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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I read this a long time ago. I'm only reviewing it because I came across a reference to it recently.
I liked many things about this book, but I also recall having to plough through sections I found plodding. The fact that so much of it has stuck in my mind - especially the character of the Japanese translator - says something. I do recall being disappointed by the direction the book took in the end.
I liked many things about this book, but I also recall having to plough through sections I found plodding. The fact that so much of it has stuck in my mind - especially the character of the Japanese translator - says something. I do recall being disappointed by the direction the book took in the end.
I love character studies, and this book is a great character study set in the extreme situation of a hostage crisis. Over the course of the crisis, many of the characters are slowly revealed - both hostage and hostage taker. The humanity of each and the circumstances that brought each to that moment are explored within a bubble. The author brings this together so well, that as characters fall in love, you fall in love too. All this wrapped in a story that is well laid out, and leads to an inevitable climax that the characters don’t want, and the author has convinced you not to want as well. I have read Tom Lake and The Dutch House, and this book stands out above those.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I found the overall ideas for the plot and characters interesting and unique but thought the book was slow and a bit boring. I am surprised to see so many high reviews.
its been 10+ years since I read it for the first time & I still wish I could change the ending.
I love these characters so much 😭
I love these characters so much 😭
This was a wild ride. I needed to make a character list to keep up with who was who. I enjoyed the story very much. Later I found out that it was loosely based on a real event in Peru. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I read a little bit about the true hostage situation, and I can see some definite similarities. I enjoyed the character development. Sympathy toward each other grew from both sides; Stockholm syndrome played out in this book. The whole story broke my heart.
The epilogue of the book really bothered me and it didn’t make sense. There was no hint or explanation that would make that work for me. That’s why it took off one star.
The epilogue of the book really bothered me and it didn’t make sense. There was no hint or explanation that would make that work for me. That’s why it took off one star.
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is such an interesting book - the idea of hostage situations is something you tend to see on TV shows, and they always seem to be pretty fast paced. This is completely the opposite - it’s the hostage situation that never ends, but goes on for months without release.
I loved the growing connections between the hostages and their captors, which developed with the more time that they spent together. And I loved the various love stories, either between characters, or with singing, or memories. The book was incredibly beautifully written, and was almost a homage to opera. One of the first songs that Roxanne sings is O Mio Babbino Caro, which I absolutely adore and could hear inside my head as I was reading.
But for the slow paced action of the book, the ending came almost too quickly. You knew that something had to happen, and what you wanted to happen, but it really could have gone either way. This was another really great book by Anne Patchett, and I am looking forward to the next one.
I loved the growing connections between the hostages and their captors, which developed with the more time that they spent together. And I loved the various love stories, either between characters, or with singing, or memories. The book was incredibly beautifully written, and was almost a homage to opera. One of the first songs that Roxanne sings is O Mio Babbino Caro, which I absolutely adore and could hear inside my head as I was reading.
But for the slow paced action of the book, the ending came almost too quickly. You knew that something had to happen, and what you wanted to happen, but it really could have gone either way. This was another really great book by Anne Patchett, and I am looking forward to the next one.