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kaity2's review against another edition
4.0
This book was given to me by a friend. She recommends it for people who need something powerful in their life.
It took me a while to finish this book. At parts it got slow but then found a way to bring you back into the story. The author writes in such a way that you feel like you are the main character, David. You feel what he feels and understand his pains and frustrations. I enjoyed reading about this intense, obsessive love. I enjoyed the ending and this was a nice read overall. I probably wouldn't read it again but I would recommend it to someone who is looking for a light, easy read that still has some drama and a decent story line.
"My first love was everything all at once. The kind you never fall back from. Never try to, never want to. A love so big, so strong, it never dies. Never fades. Never loses its electricity. The kind of love you fight for. The kind of boy you fight for." -Unknown
It took me a while to finish this book. At parts it got slow but then found a way to bring you back into the story. The author writes in such a way that you feel like you are the main character, David. You feel what he feels and understand his pains and frustrations. I enjoyed reading about this intense, obsessive love. I enjoyed the ending and this was a nice read overall. I probably wouldn't read it again but I would recommend it to someone who is looking for a light, easy read that still has some drama and a decent story line.
"My first love was everything all at once. The kind you never fall back from. Never try to, never want to. A love so big, so strong, it never dies. Never fades. Never loses its electricity. The kind of love you fight for. The kind of boy you fight for." -Unknown
leilorenzo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Blood
anicea's review against another edition
4.0
Why do I give this book 5 stars? Because of the gorgeous prose. Because of way Spencer articulates the complexity of obsession. Because of the way the plot builds while also withholding instant-gratification. Because of the last page and a half. This book made me nervous, annoyed, excited, impassioned, and immensely sad.
EDIT: Changed this to 4 stars, because I just read Bleak House.
EDIT: Changed this to 4 stars, because I just read Bleak House.
jennicakes's review against another edition
2.0
Eh.
I really wanted to like this one, because 1.) I think the plot itself was great, but it was presented in this sort of uneven way and 2.) it was largely a story about family dynamics, but I don't think Spencer deals very adroitly with all the characters he introduces. If I had a choice, I'd probably want to hang out with Arthur's parents before any of the other characters in the book, but the portrayal of them and their mid-century Communist, Jewish lifestyle is just so harsh and indelicately presented. David's fascination with his girlfriend and her WASP family would be a lot easier to swallow if it had been done with a touch of irony, and if the Butterfields has been really well-rendered. But they sort of bored the crap out of me, to tell the truth.
I really wanted to like this one, because 1.) I think the plot itself was great, but it was presented in this sort of uneven way and 2.) it was largely a story about family dynamics, but I don't think Spencer deals very adroitly with all the characters he introduces. If I had a choice, I'd probably want to hang out with Arthur's parents before any of the other characters in the book, but the portrayal of them and their mid-century Communist, Jewish lifestyle is just so harsh and indelicately presented. David's fascination with his girlfriend and her WASP family would be a lot easier to swallow if it had been done with a touch of irony, and if the Butterfields has been really well-rendered. But they sort of bored the crap out of me, to tell the truth.
sarahwhinds's review against another edition
2.0
A very male perspective of what seemed to me to be dysfunctional love.
ely_reads's review against another edition
4.0
This novel was so intensely creepy...I can't even begin to put it into words. Due to the creepiness of the story it was quite the page turner and I found myself binge reading to find out what happened next!
jenniferworrell's review against another edition
5.0
I couldn't put this book down. I hated to return it to the library. It's so beautifully written with a protagonist you're right beside for the entire story, and a heartbreaking ending I must have read a dozen times. I can't recommend it enough. It's one of those books that leave you hoping for a certain fate of the two main characters if there was a sequel, and glad there isn't one because it would take away the beauty of what was already written. And for a love story, there was quite a lot of tension and thriller aspects; the protagonist is on the lam, after all. If I didn't have so many other books out I'd read it over again.
The letters seemed to go on an extraordinarily long time, but at this point that's a minor quibble.
The letters seemed to go on an extraordinarily long time, but at this point that's a minor quibble.
jadegreen15's review against another edition
5.0
Sort of like if Wuthering Heights met Catcher in the Rye, which is to say it’s the sort of book you’ll either love or hate. Personally, I loved it. It sucked me in, to the emotion, the plot, the characters. The writing was beautiful. The people were terrible. And it all felt so achingly real.
It blurs the line between love and obsession, passion and insanity. It’s a book packed with emotion, unbridled, dangerous emotion. There are scenes and lines that will sit with me for a long time
And yes, the sex scenes are *insanely* and somewhat disturbingly detailed.
