Fiction

The Paper Palace

The Paper Palace

  • Downloads：8660
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-07-16 10:50:58
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Miranda Cowley Heller
  • ISBN：0593419073
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

"This house， this place， knows all my secrets。"

A story of summer， secrets， love， and lies: in the course of a singular day on Cape Cod， one woman must make a life-changing decision that has been brewing for decades。

It is a perfect July morning， and Elle， a fifty-year-old happily married mother of three， awakens at "The Paper Palace"--the family summer place which she has visited every summer of her life。 But this morning is different: last night Elle and her oldest friend Jonas crept out the back door into the darkness and had sex with each other for the first time， all while their spouses chatted away inside。 Now， over the next twenty-four hours， Elle will have to decide between the life she has made with her genuinely beloved husband， Peter， and the life she always imagined she would have had with her childhood love， Jonas， if a tragic event hadn't forever changed the course of their lives。 As Heller colors in the experiences that have led Elle to this day， we arrive at her ultimate decision with all its complexity。 Tender yet devastating， The Paper Palace considers the tensions between desire and dignity， the legacies of abuse， and the crimes and misdemeanors of families。

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Reviews

Stephanie Pennington ，

4。5 ⭐️ Loved this book， there was some hard subjects but it was beautifully written and I was hooked from the beginning！

Spencer Linton ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I thought the idea of the book was good， the execution wasn’t。 The dialogue was horribly contrived， making ten year olds describe things as “vile” and a thousand examples of her husband being so charming that her mom giggles and swats him off。 I wish it focused more on her decision， but it leaves you half stranded by the end。 And you get a lot of background for no reason。 Not very good， but wasn’t mad reading it （mostly）

Katie Cherry ，

Wonderful story！ This would be a great book club pick as there are so many layers of discussion。

Tara ，

I loved the story covering the multigenerational summers at the pond， and the focus on Elle's life journey。 Now I want to visit the pond （but without Conrad）！ I loved the story covering the multigenerational summers at the pond， and the focus on Elle's life journey。 Now I want to visit the pond （but without Conrad）！ 。。。more

Tooter ，

4。5 Stars

Natalie ，

This book is not what I thought it was going to be。 I really liked it， but it is very sad， and at times disturbing。 A heavy read， but a good one。

Maria Tizon ，

Miranda Cowley Heller， you had me from page one， line one。 Holy Wow， woman， you can write your ass off。 I'm already waiting on your next book。 Thank you for a lovely few hours in The Paper Palace。 Miranda Cowley Heller， you had me from page one， line one。 Holy Wow， woman， you can write your ass off。 I'm already waiting on your next book。 Thank you for a lovely few hours in The Paper Palace。 。。。more

Samm Ellingson ，

Had me thinking and rethinking about loyalty， forgiveness， love， shame， pride， secrets and brokenness the entire story。 A bit more explicit than I prefer but overall I liked the story， the format the information was laid out and how the relationships unfolded。

Jill Loveland ，

Whose mad at the ending？！！？ Still loved it！

MegAnne ，

TW: sexual assault， incest， pedophilia I'm not sure how to feel about this one。 While the writing is beautiful and Miranda Cowley Heller does an incredible job bringing all the scenery to life， there's a quite a bit about this book I didn't enjoy。 First and foremost， I feel this book is too long for what the author is trying to accomplish。 I found myself losing interest in the middle of the book。 Throughout the first 100 pages or so we go back and forth from current day to Elle's past。 Elle's pa TW: sexual assault， incest， pedophilia I'm not sure how to feel about this one。 While the writing is beautiful and Miranda Cowley Heller does an incredible job bringing all the scenery to life， there's a quite a bit about this book I didn't enjoy。 First and foremost， I feel this book is too long for what the author is trying to accomplish。 I found myself losing interest in the middle of the book。 Throughout the first 100 pages or so we go back and forth from current day to Elle's past。 Elle's past is quite dark， and while I feel its important to dive into her past to understand where her relationships are currently at， I really wish we had spent more time with Elle and her family in current day。This brings me to my next point， all of the characters in this story are terrible。 The only one's I really like where Peter and Elle's children。 This is unfortunate becuase of how character driven the story is。I know a lot of people enjoyed this one but I feel it just wasn't for me。 This could be partly due to this book being marketed as a romance and a "perfect beach read" which it mostly is not。 。。。more

