This book hurt. People called it marvelous. They called it the book of second chances.I call it the book of second best.Sure, it was written beautifully.But from the start I knew where it will go, so all the sly little glances Shay gave Emma or all the thoughts of love Emma had? I never saw them as obscene, but they bugged me. They were sweet on one side but on the other almost every time Shay just went in to the next scene, picked up his wife, and twirled her around because it made her happy or because she gave him a son.And I, as the observer, at that moment, did not care if his wife was nice , happy or even angelically (and sickeningly) sweet. I just wanted her gone. I did not want her to die. I wanted her edited. I wanted her completely off the pages. Because she was wrong.I never hated a villain as much as I despised her. Somebody would say that made me a bad person but hey…She just…ugh.On one hand she was all sweetness.She was the final product of everything Emma could have been if she looked inside her soul! (Disney moment,people!And yeah,there are people that hum and dance :/)She was free and oh so very good!But on the other hand…She took priesthood from Shy with…breasts.The ultimate evil-boobies!Well, they are. Especially if you are a male priesthood apprentice on a deserted beach.She really really really wanted him to marry her so she kind of jumped him until he did.She also got pregnant event thou she knew she will die (and really leave a helpless baby all alone) in order to give Shay a baby boy.Oh mercy, those male kids! You just can not die without giving your husband one!And why is that?Because you are a sweet angel?Nah. Because you do not want an other woman to give him his first boy! Ermmm…So, what was really the deal with this character?How does the half of her personality that tends to get Emma and Shay together to live happily ever after collide with the scary possessive evil bitch part?Let me enlighten you:It doesn't. The author wanted it all to be sickeningly nice and in order to do so the wife had to be a goody goody two shoes.But she also had to give Shay some depth. And the kind of depth she wanted? Would never go with a feather brained woman like the wife was.So I wanted her gone.But when she was gone…oh, I just wanted the book gone also.I had no idea what was the point of the half of things that went under... the clairvoyant daughter was just too much , and Shay made me sick with his love for…I have no idea who. One second it was one woman and the next…eh!The really happy ending would have been if the author had the mastermind insight that could have developed Geoffrey. He was a wonderful soul and I think that with a little more pushing he would have been the best hero ever. They way Emma walked all over his heart in the end mad me want to bitch slap her-after all she had been trough and after all he has done for her, after all his love….you throw him the ring attached to your wedding veil while sailing off with your lover? God, you got class…not.Most importantly I had this HUGE problem with Shay, because I never really saw his undying love for Emma. Ok, I did see some love. But he hated what she was and what she had…he still kind of loved his recently deceased wife also, and on top of all that he had children and the boy he wanted…so…what is that he wanted from Emma? What is it that she could give that will make her NOT second best?I have to quote one of the best sentences in this book“Every time it’s the same,” she said into the empty world that he had left behind. “You happen to me all over again.”He was a jerk. Sometimes even cruel in his martyrdom. He was rough, ugly, broken nosed, worn out, dirty haired, salty (I say salty because the author does it. But let us not lie to ourselves-it means sweaty and not washed skin. It means ewww! to every normal person in the real world) with a pack of kids and a hatred toward fate, life and so many other things.I just do not see it.I think Emma got a lame deal.Would you want this hero for yourself?I surely would not.Bottom line: If I hated the hero and found him all wrong for my heroine, if I was kind of disgusted by the plot and pushiness of the first wife as well as her entire being in that fictional world… what was there to like?The heroine?Sure. But I still hated her hae.And there really is no point in something that was well written but leaves me frustrated.Romance is about romance-not good prose.I can sometime forgive bad writing,but never an unlikable plot.And I am not even going to mention the fact that it was unbelievable to the point of fantasy.(humming clairvoyants? Really? I mean..really?)
