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3.19 AVERAGE
3.19 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This story started out great - a miserable jerk who leaves her when she's down, an interesting docter, a mystery person with a rope, a hasty vacation. There were lots of stories to tell there. There were lots of stories to tell about the vacation island she ends up on. But they don't feel like they go anywhere.
I suspect there's some big meaning that I'm missing. But I didn't get it.
Clearly Atwood has grown as an author since this was written. She seemed to be just finding her legs with this book (although, I admit, The Edible Woman, which predates this one, was fantastic)
I suspect there's some big meaning that I'm missing. But I didn't get it.
Clearly Atwood has grown as an author since this was written. She seemed to be just finding her legs with this book (although, I admit, The Edible Woman, which predates this one, was fantastic)
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
got through it quickly and it was gripping but was it a very good plot no why was she so in deep in this revolution when she'd been on holiday there for literally 5 days what
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
I did not have the intelligence or knowledge to fully appreciate this dark, disturbing book. Coetzee-esque themes, but at times more like Welsh levels of unsettling, graphic detail.
This book deals with concepts of paranoia, conspiracy, and women’s issues. At first I didn’t like the ending because it was unclear. However, after much thought, I think the ending was good because it goes with the theme of uncertainty and tragedy.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Though I've really liked other Atwood books in the past (Alias Grace, The Handmaid's Tale) I wasn't a fan of this book at all. As I read, I felt like I was trapped inside a cheesy romance novel while a much better novel was going on all around it.
In the book, the protagonist, Remmie Wilford, retreats to a Caribbean Island. She's there to write a light travel piece and to emotionally regroup after undergoing a partial mastectomy and also losing her lover. But, as it turns out, all the "good islands" have been taken, so she gets sent off-the-beaten-path to a less than picturesque island which has crappy hotels, crappy restaurants, crappy beaches and no real interest in attracting tourists-- and which also happens to be in the midst of a political upheaval.
All sounds interesting enough, does it not? And it would have been if we hadn't been forced to experience it all through the lens of a self-absorbed, unpleasant woman who seems to have no interests whatsoever other than finding a man to love her. I kept wondering throughout if I was meant to hate her as much as I did, or if I was supposed to actually find her witty and sympathetic. I didn't.
I'll admit, the book does offer some pay-off in the end (in the last 50 pages or so,) but to get to it you have to wade through page after page of tedious whining about "men, men, men and why they don't love me." If you like reading about women whining constantly about men, this may be the book for you. Otherwise, I'd skip it.
In the book, the protagonist, Remmie Wilford, retreats to a Caribbean Island. She's there to write a light travel piece and to emotionally regroup after undergoing a partial mastectomy and also losing her lover. But, as it turns out, all the "good islands" have been taken, so she gets sent off-the-beaten-path to a less than picturesque island which has crappy hotels, crappy restaurants, crappy beaches and no real interest in attracting tourists-- and which also happens to be in the midst of a political upheaval.
All sounds interesting enough, does it not? And it would have been if we hadn't been forced to experience it all through the lens of a self-absorbed, unpleasant woman who seems to have no interests whatsoever other than finding a man to love her. I kept wondering throughout if I was meant to hate her as much as I did, or if I was supposed to actually find her witty and sympathetic. I didn't.
I'll admit, the book does offer some pay-off in the end (in the last 50 pages or so,) but to get to it you have to wade through page after page of tedious whining about "men, men, men and why they don't love me." If you like reading about women whining constantly about men, this may be the book for you. Otherwise, I'd skip it.
Rennie is a journalist and a cancer survivor. After her boyfriend moves out, she travels to a remote island to do a travel piece. Sue ends up involved with local politics.
Rennie was a really annoying main character. She seemed completely detached from her sourroundings and her musings just seemed surreal at times.
Mostly, the book was just boring. Most of the characters seemed to pass me by. Also, the whole cancer storyline just seemed shoehorned in and served no real purpose other than providing the main character with a justification to mope around.
Rennie was a really annoying main character. She seemed completely detached from her sourroundings and her musings just seemed surreal at times.
Mostly, the book was just boring. Most of the characters seemed to pass me by. Also, the whole cancer storyline just seemed shoehorned in and served no real purpose other than providing the main character with a justification to mope around.
slow-paced