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zainsdad's review against another edition
2.0
big michael crichton fan but this one didn’t age well - i can’t believe the mra incel crowd hasn’t latched onto this one yet
shychipmunk's review against another edition
3.0
I gave up after the first section because I couldn't stand the manipulation and emotional bullshit. But then after reading the synopsis on Wikipedia to see how it turned out, I thought the later part sounded interesting, so I jumped ahead to the third section and read the rest of the book (and later went back and read the second half of the second section).
The half of the book that's about unraveling the tapestry of deception is much more up my alley, but there's plenty of books that do that without spending as much time having the protagonist suffer at the hands of an unlikeable asshole, so I can't really recommend this one.
It doesn't help matters any that I'm still not sure whether I've read this before, or just a different corporate espionage book of Chrichton's that I didn't like either.
The half of the book that's about unraveling the tapestry of deception is much more up my alley, but there's plenty of books that do that without spending as much time having the protagonist suffer at the hands of an unlikeable asshole, so I can't really recommend this one.
It doesn't help matters any that I'm still not sure whether I've read this before, or just a different corporate espionage book of Chrichton's that I didn't like either.
adcarva's review against another edition
3.0
A good book.
I picked three stars, not because I found it lacking on its own merits, but because at the end of the day you have to gage the quality of a book to other books out there. I have decided to compare Disclosure to other Crichton novels. And it is hard to say that it should rise to the level of Jurassic Park or Timeline.
I picked three stars, not because I found it lacking on its own merits, but because at the end of the day you have to gage the quality of a book to other books out there. I have decided to compare Disclosure to other Crichton novels. And it is hard to say that it should rise to the level of Jurassic Park or Timeline.
emilymalonzo's review against another edition
3.0
Decent thriller but I was not thrilled with the way women are represented and discussed.
pio_near's review against another edition
4.0
An a-political, neutral review...
I first read this book over a quarter century ago when I was a mid-teen, when I regarded the world with a fairly cavalier attitude.
However, I feel like this may be one of the most important books of this generation. A quick note on Micheal Crichton. Mr. Crichton has long been a personal favorite of mine, and has a long history of being held high in public esteem in both his literary works and film adaptations. This is mainly because he poses a question... mostly one that is techno-philisophical, and is able to build a compelling storyline to maybe not answer the issue, but certainly prove it out by human experience.
Disclosure is certainly a profound example of this. Back in the early 1990's Crichton tackled the prickly issue of sexual discrimination from a reverse perspective. Quickly adapted into a movie that hyper-sensatiinalized the storyline, Disosure is a book that really speaks to inequality in all senses. Racial, Sexisit, Religion or Political, it shows that targeting any 'ism' is just a road to discrimination.
Again, this is an a-political, neutral review.
But I think it is safe to say that in 2008 we lost one of the most important Fiction writers of our day. I shudder to think of a what he would make of the state of the world today, but revel to imagine what his brilliant mind would have thought up for our future.
Probably a 4.5 for me, this is the pinnacle of literature taking political views and humanizing them. Before you 'protest', read this book.
I first read this book over a quarter century ago when I was a mid-teen, when I regarded the world with a fairly cavalier attitude.
However, I feel like this may be one of the most important books of this generation. A quick note on Micheal Crichton. Mr. Crichton has long been a personal favorite of mine, and has a long history of being held high in public esteem in both his literary works and film adaptations. This is mainly because he poses a question... mostly one that is techno-philisophical, and is able to build a compelling storyline to maybe not answer the issue, but certainly prove it out by human experience.
Disclosure is certainly a profound example of this. Back in the early 1990's Crichton tackled the prickly issue of sexual discrimination from a reverse perspective. Quickly adapted into a movie that hyper-sensatiinalized the storyline, Disosure is a book that really speaks to inequality in all senses. Racial, Sexisit, Religion or Political, it shows that targeting any 'ism' is just a road to discrimination.
Again, this is an a-political, neutral review.
But I think it is safe to say that in 2008 we lost one of the most important Fiction writers of our day. I shudder to think of a what he would make of the state of the world today, but revel to imagine what his brilliant mind would have thought up for our future.
Probably a 4.5 for me, this is the pinnacle of literature taking political views and humanizing them. Before you 'protest', read this book.
temporaryhouseplant's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
puppywaffle's review against another edition
Too painful to read about such a dysfunctional relationship
trash_reader_'s review against another edition
I wanted to DNF this at page 7, but I was unfortunately stuck at work with nothing else to read so I was forced to read this until I got home. I should have just suffered with nothing to read.
