated. That was my opinion until the moment all the dice were put together and Daphne was finally portrayed in her true light.
At that moment, she touched my heart immensely because she is not just a rich woman with a pile of straw in her head, but a capable and confident woman who is aware of the situation she is in, aware of what is best for her and her girls. And she knows how to settle the situation in her favor.
I see Daphne as an extremely resourceful and intelligent person, but also a person endowed with an exceptional power of self-control. She is a strong woman. And I absolutely admire her. And Amber? I can only try to understand why she took the steps she took and be thankful that I am not like her.
I could pour you my enthusiasm for hours, but I will leave you the most interesting part to read for yourself. :) I can tell you one thing - you will close the last page absolutely mind blown.
If you are intrigued by this post, feel free to visit the website of the authors Liv Constantine and stay up to date with their work: https://livconstantine.com/
As you can conclude from the length of this post, the book absolutely thrilled me. I could spend hours trying to get into the psyche of each individual character and analyze their actions. The authors excellently segmented each of the presented characters, created layers of their personalities, which you gradually discover during the reading, and thus additionally spiced up the whole story.
I hope “The Last Time I Saw You” will be as satisfying a book as “The Last Mrs. Parrish”. We'll see ... I already brought it home, I just need to start reading it. :)
Until the post,
Your Goga loves you
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