Allison Gillett ，

3。5 stars - This book has me torn。 On the one hand， the main characters are fairly unlikable and/or make horrible moral decisions。 I also didn’t like how gritty the story was - I felt like I needed a shower after reading。 But on the other hand， the story was very compelling and left me thinking。 It makes sense to me that the author worked at HBO because i feel like a lot of HBO shows have this same dichotomy。

Virginia ，

Well I've set a record with this one。 Sometimes I DNF early， usually around 25%， sometimes before that; but I quit here in the middle of the 3rd sentence。 If you are a person who is impressed by overwritten slush， stop reading here and walk away。 Or in your preferred langue du commerce， relinquish the tome in your bejeweled， alabaster digits and prance haughtily from this verbose online chamber of literary enlightenment。 With your chapeau atilt。 You're welcome。Anyone who has read my opinion piec Well I've set a record with this one。 Sometimes I DNF early， usually around 25%， sometimes before that; but I quit here in the middle of the 3rd sentence。 If you are a person who is impressed by overwritten slush， stop reading here and walk away。 Or in your preferred langue du commerce， relinquish the tome in your bejeweled， alabaster digits and prance haughtily from this verbose online chamber of literary enlightenment。 With your chapeau atilt。 You're welcome。Anyone who has read my opinion pieces knows how very little I value fancy dancy lacy pantsy writing， pages sludged down with pretentious creative writing class pomposity and unnecessary piles of detritus and detail。 The offending phrase here involved a perfect green pear with "the stem atilt。" This single word was a spoiler warning that I was going to be gagging on sugar syrup and to quit while I still had a lunch to digest， and before I found out whether there was actually a cake under all that icing。 So I blew that pop joint。Life's too shot to waste time reading crap。 Why are you still reading this？ 。。。more

Kate Hagen ，

Not what I expected at all when I picked this book up， but I couldn’t put it down and found myself thinking about it the entire next day。

Carole Ahner ，

RipplesThis book takes you to the pond where almost everything happens。 You are one with the story forever。 Beautifully written！ You will be in awe！

Fern Bkr ，

3。5*

Anastasia Kuprina ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Really enjoyed the book but not the ambiguity of the ending。 So atmospheric， I could feel myself at a lake， next to a cabin so many times。 Theme of choices and choosing who you are essentially has been thought-provoking。 At the same time the theme of rape was a difficult one for me， and made the book harder to digest。

April Byler ，

If half stars were possible， I would have given it 1 1/2 stars。

Maelyn ，

DNF

Lilli Leight ，

DNF at over halfway into the boom

Gill Jaffa ，

Didn’t finish

Rachel ，

DNF @ 65%。 How does this have such high reviews？？？ Ugh。

Tess Kelly ，

Right off the bat it was clear that this author is immensely talented。 The way they described their home was so beautifully written it felt like a decadent treat。 However this writing style was directly juxtaposed by being dropped directly into a grimy， icky plot that I had no desire to continue reading about。 I would say it took me roughly 50-80 pages before I found myself turning the pages out of interest rather than obligation。 I attribute the fact that I forced myself through wholly to the a Right off the bat it was clear that this author is immensely talented。 The way they described their home was so beautifully written it felt like a decadent treat。 However this writing style was directly juxtaposed by being dropped directly into a grimy， icky plot that I had no desire to continue reading about。 I would say it took me roughly 50-80 pages before I found myself turning the pages out of interest rather than obligation。 I attribute the fact that I forced myself through wholly to the authors gift with words。 My problem lay with the nauseating plot rather than the writing itself。 However， as I read， I realized I wasn’t supposed to feel comfortable with the plot。 This is a purposefully uncomfortable book that does not use its beautiful words to mask the vile parts of humanity。 It instead plows straight through trauma and keeps going to show what is left in the wreckage。 I didn’t care for any of the characters （I almost liked Jonas， but his character was fairly two-dimensional） but I sympathized with many of them nonetheless。 Overall an impactful read but I doubt I would recommend。 。。。more

Stephanie ，

could tell right away the writing style isn’t for me and I don’t think content is either。

