More Than Enough by Anna Quindlen

 

My thoughts

There is definitely More Than Enough of this story. It's about a lot of things. A book group. Four women, Polly, Jamie, Helen, and Sarah. who meet to do all but read. They talk about things. They are friends. Polly and Sarah are very close and know things about each other before sharing with the others. It's about a woman who wants a baby. Her and her husband have been trying so hard. Lots of IVF treatments. No luck. A woman whose dad is  in a care facility for dementia. One woman and so much going on. 

Polly is a school teacher. She loves her job and her life. She has the perfect marriage, after a disastrous first marriage, to a veterinarian.  Mark is a wonderful man. He loves Polly so much. He loves their life. 

When the group give Polly a DNA test as a joke Polly takes it seriously. She finds she has a possible niece. But from where. Who. Her brother swears there is no way it could have been him. 

There is an Alpaca farm and so much else going on. I found myself lost at times in this story. I enjoyed it but thought it was a bit too much. At least for me. I rooted for Polly and Mark to have a baby. They tried so hard. I was hoping all would turn out good for Polly's bff Sarah. Sarah was recovering from breast cancer. I had all kinds of hope while reading this book. Some things were great and others not so much. 

The author did a good job of writing this but had so much going on that it became a bit overwhelming at times. All the characters. All the excitement. All the drama. I loved how much Polly loved her dad. I felt sick when she finally did find out how she was related to the girl from the ancestry kit. But I can also see it happening. I didn't really care for Polly's mother. I did like her brother and Mark's family. Yes, a lot going on.

I liked this book but didn't love it. It just fell a bit short for me. To much going on and to many characters to keep up with. And a book club that never read. I can understand that though. They got busy with other things. 

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this ARC.

3 stars 

About

A woman confronts the surprising results of an ancestry test and begins to question the meaning of family and friendship in this wise, tender novel teeming with life—from the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author of After Annie

No one knows you like your book club.

High school English teacher Polly Goodman can talk about everything and anything with the women in her book club, which is why they’ve become her closest friends and, along with her veterinarian husband, the bedrock of her life. Her students, her fraught relationship with her mother, her struggles with IVF—Polly’s book club friends have heard about it all.

But when they give Polly an ancestry test kit as a joke, the results match her with a stranger. It is clear to Polly that this match is a mistake, but still she cannot help but comb through her family history for answers. Then, when it seems that the book club circle of four will become three, Polly learns how friendships can change your life in the most profound ways.

Written with Anna Quindlen’s trademark warmth, humor, and insight into the power of love and hope, More Than Enough explores how we find ourselves again and again through the relationships that define us.