At first, it was just boring. I don't want to waste time reading a book I'm not enjoying. And then I kept reading, and I went from just bored to bored and slowly growing more angry with every page. I didn't even hate Game of Thrones this much, and my review for that disgrace of a book is basically an essay.
The misogyny was disgusting. I'm aware the book is 30 years old and its obvious because it did not age well at all, but you don't have to have every single male character bitching about women in the workforce on every page. And that's ignoring the sexist "jokes" and comments (that were just as abundant as the bitching) and also the racist "jokes" and comments that were peppered throughout as well.
We also were given an extremely old man who's just oh-so eccentric and quirky. He's so smart he talks in circles and riddles and thinks it's funny to get under people's skin instead of just answering their questions. Oh and let's not forget about his disgustingly sexist and misogynistic comments and actions towards women "because he's just such an old man, what do you expect."
The characters weren't even the only ones being misogynistic. The author decided that every woman he gives a few lines of dialogue to is stereotypically so intense about her career that nothing else - NOT EVEN A CANCER DIAGNOSIS??? - matters to them. Not a single day taken off of work for cancer? And magically it's gone now? Shut the fuck up. And if the women weren't "hard as ice," they were just a pretty face for the receptionist.
Along with every single man complaining about women in the workforce, you have the same women who are so intense about their careers they'll never take a day off work for a medical crisis bitching and complaining about misogyny and accusing everyone of being sexist and misogynistic and throwing a fit over fucking pinup posters? Again, shut the fuck up. It's so dramatic for absolutely no reason.
The only woman who wasn't so intense about her job was Meredith, and that's only because the lovely author decided that SHE would be the only person in the book with a career to have slept around in order to get her position. Which then led into an ALMOST SIX PAGE rape scene? Why do we need 6 pages for that? I read the first two and had to skip the rest because it was disgusting, pointlessly long, and so overdramatic that it was almost laughable.
And then the author had the audacity to not have Tom get mad because he was being sexually assaulted, oh no. It was "male fury." Because "men can't be pinned down and dominated by a mere woman, oh that's so disgraceful, I must get angry and dominate." And then he proceeds ro take it out on his wife and scream about how she isnt oppressed because she doesn't sweep the floor? Shut the fuck up.
I want to rip this book to pieces and burn them.
At first, it was just boring. I don't want to waste time reading a book I'm not enjoying. And then I kept reading, and I went from just bored to bored and slowly growing more angry with every page. I didn't even hate Game of Thrones this much, and my review for that disgrace of a book is basically an essay.
The misogyny was disgusting. I'm aware the book is 30 years old and its obvious because it did not age well at all, but you don't have to have every single male character bitching about women in the workforce on every page. And that's ignoring the sexist "jokes" and comments (that were just as abundant as the bitching) and also the racist "jokes" and comments that were peppered throughout as well.
We also were given an extremely old man who's just oh-so eccentric and quirky. He's so smart he talks in circles and riddles and thinks it's funny to get under people's skin instead of just answering their questions. Oh and let's not forget about his disgustingly sexist and misogynistic comments and actions towards women "because he's just such an old man, what do you expect."
The characters weren't even the only ones being misogynistic. The author decided that every woman he gives a few lines of dialogue to is stereotypically so intense about her career that nothing else - NOT EVEN A CANCER DIAGNOSIS??? - matters to them. Not a single day taken off of work for cancer? And magically it's gone now? Shut the fuck up. And if the women weren't "hard as ice," they were just a pretty face for the receptionist.
Along with every single man complaining about women in the workforce, you have the same women who are so intense about their careers they'll never take a day off work for a medical crisis bitching and complaining about misogyny and accusing everyone of being sexist and misogynistic and throwing a fit over fucking pinup posters? Again, shut the fuck up. It's so dramatic for absolutely no reason.
The only woman who wasn't so intense about her job was Meredith, and that's only because the lovely author decided that SHE would be the only person in the book with a career to have slept around in order to get her position. Which then led into an ALMOST SIX PAGE rape scene? Why do we need 6 pages for that? I read the first two and had to skip the rest because it was disgusting, pointlessly long, and so overdramatic that it was almost laughable.
And then the author had the audacity to not have Tom get mad because he was being sexually assaulted, oh no. It was "male fury." Because "men can't be pinned down and dominated by a mere woman, oh that's so disgraceful, I must get angry and dominate." And then he proceeds ro take it out on his wife and scream about how she isnt oppressed because she doesn't sweep the floor? Shut the fuck up.
I want to rip this book to pieces and burn them.
benbert's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
jamesrose's review against another edition
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0