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amberw27's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
3 people, linked by a film in production, trying to work out who they are and what to do next.
Bit of a struggle to finish it
Bit of a struggle to finish it
angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
3.0
I’m chasing the next 5-star read from Boyd. Ever since I picked up the most uninteresting-looking copy of A Good Man in Africa, struggled my way through the first chapter, and then upon getting going again with chapter 2, discovered one of my favorite books of all time; I’ve been waiting on the next piece of brilliance from this author. Oh well, Trio isn’t it. Not too bad, but still searching for that next mind-blowing experience. Occasional glimpses of the greatness of A Good Man in Africa, but he never captures it in the long run.
candacesiegle_greedyreader's review against another edition
3.0
I've been a fan of WIlliam Boyd since "The New Confessions," which remains one of my favorite books, and "Restless," one of the tightest WW2 spy novels. "Trio" is Boyd in a lighthearted, more humorous mode, even though the novel does have some dark reminders about other things going on in the summer of 1968.
A film crew is gathered in Brighton to make a movie called "Emily Bracegirdle’s Extremely Useful Ladder to the Moon," a swinging 60's title if ever there was one. The producer is a charming, closeted gay man named Talbott Kydd. The star is American Anny Viklund who, it turns out, has ties to a terrorist, And Elfrida Wing, wife of the director, blocked novelist, and a creative and dedicated drunk.
There are a number of skillful farcical scenes and the book is very enjoyable, but I kept waiting for that one moment, that one shocking thing that would boost "Trio" to another level. Nothing like that happens.
"Trio" gets 3.5 stars from me because Boyd is such a fine writer. I wish he'd gone ahead with that moment.
A film crew is gathered in Brighton to make a movie called "Emily Bracegirdle’s Extremely Useful Ladder to the Moon," a swinging 60's title if ever there was one. The producer is a charming, closeted gay man named Talbott Kydd. The star is American Anny Viklund who, it turns out, has ties to a terrorist, And Elfrida Wing, wife of the director, blocked novelist, and a creative and dedicated drunk.
There are a number of skillful farcical scenes and the book is very enjoyable, but I kept waiting for that one moment, that one shocking thing that would boost "Trio" to another level. Nothing like that happens.
"Trio" gets 3.5 stars from me because Boyd is such a fine writer. I wish he'd gone ahead with that moment.
bricepudding's review
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hayleybeale's review
3.0
Back in the 1980's, Martin, Julian, and Ian were the golden boys of British upper middle brow literature, but William Boyd was there too, publishing a steady stream of good and sometimes excellent novels, but somehow missing out on the adulation the others received. I haven't read anything of his for ages, so when I came across his latest, I was excited to give it a go. It didn't disappoint, but it didn't thrill either.
It's 1968 and the novel follows three people connected with the making of the very sixties movie Emily Bracegirdle and Her Amazing Ladder to the Moon. The wife of the director, Elfrida is an alcoholic author, often referred to as the next Virginia Woolf, who has had writer's block for ten years. The producer, Talbot Kydd is a closeted gay man. Anny Viklund is the American star of the movie who is being pursued by her ex-husband, a domestic terrorist. Though set in this most tumultuous year, the external events don't really impinge on the characters, though each of them experiences their own upheavals.
Smart, funny, and intelligent but I didn't really feel that engaged. I started out with this as an audiobook but didn't like the narrator or pacing so finished it off in print.
It's 1968 and the novel follows three people connected with the making of the very sixties movie Emily Bracegirdle and Her Amazing Ladder to the Moon. The wife of the director, Elfrida is an alcoholic author, often referred to as the next Virginia Woolf, who has had writer's block for ten years. The producer, Talbot Kydd is a closeted gay man. Anny Viklund is the American star of the movie who is being pursued by her ex-husband, a domestic terrorist. Though set in this most tumultuous year, the external events don't really impinge on the characters, though each of them experiences their own upheavals.
Smart, funny, and intelligent but I didn't really feel that engaged. I started out with this as an audiobook but didn't like the narrator or pacing so finished it off in print.
dreadpiraterudis's review
emotional
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
I so rarely enjoy when multiple narratives are constantly rotated, but Trio handles each chapter with such care, attention and fantastic detail. Great period piece that doesn’t bog itself down with excessive detail.
paulsnelling's review
3.0
Not one of Boyd's finest. A tale of three characters connected by a complex Brighton filmset. Lives intertwined with some slightly comedic peripherals, each finds resolution to their inner turmoils. 3.5 stars
nicjohnston's review
3.0
William Boyd brings us a smart and savvy tale of 3 protagonists loosely bound together by the production of a film in Brighton in 1968. We meet a novelist with writers block and alcoholism (think vodka decanted into Sarsons vinegar bottles), the film’s producer on a personal journey which enlightens him beyond his wife and 2.4 children and the star of the film with a set of complex relationships.
The plot is politically astute and pacy, bringing together threads of a society still impacted by war but heading towards more liberal attitudes (albeit some issues certainly regressed for periods in the interim).
While I enjoyed Trio, I did not wholly warm to any of the characters and some aspects of the ending were unduly neat. There is enough in the book to keep readers thoroughly entertained and I’d therefore go with a 3.5*.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin UK for an ARC.
The plot is politically astute and pacy, bringing together threads of a society still impacted by war but heading towards more liberal attitudes (albeit some issues certainly regressed for periods in the interim).
While I enjoyed Trio, I did not wholly warm to any of the characters and some aspects of the ending were unduly neat. There is enough in the book to keep readers thoroughly entertained and I’d therefore go with a 3.5*.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin UK for an ARC.