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kmac2022's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
jasonfurman's review against another edition
4.0
As one would expect from Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine, this novel is well written and at times quite absorbing. It tells the story of a rising Tory MP whose lover dies in a car crash that was organized as part of a mock abduction / sex game. Given the circumstances, including the fact that the woman is married, he doesn't report it to the authorities and it takes several years before all the different strands pointing to him come together -- largely the self-fulfilling result of his attempts to bury the truth (or, more to the point, his behavior which is explicable pretty much only as the actions of a person who wants to be caught).
The weakness of the novel is that after a promising start it never comes together in any sort of satisfying manner. The ending is essentially stated at the opening of the novel and the unfolding of the events leading to it contain little in the way of surprise or a satisfying conclusion. Still, it remains interesting to the very end -- although some of that comes from the expectation that Rendell/Vine is going to deliver something different than what she ultimately did deliver.
The weakness of the novel is that after a promising start it never comes together in any sort of satisfying manner. The ending is essentially stated at the opening of the novel and the unfolding of the events leading to it contain little in the way of surprise or a satisfying conclusion. Still, it remains interesting to the very end -- although some of that comes from the expectation that Rendell/Vine is going to deliver something different than what she ultimately did deliver.
micaelas's review
Took to long to get interesting. Narrator talked like I was supposed to already know things.
canadianbookworm's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-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
2.5
https://cdnbookworm.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-birthday-present.html
si0bhan's review against another edition
2.0
This was my first Barbra Vine read, my first Ruth Rendell read for that matter, and I was really disappointed.
Her name is one I have heard many times when seeking out psychological thrillers to read. She just seems to be one of those authors whose name will appear whenever on a hunt. Thus, when I found a three book Barbra Vine collection on offer I jumped at them. I wasn’t crazy about any one book in particular, thus I was content with three random ones, and I allowed my sister to decide which one I would read first. Admittedly, it did sit on my shelf for quite some time, but in the end I worked around to it.
Despite the fact that it’s a very short book, it felt as though the book went on forever. I have read high fantasy books of around a thousand pages that have felt shorted than this book. Why? Because it did not feel as though it was going anywhere. I was expecting a thriller; instead, it was a recounting of life following events. Lives I did not care for, and events I found extremely dull. From the start we knew what had happened, we were given suggestions of where things were going, and whilst this can sometimes be fun such was not the case here. It simply wasn’t done as well as it could have been, as well as it has been in other books.
I could easily sit and write more, yet I have such a feeling of ‘meh’ in relation to this book that I cannot bring myself to write anything more than these couple of short paragraphs. As I own two more of her books I will be reading them, but I will not be in any rush to do so. I have plenty of books by authors I know I really enjoyed, books I am looking forward to reading. My view may be changed, but if the other two are anything like this one… well, it is safe to say they are not what I was made to believe they would be.
Overall, a massive disappointment.
Her name is one I have heard many times when seeking out psychological thrillers to read. She just seems to be one of those authors whose name will appear whenever on a hunt. Thus, when I found a three book Barbra Vine collection on offer I jumped at them. I wasn’t crazy about any one book in particular, thus I was content with three random ones, and I allowed my sister to decide which one I would read first. Admittedly, it did sit on my shelf for quite some time, but in the end I worked around to it.
Despite the fact that it’s a very short book, it felt as though the book went on forever. I have read high fantasy books of around a thousand pages that have felt shorted than this book. Why? Because it did not feel as though it was going anywhere. I was expecting a thriller; instead, it was a recounting of life following events. Lives I did not care for, and events I found extremely dull. From the start we knew what had happened, we were given suggestions of where things were going, and whilst this can sometimes be fun such was not the case here. It simply wasn’t done as well as it could have been, as well as it has been in other books.
I could easily sit and write more, yet I have such a feeling of ‘meh’ in relation to this book that I cannot bring myself to write anything more than these couple of short paragraphs. As I own two more of her books I will be reading them, but I will not be in any rush to do so. I have plenty of books by authors I know I really enjoyed, books I am looking forward to reading. My view may be changed, but if the other two are anything like this one… well, it is safe to say they are not what I was made to believe they would be.