It blurs the line between love and obsession, passion and insanity. It’s a book packed with emotion, unbridled, dangerous emotion. There are scenes and lines that will sit with me for a long time
And yes, the sex scenes are *insanely* and somewhat disturbingly detailed.
kimmym's review against another edition
3.0
(From www.pingwings.ca)
Cover image and summary from Goodreads:
I read this for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Book Club’s February pick, and wow…I had no idea what to expect with this one.
The characters were all so unlikeable and so strange. A family that does drugs together and not only permits their teenage daughter’s boyfriend to practically move in but buys them a huge bed to share? Strange. And the boyfriend’s parents don’t seem to do anything about this? Strange.
David was so self-centred. Everything was about him. Someone’s divorce, someone’s death, you name it, he found a way to make it all come back to him. And I couldn’t tell what he and Jade even saw in each other, other than the physical attraction, because the book picks up after their relationship has sort of ended. Without knowing what it was that created that spark between the two of them, I found it very difficult to care about their ‘endless love’ (haha).
I thought that David was obsessed with Jade. He declared his love for her, committed crimes and violated conditions of his release because of his feelings for her, basically stalked her family in order to stalk her, etc. I found none of that romantic.
I did see the film adaptation with Kathy, and other than the names and a house fire, there wasn’t much else that seemed to come from the book. And you know what? I liked the movie! It honestly bore zero resemblance to the book, but I could tell just from the commercials that it was very very different, and I appreciated that. Had the movie followed the book much more closely, it would have been bleak.
I found the book sort of depressing, to be honest. David’s whole life was about Jade and in the end, it didn’t land him anywhere good. I felt bad for him, but I felt worse for the people that he had hurt in his quest to find and be with Jade.
I was really looking forward to our book club discussion on this one! There were some parts of the book that I know had us all reaching for the mind bleach (chapter 14!). I’m not really sure how to rate this one. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it. I didn’t like most (any?) of the characters, but thought the book overall was pretty well written. I’m all mixed up about this one!
Cover image and summary from Goodreads:
One of the most celebrated novels of its time, Endless Love remains perhaps the most powerful novel ever written about young love. Riveting, compulsively readable, and ferociously sexual, Endless Love tells the story of David Axelrod and his overwhelming love for Jade Butterfield.
David’s and Jade’s lives are consumed with each other; their rapport, their desire, their sexuality take them further than they understand. And when Jade’s father suddenly banishes David from the house, he fantasizes the forgiveness his rescue of the family will bring and he sets a “perfectly safe” fire to their house. What unfolds is a nightmare, a dark world in which David’s love is a crime and a disease, a world of anonymous phone calls, crazy letters, and new fears — and the inevitable and punishing pursuit of the one thing that remains most real to him: his endless love for Jade and her family.
I read this for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Book Club’s February pick, and wow…I had no idea what to expect with this one.
The characters were all so unlikeable and so strange. A family that does drugs together and not only permits their teenage daughter’s boyfriend to practically move in but buys them a huge bed to share? Strange. And the boyfriend’s parents don’t seem to do anything about this? Strange.
David was so self-centred. Everything was about him. Someone’s divorce, someone’s death, you name it, he found a way to make it all come back to him. And I couldn’t tell what he and Jade even saw in each other, other than the physical attraction, because the book picks up after their relationship has sort of ended. Without knowing what it was that created that spark between the two of them, I found it very difficult to care about their ‘endless love’ (haha).
I thought that David was obsessed with Jade. He declared his love for her, committed crimes and violated conditions of his release because of his feelings for her, basically stalked her family in order to stalk her, etc. I found none of that romantic.
I did see the film adaptation with Kathy, and other than the names and a house fire, there wasn’t much else that seemed to come from the book. And you know what? I liked the movie! It honestly bore zero resemblance to the book, but I could tell just from the commercials that it was very very different, and I appreciated that. Had the movie followed the book much more closely, it would have been bleak.
I found the book sort of depressing, to be honest. David’s whole life was about Jade and in the end, it didn’t land him anywhere good. I felt bad for him, but I felt worse for the people that he had hurt in his quest to find and be with Jade.
I was really looking forward to our book club discussion on this one! There were some parts of the book that I know had us all reaching for the mind bleach (chapter 14!). I’m not really sure how to rate this one. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it. I didn’t like most (any?) of the characters, but thought the book overall was pretty well written. I’m all mixed up about this one!
whimsicalmeerkat's review against another edition
4.0
This is a truly fantastic book. It is immeasurably sensual and wild and sad. Scott Spencer is talented and some of the most powerful and moving passages I have read are contained in this book. Unfortunately, the horror that was the movie adaptation destroyed his reputation, even though he did not write it. The book is amazing though.