I'm an avid reader and loved The House at Riverton so when The Forgotten Garden was published I bought it anticipating another great read. Oh dear. The plot leapt about from era to era with several apparently unrelated characters who had no link between them or the dates written about. I never got as far as the garden part but just gave up at Chapter 3 because it was impossible to get into. I passed the book on to a friend with more persistence than I have, and she got no further, so this confusing book has ended up on a charity shop shelf and I hope someone else gets more pleasure from it than we did. One star out of five is being generous.
>>More Details
The opening chapters get off to a great start, sadly followed by too much character explanation of emotions that have no real depth and frankly become less believable as time goes on, inevidably half way through not only do you know how it's all going to end, you can't help but feel you are immersed in a screenplay for a TV movie. As crime thillers go... this is pretty disappointing.
>>More Details
Having been recommended to me on good authority and having heard of the reputation of (but never read) Rose Tremain, I had high expectations of this novel. Well it didn't disappoint me, in fact it exceeded those expectations.
Other reviewers have gone into detail here on the plot, suffice to say that Lev journeys to the UK from Eastern Europe to look for work and earn money to send home and improve the lives of his daughter and mother, his wife having died tragically young. He overcomes difficulties, and is lucky enough to encounter some genuinely kind, thoughtful and friendly people who help make it possible for him to see his plans through, though not without emotional and financial setbacks along the way. How interesting for us ... Read More:
>>More Details
A beautiful, beautiful, beautiful piece of fiction. This is the book I wished I had written and the friends to whom I've lent my copy say the same. I sincerely hope that this isn't the one and only book Sadie Jones has in her, but what a read The Outcast is; fan-blooming-tastic!
>>More Details
Just a short review as there are so many already - BUT .... I was a bit disappointed by The Kite Runner, not least because I read A Thousand Splendid Suns first and expected this book to be as good - it wasn't.
Another reviewer said of The Kite Runner 'It's an adequate story, filled with parts that are designed to make the reader cry.' I agree with this. I did find it a little predictable and it lacked something which A Thousand Splendid Suns had (which I can't quite put my finger on) but that's not to say that it's not well written as Hosseini does have an incredible gift as an author.
Perhaps I wasn't compelled to turn the pages as quickly as I expected - this is all too often the case though with massively over-hyped books. That ... Read More:
>>More Details
Just a short review as there are so many already - BUT .... I was a bit disappointed by The Kite Runner, not least because I read A Thousand Splendid Suns first and expected this book to be as good - it wasn't.
Another reviewer said of The Kite Runner 'It's an adequate story, filled with parts that are designed to make the reader cry.' I agree with this. I did find it a little predictable and it lacked something which A Thousand Splendid Suns had (which I can't quite put my finger on) but that's not to say that it's not well written as Hosseini does have an incredible gift as an author.
Perhaps I wasn't compelled to turn the pages as quickly as I expected - this is all too often the case though with massively over-hyped books. That ... Read More:
>>More Details
I have to agree with some of the other reviews in that this book isn't brilliant by ANY stretch of the imagination but neither do I think it is rubbish. I have to say I found the end a bit frustrating - some of the descriptions of things were getting tedious and the plot with Guy Glover was really unnecessary. I felt his character was pointless and the book would have been much better had the author focussed more on Tor & Rose. It is as though the author had run out of steam at the end and just wanted to get it finished.. However if you enjoy a beach book / easy read this may be a good one to take away.
>>More Details
I have to agree with some of the other reviews in that this book isn't brilliant by ANY stretch of the imagination but neither do I think it is rubbish. I have to say I found the end a bit frustrating - some of the descriptions of things were getting tedious and the plot with Guy Glover was really unnecessary. I felt his character was pointless and the book would have been much better had the author focussed more on Tor & Rose. It is as though the author had run out of steam at the end and just wanted to get it finished.. However if you enjoy a beach book / easy read this may be a good one to take away.
>>More Details