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booksinbedinthornhill's review against another edition
5.0
Author not unknown: Janette Turner Hospital
wyemu's review against another edition
5.0
An amazing and outstanding exploration of survivors guilt and the devastation caused when the hijacking of a plane by terrorists results in the deaths of over 400 people. There are elements of spy thriller as the children who were released from the plane band together adults, trying find answers to the possible US security agencies involvement in their parents death. However, if that's all you read into this novel then you are missing so much more and ought to try again. It really is an astonishing piece of work.
leannep's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
tricky's review against another edition
4.0
Due preparations for the plague is a complicated entanglement of people who are linked to the hijacking and destruction of plane and its aftermath.
This is a thriller that gathers you in page by page. Lowell's whose mother was on the plane, is trying to keep his life together, deal with the recent of his father and avoid facing the reality of the situation. Samantha was a child on the plane who was allowed to disembark. She is seeking answers to what happened but really does not know what she is seeking. Whirling around the two of them is spies, conspiracy and death.
The writing is sublime, the characters go through an entire gauntlet of emotions and you as the reader are engaged with everything that happens. I really enjoyed that I did not like Sam, she drove me nuts but I understood her need to know and to understand why this happened to her family.
Lowell's issues with his father, trying to build a relationship with his own children and being paranoid about events around him.
This was a really gripping read about the survivors and there different needs to understand.
This is a thriller that gathers you in page by page. Lowell's whose mother was on the plane, is trying to keep his life together, deal with the recent of his father and avoid facing the reality of the situation. Samantha was a child on the plane who was allowed to disembark. She is seeking answers to what happened but really does not know what she is seeking. Whirling around the two of them is spies, conspiracy and death.
The writing is sublime, the characters go through an entire gauntlet of emotions and you as the reader are engaged with everything that happens. I really enjoyed that I did not like Sam, she drove me nuts but I understood her need to know and to understand why this happened to her family.
Lowell's issues with his father, trying to build a relationship with his own children and being paranoid about events around him.
This was a really gripping read about the survivors and there different needs to understand.
tien's review against another edition
3.0
A complex web of deceit and conspiracies which entangled those involved into a whirlpool of obsession (to either avoid all or uncover everything). There were many parts in the book and there were 2 main protagonists from the present time however there were parts by other characters from the past. The suspense was well built but I find the ending to be too anti-climatic and so a tad disappointed. However, the story was well & intricately plotted.
bitterindigo's review against another edition
3.0
Huh. Dunno. I used to be in love with anything by this author, but I was a word-enamoured university student. Now I think she's sometimes a tiny bit too in love with her own craftiness. Starts out interesting, gets a little marshy in the middle, ends nicely.
jessica503's review against another edition
5.0
This book was phenomenal! Heartbreaking, thrilling...fantastic characters, a riveting plot around international terrorism, and a devastating middle third set in a hostage bunker that was maybe some of the best writing I've read in the past several years. The author very cleverly scatters clues and indicators throughout the story, some of which she ultimately pieces together for the reader, and some are laid to make the reader work, and reach their own deductions regarding a few mysteries that remain unsolved at the end.
This book is so, so good! Read it!
This book is so, so good! Read it!
spygrl1's review
5.0
I read this weeks ago, but I didn't review it because it's so amazingly good that I can't think of much to say except "read this book."
So, um, read this book. It's about terrorism, U.S. foreign policy, and family secrets. It ends with a sequence of pitch-perfect horror.
How is it possible to live ... with so much stuff that you can't pick up and move on like that?
The dead never stop telling us stories. Those whom we have betrayed, no matter how pure our intent, how scrupulous our reasons, they tell their tales to us night after night, which is why some of you will lose all capacity to sleep.
Even out of atrocity, one is stirred to make art. Especially out of atrocity.
But this is the mystery, she thinks: how do we ready ourselves for what might happen tomorrow? What possible preparations can be made?
So, um, read this book. It's about terrorism, U.S. foreign policy, and family secrets. It ends with a sequence of pitch-perfect horror.
How is it possible to live ... with so much stuff that you can't pick up and move on like that?
The dead never stop telling us stories. Those whom we have betrayed, no matter how pure our intent, how scrupulous our reasons, they tell their tales to us night after night, which is why some of you will lose all capacity to sleep.
Even out of atrocity, one is stirred to make art. Especially out of atrocity.
But this is the mystery, she thinks: how do we ready ourselves for what might happen tomorrow? What possible preparations can be made?
scotchneat's review
2.0
This was on my list "to read" for a while, so I was a bit disappointed that I didn't like it more.
The synopsis is that Lowell the main character, inherits some files from his more than paranoid father related to the death of his mother during the hijacking of Air France 064.
And there's a woman named Sam who wants him to help her track down what happened.
The language is quite heavy - perhaps reflecting the psychological state of the characters as well as the mystery of what really happened to the flight, but it also slows down the reading experience in a way that didn't appeal to me.
The synopsis is that Lowell the main character, inherits some files from his more than paranoid father related to the death of his mother during the hijacking of Air France 064.
And there's a woman named Sam who wants him to help her track down what happened.
The language is quite heavy - perhaps reflecting the psychological state of the characters as well as the mystery of what really happened to the flight, but it also slows down the reading experience in a way that didn't appeal to me.
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