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krobart's review
3.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2023/07/24/review-2210-it-ends-with-revelations/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2023/07/24/review-2210-it-ends-with-revelations/
fros86's review
4.0
This is the 2nd Dodie Smith book I have read, I Capture the Castle being one of my favourite books from my teen years... I did enjoy it, but it wasn't until about half way through that I really got hooked and couldn't put it down. It was one of those books that I loved, but can't really describe why!! Highly recommended though, if a book to make you feel incredibly uncomfortable.
annebrooke's review
3.0
I started out really enjoying this book and then later became rather irritated with it. I thought the main character, Jill, was well-written on the whole, and her relationship with her husband Miles is interesting in that it shows how a woman's character can be overshadowed by a (very) demanding man. The story of their lives in the theatre was very well done.
The arrival of her would-be lover Geoffrey is a bit of a disaster though, and the book goes swiftly downhill from there. Geoffrey is just very dull, and has the two most annoying daughters in the history of fiction - I hated them! So - to me - the ending, though obvious, was very disappointing. Poor Miles, LOL!
The arrival of her would-be lover Geoffrey is a bit of a disaster though, and the book goes swiftly downhill from there. Geoffrey is just very dull, and has the two most annoying daughters in the history of fiction - I hated them! So - to me - the ending, though obvious, was very disappointing. Poor Miles, LOL!
agingerg's review
2.0
Another quick Dodie Smith read. Entertaining. I wasn't as emotional about the book as many of the reviewers but I do hear all their points.
stagasaurus's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this. Surprised me to read lots of reviews of people who hated it. I liked all the characters and romped my way happily though it. Not perhaps as incredible as I Capture the Castle, but I got a lot of pleasure from reading it still.
pipfromspace's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jovvijo's review
3.0
I rather liked this book for all it was not what I was expecting!
It helps that I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting...
The Good:
It is an unusual setting, with a popular actor and his wife who work in the theater and what happens when she meets a dashing gent who discovers her "dark" secret.
What will happen? Will Jill stay in her happy marriage, or will she leave because of...something missing!
Dum dum DUM!!!!
The Bad:
Didn't much like the characters, except maybe for Miles, who, poor bugger, really does get the rough end of the stick, but otherwise the kids were pushy, the dad had the personality of a lively lump of lead, and Jill well, she just wasn't that nice, was she?
And crumbs,but the revelations were easy to guess! And things then happened far too conveniently to move the story along! Just the sort of things that make this book feel a little like a woolly jersey that keeps you warm, but itches too much.
The Ugly:
The cover of the book I read, it had three creepy female silhouettes on it and made you feel like it was going to be a book about insanity or something dark and crawling! *shivers*
So read it if you're a fan of Dodie and feel she can write no wrong, otherwise go for '101 dalmatians' if you like dogs, or 'I capture the castle' for the story we all deserve!
It helps that I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting...
The Good:
It is an unusual setting, with a popular actor and his wife who work in the theater and what happens when she meets a dashing gent who discovers her "dark" secret.
What will happen? Will Jill stay in her happy marriage, or will she leave because of...something missing!
Dum dum DUM!!!!
The Bad:
Didn't much like the characters, except maybe for Miles, who, poor bugger, really does get the rough end of the stick, but otherwise the kids were pushy, the dad had the personality of a lively lump of lead, and Jill well, she just wasn't that nice, was she?
And crumbs,but the revelations were easy to guess! And things then happened far too conveniently to move the story along! Just the sort of things that make this book feel a little like a woolly jersey that keeps you warm, but itches too much.
The Ugly:
The cover of the book I read, it had three creepy female silhouettes on it and made you feel like it was going to be a book about insanity or something dark and crawling! *shivers*
So read it if you're a fan of Dodie and feel she can write no wrong, otherwise go for '101 dalmatians' if you like dogs, or 'I capture the castle' for the story we all deserve!
yeahdeadslow's review
4.0
I'd say this is the Dodie Smith book I've enjoyed most since I Capture the Castle. (Though I'm set to read The Town in Bloom soon and that one seems to get the most positivity [again, not counting I Capture the Castle].)
This is hardly a fantastic book, I can't shake the feeling it could have been a lot better. I enjoyed it for the most part, though. A few things did bother me, mostly the fact I never liked Geoffrey Thornton; I wish Jill had stayed with Miles. Their relationship, though abnormal, was sweet and seemed to work well for them. She just kind of... abandoned him. Still, it was enjoyable, overall. The trick to reading Dodie Smith's other books is to conveniently forget that she's the author of that delicious quintessence of a novel, I Capture the Castle. You can hardly tell they're one and the same by the writing, it's quite easy to pretend they're not the same person at all. (Is that horrible of me to say? Oh well.)
This is hardly a fantastic book, I can't shake the feeling it could have been a lot better. I enjoyed it for the most part, though. A few things did bother me, mostly the fact I never liked Geoffrey Thornton; I wish Jill had stayed with Miles. Their relationship, though abnormal, was sweet and seemed to work well for them. She just kind of... abandoned him. Still, it was enjoyable, overall. The trick to reading Dodie Smith's other books is to conveniently forget that she's the author of that delicious quintessence of a novel, I Capture the Castle. You can hardly tell they're one and the same by the writing, it's quite easy to pretend they're not the same person at all. (Is that horrible of me to say? Oh well.)