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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
On some level, this book seems to be a commentary on the modern practice of serial monogamy. People enter long-term relationships, become deeply intertwined, suffer division, and then are expected to move on rather quickly, perhaps even never again seeing the people who were once an integral part of their lives. Then people repeat this process again and again over a lifetime. It's amazing, this book seems to imply, that we aren't all somewhat insane as a consequence.
On another level, the book is a rejection of the romantic notion of love, of the idea that love is ever black and white or that anyone only has a single potential soul mate. Love has more to do with the right timing than the right person.
The author is not heavy handed in communicating all this. She tells a good story that kept me turning pages for the most part. She uses light humour that had me chuckling more than once. There were, however, some moments that seemed repetitive or non-essential to the plot, and I think the book could easily have been cut down by 30-40 pages. Initially, I found the switch in narration between first and third person to be very jarring, but after about 40 pages I was entirely accustomed to it. The characters were not quite likeable - I found Ellen slightly annoying - and yet they were oddly relatable and sympathetic in some ways. They were, at least, interesting, though I had trouble feeling much connection to Patrick until toward the very end.
I preferred the author's novel "What Alice Forgot," but this was a good enough read.
On another level, the book is a rejection of the romantic notion of love, of the idea that love is ever black and white or that anyone only has a single potential soul mate. Love has more to do with the right timing than the right person.
The author is not heavy handed in communicating all this. She tells a good story that kept me turning pages for the most part. She uses light humour that had me chuckling more than once. There were, however, some moments that seemed repetitive or non-essential to the plot, and I think the book could easily have been cut down by 30-40 pages. Initially, I found the switch in narration between first and third person to be very jarring, but after about 40 pages I was entirely accustomed to it. The characters were not quite likeable - I found Ellen slightly annoying - and yet they were oddly relatable and sympathetic in some ways. They were, at least, interesting, though I had trouble feeling much connection to Patrick until toward the very end.
I preferred the author's novel "What Alice Forgot," but this was a good enough read.
I enjoyed it but it wasn't quite as good as her other books.
I'm a little scared of how much I sympathized with the stalker in this novel.
I'm going to go with 3.5 stars. There were things I really liked about this book- the dual point of view and how she seamlessly switched between them- and a few things I didn't. I felt myself sympathizing with Saskia and understanding why Ellen had the feelings she did. It was all very well done. Even better, it was all wrapped up Patrick's monologue at the end. Better than Three Wishes, not as good as What Alice Forgot... in my book at least ;)
lighthearted
mysterious
3.5? It was kind of a roller coaster. First, I identified with both the female characters, then they both made me crazy for a little while, and then I liked them again. The end was a bit anti-climactic, but still fitting, I suppose. Wow, this review is awful.
I kept expecting things to go horribly wrong, but I enjoyed it.