springdellgirl

Book Reviews

#64


Oh Robert Langdon...Why are you such an insufferable know-it-all? Not to mention a turtle-neck-wearing-patronizing-bore. (Men should NEVER wear turtlenecks...gag!) Oh Dan Brown...why must you use this punctuation (?!) incessantly?

I am also so tired of the female characters in these books. They are always described as intelligent women...the best in their fields...yet they are patronized by Langdon through out the entire book...and written so inanely by Brown. Why does Langdon seem to care so deeply for these women but by the next book they are forgotten and never heard from again?

This book was quite a let down. Dan Brown is an annoyingly formulaic writer...secret societies, scientific discoveries, religious mysteries, and creepy zealot villains. I really liked The Davinci Code but then I kept reading more of his books and they were all the same. This one is no different. Except that I saw everything coming from a mile away...and the ending just fizzled out. It was a complete letdown. This book should have ended about 50 pages before it actually did.

That said...it was interesting to "learn" about the Masons but I take everything with a grain of salt. I also enjoyed looking up historical sites and art work on the Internet...which was apparently Brown's intention. He practically begs us to do so...even telling a character to google a statue on her Blackberry (obviously for the slow-to-take-a-hint reader.) I found the premise of the book extremely intriguing but felt like Brown couldn't figure out how to pull it all together in the end.

Besides the weak writing, predictable plot, and dull lectures from Langdon...not too mention way too many references to his "toned physique" due to his morning laps in the Harvard pool (could I vomit?) I kept reading and wiled away a Saturday in the wonderful world of Washington DC, the Masons, and the Ancient Mysteries and had a pretty good time...until the end which was a total bust.

My rating: O.K. read it on a beach or by a pool this summer.

#65

Speaking of a bust...OH MY GOSH!!

From Amazon.com:

Following her breakout bestseller, The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger returns with Her Fearful Symmetry, a haunting tale about the complications of love, identity, and sibling rivalry. The novel opens with the death of Elspeth Noblin, who bequeaths her London flat and its contents to the twin daughters of her estranged twin sister back in Chicago. These 20-year-old dilettantes, Julie and Valentina, move to London, eager to try on a new experience like one of their obsessively matched outfits. Historic Highgate Cemetery, which borders Elspeth's home, serves as an inspired setting as the twins become entwined in the lives of their neighbors: Elspeth's former lover, Robert; Martin, an agoraphobic crossword-puzzle creator; and the ethereal Elspeth herself, struggling to adjust to the afterlife...--Brad Thomas Parsons

I was so looking forward to this book. It looked spooky and scary...about cemeteries and ghosts...things I normally do not enjoy reading about as I am a HUGE chicken and get creeped out very easily... that said it still looked like a good read. Throw in the fact that it arrived in the mail as a surprise from my husband...even better.

The book starts out fantastic...let's start with the title (I love William Blake), the sad death of the aunt with a mysterious background, the setting in London near spooky Highgate Cemetery, the inheritance of the strange twins. I nestled right down for a good read. But then things took a turn...and not for the better.

Unlike Dan Brown, Niffenegger's writing is wonderful...her prose elegant and beautiful. On the other hand, like Brown, her plot is mysterious and intriguing and unfortunately like Dan Brown her ending was a letdown...wait...let me take it a step further. It was laughable. The last third of the book had me rolling my eyes and saying "You've GOT to be kidding me!!" By the ending I was saying "What the @#$%?" Not to give anything away but crows people? Then I was left saying "ridiculous".

This "twisty tale" turns out to be another instance of a book that started out great and then by the end it felt like the author had no idea how to end this crazy tale or redeem any of it's unlikeable and dull characters. You are left with more questions than answers...the history of Elsbeth and Edie for one. I feel like this tale could have gone in many other more interesting directions and I wish that it did so because there was a much more interesting tale that could have been told.

Things I liked...writing style, setting, Martin (the one character worth rooting for), and Highgate Cemetery.

My rating: A BIG disappointment.