Que leitura esplêndia. Penelope Williamsom me impressionou desde o livro The Outsider, no entanto esse me envolveu igualmente. A escrita é fantástica, ambientação riquíssima, tudo em detalhes sem ser cansativo. Cada personagem, sejam coadjuvantes ou protagonistas, possuem um momento em destaque. Suas almas são desnudadas ao leitor para que tenhamos nosso próprio ponto de vista. São personagens muito humanos e díspares, com seus segredos e por vezes carregados de culpa e ressentimentos, com questões relevantes a serem resolvidas. Nesse contexto vive a heroína Emma Tremayne. Ela é uma dama da sociedade de Bristol. Linda, criada com todos os requintes que o dinheiro pode proporcionar, porém a jovem está longe de viver uma vida transparente e feliz. Sua mãe é severa e mesquinha; a irmã paralítica; o irmão cometeu suicídio; o pai abandonou a família; o noivo não é o homem dos seus sonhos mais secretos. Emma questiona ainda mais profundamente o seu falso modo de vida quando ela conhece o imigrante irlandês Shay McKenna. Os dois não poderiam ser de mundos mais contrapostos. Ele é um trabalhador, um pescador, um lutador de rua, ela uma filha da proeminente e centenária família Tremayne. Ele a impressiona, suas cicatrizes, suas enormes e bonitas mãos cheias de marcas. Ele é rude e a despreza, mas ela não consegue esquecê-lo. Aos poucos as peças do destino vão se mexendo e Emma constrói uma amizade profunda com Bria, uma trabalhadora da fábrica têxtil do seu noivo. O que ela não sabia é que Bria é a esposa de Shay. Sim, ele é casado e pai de três filhos, portanto totalmente proibido. As filhas de Shay são adoráveis, especiais. Esse é o momento em que as condições subumanas dos imigrantes irlandeses são reveladas. As crianças trabalham na fábrica têxtil e essa situação comove e aproxima Emma da família Mackenna de um modo irrevogável. O livro constrói um caminho tortuoso para a heroína que se vê consumida por um amor que a domina, oculto dentro de si. Com a morte de Bria, a trajetória de Shay e Emma começa a se construir, mas os obstáculos parecem ser intransponíveis. Uma bela amizade é retratada entre duas mulheres que amam o mesmo homem. Shay é magnífico, um lutador, um sonhador, ambas reconhecem o valor desse homem jovem, endurecido pela vida e pelos trágicos acontecimentos que o trouxeram para a América. Enfim, não contarei mais nada. Há muitas reviravoltas, revelações e acontecimentos chocantes na trajetória de Shay e Emma. Há momentos marcantes, emocionantes. Foi bastante emblemático o momento em que Shay alimenta uma raposa junto com Emma...Leia para entender. Prepare-se para conter as emoções. Lindo!
What do You think about The Passions Of Emma (1998)?
Emma Tremayne is one of the "Great Folk" of Bristol; her family and those like it owning the land and businesses of the town. She isn't passionate about much of anything until a series of encounters with two Irish immigrants show her a different life. Shay McKenna, rough, outspoken, even at times hostile, disturbs her in a way she cannot understand, while his wife Bria becomes the first real friend Emma has ever known. Bria is dying of consumption, and her death will bringtogether the two people who loved her most.This was fantastic. Not really a romance as such, but definitely a love story. The relationship between Emma and Bria is at least as important as that between Emma and Shay. Truthfully, it didn't sound like my kind of thing when I first read about it, but I am ready to change my tune. It sounded like it would be a sad story, but somehow it is not. Williamson brings the people, the place, and the time to vivid life. The first part of the book is perhaps a bit slow, dreamlike even, but illustrates the Emma who seems to be waiting for life to find her. Given a chance to be more than the pretty doll her family seems to expect of her, she grasps it with both hands. I would have liked more of the romance, but all in all, a very satisfying read.
—Jeri
This.book.was.hard.to.take. On many levels.I normally love this trope: widower hero has a second chance at love. Don't get me wrong, I understand you can love more then one person in your life and love each person differently. But, reading about Bria and Shay's love and life together for 3/4 of the book was hard.to.take. The struggles and pain they faced in Ireland as well as trying to build a new life in America for their family. We watch Shay's love for Bria through whispered words, tender moments and a fierce protectiveness of her. Their love is like no other. Thats why, it was hard, I can't honestly believe Emma will be loved as deeply. We've witnessed Emma's passions: her passion for Shay, her wanting to be her own person and live her own life without being repressed by what is acceptable in society, we see her mature, and find a meaningful friendship with Bria. But where was Shay's passion for her? He barely liked her and he didn't trust her to not break his Bria's heart when befriending her. Only did it seem in Bria's death, Shay fell in love with Emma, because in some ways, she became an extension of Bria. hard.to.take.The ending felt incomplete to me. It just needed more . I'm not sure if it was the way (view spoiler)[ Emma treated Geoffrey in the way she called off the wedding hours before, without a backward glance and tossing her veil with his ring into the lake so the waves would carry it back to him..... I mean, he did save her from the asylum, they had been childhood friends and in his own way he loved her. ( not to mention Geoffrey felt more possessive of Emma than Shay did) (hide spoiler)]
—Jen
J'ai longtemps hésité avant de commencer cette romance. Je souhaitais lire une romance historique qui sorte un peu des champs battus ou qui, en tout cas, ne soit pas dans le style de celles d'aujourd'hui. Je n'avais jamais lu un roman de Penelope Williamson auparavant mais j'ai été ravie par cette histoire.Pour une "old" romance, l'héroïne est indépendante et son amour pour Shay/Seamus est touchant sans être trop guimauve. L'auteur a rendu compte avec précision du contexte de l'époque tout en préférant la montrer d'un côté pessimiste (et avec un ton mélancolique). Bon, autant l'avouer tout de suite : j'ai (beaucoup) pleuré comme cela m'arrive rarement pour un livre. Donc pour les futures lectrices, un conseil : préparez vos mouchoirs.Il reste quelques questions en suspend à la fin du livre et j'aurai aimé en savoir également davantage à propos de Maddie, la soeur d'Emma - l'héroïne - qui est un personnage très intéressant (et très émouvant également).Il ne faut surtout pas s'arrêter au style qui peu paraître pas très moderne puisqu'il privilégie la description aux dialogues. "La passion d'Emma" est une magnifique histoire d'amour (qui finit bien, je vous rassure).
—tess75