Kristy ，

I wasn’t ready for the wallop of emotions I felt reading this book。 I expected a family drama centered around Cape Cod but I wasn’t expecting the anguish and pain inherent in any family story， especially this one。 The book opens on the morning after Elle has just secretly had sex with her lifelong best friend Jonas， while their spouses are passed out in the next room。 Ugh， right？ But then， the story flashes back and forth between the past and the present day after。 We get the story of Elle’s lif I wasn’t ready for the wallop of emotions I felt reading this book。 I expected a family drama centered around Cape Cod but I wasn’t expecting the anguish and pain inherent in any family story， especially this one。 The book opens on the morning after Elle has just secretly had sex with her lifelong best friend Jonas， while their spouses are passed out in the next room。 Ugh， right？ But then， the story flashes back and forth between the past and the present day after。 We get the story of Elle’s life， how and when she met Jonas， and the painful secret they have kept for years。 It’s a hell of a book， literary fiction style， beautifully written， in the tradition of “Great American Novels。” It hurt to read at times， but I also couldn’t put it down。 I also liked how it made me nostalgic for the way parents and families used to be— so different from today’s realities and expectations。 Great for fans of writers like Ann Patchett and Jonathan Franzen。 Thanks to @netgalley for the ARC。 。。。more

Bex Davison ，

4。5

Melissa ，

Teetering on a 5 due the vivid descriptive language， dialogue and an ambiguous ending。

Holly ，

Difficult read。 Very good writing， but pretty difficult subject matter with graphic imagery。 I was also hoping for more finality in the end， but I’m not sure if I would be happy with it anyway。 Maybe 3。5 stars for the quality of writing and for leaving me with strong emotion， but not my favorite Reese recommendation by a long shot。

Alona ，

Not to my taste。 Maybe the plot is interesting （or at least has a potential to be interesting） but these small sentences spoiled my satisfaction。 I understand the usage of small sentences in the dialogues - life is busy， we don’t have time to use long， complicated sentences， but in the description， characters’ thoughts， etc。， the usage of short sentences was so unsatisfactory。 At least for me。

Missy Carnelli ，

I don't like that the ending left us guessing。。。 I don't like that the ending left us guessing。。。 。。。more

Vanessa ，

I realize people will absolutely love this book or the flip side will not connect with this book at all。 I don’t want to hide this review because people need to be aware of some ******trigger warnings （ molestation/rape）… do not continue reading review because there are a few spoilers！ Once， you open Pandora’s box。 It’s hard to close it again。 Elle married mom of 3… story flip flops from Elle’s grandmother， mother and Elle’s marriage/ husbands and their stories -along with 24 hours during a visi I realize people will absolutely love this book or the flip side will not connect with this book at all。 I don’t want to hide this review because people need to be aware of some ******trigger warnings （ molestation/rape）… do not continue reading review because there are a few spoilers！ Once， you open Pandora’s box。 It’s hard to close it again。 Elle married mom of 3… story flip flops from Elle’s grandmother， mother and Elle’s marriage/ husbands and their stories -along with 24 hours during a visit to her multigenerational cabin -summer holidays with her husband， kids and mom。 In the back woods of Cape Cod Cabin which is a run down beach shack made crudely made out of cheap paper walls when not occupied the mice and rats take over。 Living on the walls to nest into。 Elle and her sister Anna lovingly called this place “the paper Palace”。 Elle made a rash decision to have a one time affair with her childhood friend。。 Jonas。。 the love has always been there but a family boating tragedy affected the family， separated Elle from Jonas for many years and they rekindled their friendship into adulthood。 And now what？？？ does she leave her family to be with him？？？Does she love him enough to leave them， and be with Jonas finally？ This is where I thought I would enjoy the story… it turned very dark。 There is some serious trigger warnings in this book。 Molestation， and Rape。 This could be very disturbing for some。 I didn’t think the story needed to go down such a dark turn。 I didn’t enjoy really any of the characters。。Elle had it all but wasn’t happy… Anna was not very kind and Conrad didn’t like him， all of the dads and stepdads and husbands and ex husbands of Wallace we’re just horrible。 I did not enjoy Wallace’s mom Nanette despicable woman。 Needing money and husband approval- over children’s well-being was just a horrible quality。 Gina was meh， Peter was a fun character in the story。 But， I’m not sure where In the story people loved it to give 4-5 stars ⭐️。 Just wasn’t a book that I wanted to finish reading。 But thinking maybe someone will have an epiphany moment and become a better person - just didn’t materialize for me。 ********Make your own decision and just be warned with trigger warnings， rape， molestation。 Not hiding this in spoilers。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Paper Palace

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Paper Palace&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Paper Palace&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0