Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

I am always very reluctant to read book everyone is talking about hence my stoic patience of waiting few years sometimes more until the echoes of the publicity around certain books is fading. Nothing against being popular and writing popular books, but I feel sometimes that following the trends my own critical judgement may be influenced.

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano had thus to wait around two years until finding its way to my reading list. I am impatient by nature but always taking my time when it comes to ideas and books. Some may just cross paths with in the most possible wrong ways.

Set between 1980s and beginning of 2000s, in Chicago´s Pilsen neighbourhood, it follows the stories of Padavano sisters. A middle class family, crossing the decades of change. The four sisters are setting the stage for the main story developments: Julia is ambitious, Sylvie is bookish and looking for essential experiences, Cecelia is the artist who decided to break the rules of her Catholic upbringing and be a single mother, and Emeline who went even further and is openly gay. Sylvie and Julie break the sisterhood pact falling in love with William, a depressed man growing up in a loveless family.

The values are shifting in this new world and so is the life of the Padavano sisters. Sylvie´s betrayal may separate Julie from her sisters for 25 years. But in this new world, love is stronger than anything and the late reconciliation has the price of a life. 

Personally, I felt attached to the story, but felt at times deceived by the characters. Sylvie is hard to fathom as a human of flesh. The sisters do live in a bubble, with no steady social network. The whole focus is on the sisters and they are self-referential, like the surrounding world stopped to exist while they are breathing. 

By far, the character who is most alive is William, with his own network of friends and complex inner demons. As a lover of basketball, I adored the references to this sport, also from the psychological perspective.

All being said, although Hello Beautiful does have some beautiful parts, it did not feel like a complete story, with characters lacking depth and social relevance. I am left though with a sweet taste of the love for books and written word of some characters and although this may not be my favorite read of the month, it was still worth exploring despite the fact that it took me more than a month to finish it.

Rating: 3.5 stars