Hello Beautiful

 

When I first heard about Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano, I thought it sounded like a book about Barbra Streisand for some odd reason. Actually, it’s a New York Times bestseller and the 100th Oprah Book Club selection. With these awesome credentials as well as endorsements from family members, I was eager to get started.

My first impression is that the narrative is very slow-paced. There isn’t much of a plot to speak of – just ordinary people living ordinary lives, experiencing ordinary problems with definitely not the best responses to these problems and the lasting effects of their poor life choices. At least, that’s what it appears to be on its surface.

As I continue reading, I can see that it’s a saga about a family, the Padavanos, their history, their dynamics and how they react in crisis situations. Almost halfway through the book emotions run high when William, who married into this family, reveals his deepest secrets to his sister-in-law, Sylvie Padavano. These are intimacies he should have shared with his wife, Julia. If William had only been honest with Julia, all three of these characters’ young lives would have been much less complicated. Likewise, Sylvie feels more herself with William than any other person.

How does William and Sylvie’s closeness effect the loving relationship between the two sisters and the rest of this tight-knit family? What will be the result of their unexpected connection? Their bond will have consequences on all the Padavanos for decades to come. This is the essence of the novel.

Hello Beautiful asks the questions how well do you know those supposedly closest to us - our family – and how or why they hurt. Are they who we want or need them to be and what happens if they are not? How well do we know anyone for that matter, even ourselves? This book is about honesty – being honest with oneself and the people around us.

Once I understood what this book was and what it wasn’t, I was better able to appreciate it. In fact, the more I read, the more invested I became in the lives of these individual family members.

To really enjoy Hello Beautiful, you have to look past its soap opera qualities to see what it’s trying to accomplish. I was able to do that for the most part. However, when I finally reach the end of this rather long book, I was happy be through with all the drama of the Padavano Family.

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