Overall, a massive disappointment.
llynn66's review against another edition
3.0
The alternative title for Ruth Rendell's latest could be Death Cab for Cutie. Suave Tory MP, Ivor Tesham is indulging in a steamy affair with the lithesome blond, Hebe Furnal, who is married to Gerry, an executive for a charity foundation. Tesham and Hebe enjoy kinky sex and role playing. Tesham plans a special birthday present for Hebe (who, amusingly for me, shares my birth date of May 17th.) This birthday 'gift' is a scenario where Ivor Tesham hires an fledgling actor/cab driver and another associate to "abduct" Hebe from the side of a road, pack her into a cab, bound and gagged, and take her to a house where he is waiting for her. Hebe will be aware that something will happen and that it will involve a game with Tesham, but the details will be a surprise. (Personally, I hope that next May my own spouse will stick with slightly more conventional plans....but that is an aside which is not helpful to other readers.)
Obviously, the mock abduction does not go well. En route to the home where Tesham is waiting, the driver, Dermot Lynch, goes through a red light and collides with a truck. Hebe Furnal is killed in the crash, as is the other man in the car, Lloyd Freeman. Lynch survives but barely. He remains in a coma with severe brain damage and an indefinite future.
Ivor Tesham's role in the scenario is, therefore, covered up for the time being. However, he lives under the constant cloud of apprehension. Who knows the various bits and pieces about his affair with Hebe? How much do they know? Can any one person connect the dots and draw a picture that will lead back to him? His promising political career is at stake and he becomes a haunted man.
Rendell can take characters who are almost uniformly unpleasant and make you want to know what happens to them. The victims in this story are not people I can sympathize with, but this is immaterial. I was interested in their motivations and the repercussions. This is what makes a psychological suspense story so satisfying -- plumbing the murky depths of human nature. The action in Rendell's plots is far more mental than physical (although acts of deadly violence do occur). Rendell also has the uniquely British talent for writing about distasteful subjects and despicable people in a tasteful and understated way. She refrains from going over the top and keeps her characters tightly drawn.
The legion of Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine fans will enjoy The Birthday Present and new readers may want to give it a try as well.
Obviously, the mock abduction does not go well. En route to the home where Tesham is waiting, the driver, Dermot Lynch, goes through a red light and collides with a truck. Hebe Furnal is killed in the crash, as is the other man in the car, Lloyd Freeman. Lynch survives but barely. He remains in a coma with severe brain damage and an indefinite future.
Ivor Tesham's role in the scenario is, therefore, covered up for the time being. However, he lives under the constant cloud of apprehension. Who knows the various bits and pieces about his affair with Hebe? How much do they know? Can any one person connect the dots and draw a picture that will lead back to him? His promising political career is at stake and he becomes a haunted man.
Rendell can take characters who are almost uniformly unpleasant and make you want to know what happens to them. The victims in this story are not people I can sympathize with, but this is immaterial. I was interested in their motivations and the repercussions. This is what makes a psychological suspense story so satisfying -- plumbing the murky depths of human nature. The action in Rendell's plots is far more mental than physical (although acts of deadly violence do occur). Rendell also has the uniquely British talent for writing about distasteful subjects and despicable people in a tasteful and understated way. She refrains from going over the top and keeps her characters tightly drawn.
The legion of Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine fans will enjoy The Birthday Present and new readers may want to give it a try as well.
celiaedf12's review against another edition
3.0
I quite enjoyed this, despite it being a little different to what I think of as Vine's usual style. In fact, in its slightly detached storytelling it reminded me of Vine's work as Ruth Rendell, in her non-Wexford novels. It's very much a novel of a time, and of the political scenery of that time, as well as a story about Ivor, a young conservative MP, and his affair with glamorous housewife Hebe. Things go awry after Ivor arranges a faux kidnapping for Hebe's birthday, and spiral downwards from there as Ivor desparately tries to keep his role in the birthday present quiet.
Don't go in expecting a tense thriller, because it's not that, but it's very enjoyable nonetheless.
Don't go in expecting a tense thriller, because it's not that, but it's very enjoyable nonetheless.
teresareads's review against another edition
4.0
Not one of her best, but even her lesser books are exciting reads.
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