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pagesofkim's review against another edition
3.0
I felt that this book was pretty dark and found myself in a forlorn mood after reading it until I finished. I also thought the ending was lacking- it just didn't feel complete. However, it was a book that was difficult to put down.
cwiegmann24's review
3.0
The writing in this book is very good, the author has an eloquent way of describing the way the characters feel. When I sat down to read it, I liked what I was reading. The problem was when I put it down and walked away, I didn't feel the need to go back to it. I think the problem was that there were so many characters that were narrating, everything felt disconnected. Some parts had the narrator change, and it was a paragraph or two before you were told who it was. It left me a little frustrated. If you want to move characters so often, don't hide it from me.
Also, the part that I expected to be a big deal didn't live up to the build-up. You're waiting for this to happen, most of the book is the anxiety over this event, and once you get there, it's over before you know it. Not a lot of detail is given either.
There's a lot of good things about this book; the writing is beautiful, the characters are ones you can empathize with. I think that the scope needed to be narrowed. I'm thinking back and there really was very little need to have Paul narrate at all; he didn't provide much to the overall story. And although Pauline did have a large story, I don't think her character provided much either. At the end we're left with Pauline's story just stuck in nothingness.
I think the end of the book said that there were 9 narrators. That left me confused as to who was narrating at the time, and didn't let you get into the head of most of the characters. I think the same story could be told from fewer viewpoints and still be a compelling read, with less confusion and a better pace.
Also, the part that I expected to be a big deal didn't live up to the build-up. You're waiting for this to happen, most of the book is the anxiety over this event, and once you get there, it's over before you know it. Not a lot of detail is given either.
There's a lot of good things about this book; the writing is beautiful, the characters are ones you can empathize with. I think that the scope needed to be narrowed. I'm thinking back and there really was very little need to have Paul narrate at all; he didn't provide much to the overall story. And although Pauline did have a large story, I don't think her character provided much either. At the end we're left with Pauline's story just stuck in nothingness.
I think the end of the book said that there were 9 narrators. That left me confused as to who was narrating at the time, and didn't let you get into the head of most of the characters. I think the same story could be told from fewer viewpoints and still be a compelling read, with less confusion and a better pace.
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