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3.12 AVERAGE
3.12 AVERAGE
A few weak plot twists, but I liked the author's writing style and thought the characters were interesting (although it was often hard to like Jake, and Albert was a bit of a "schmuck"). I also enjoyed the film references and learning something about old manuscripts, cyphers, etc.
I picked this book off the shelves at the library, intrigued by the jacket cover. After reading 150 pages and not being pulled in, I checked some Goodreads reviews, looking for opinions on if it was worth continuing. Evidently not.
My biggest problem with the book is that Gruber seemed more interested in writing erotica than mystery. Perhaps if he had focused more on the storyline and less on his characters' sexual exploits I would have finished the book.
My biggest problem with the book is that Gruber seemed more interested in writing erotica than mystery. Perhaps if he had focused more on the storyline and less on his characters' sexual exploits I would have finished the book.
Well I'm about 2/3 of the way through. I'll probably finish it because there's a plane ride in my future and it's not bad. It's just not that good.
update: finished it and the last third is better although I think parts of the denouement could have received more care in the writing. And the sexual exploits and anguish could have been massively reduced...because instead of a thriller about a mysterious text, it reads too much like a psychological study of sex addiction.
The Good: well crafted and structured with good descriptions. Most of the characters are "interesting" in the sense that their backstories are rich and colorful. The historical character's text, Richard Bracegirdle is actually quite well done I think. To follow it you have to know/learn a lot about 17th century England and I think its the heart of the story. Unfortunately it's also the least accessible. It's a chore to read. The character of Carolyn Rollie is the one I want to follow, really the only one who interests me. And I want to make tables out of pallet boards.
The Bad: both contemporary protagonists, the first person and the third, are indistinguishable to me. Both are large men who are obsessed with women and sex but deeply insensitive and deeply stupid about both. As far as rare books or Shakespeare scholarship or bookbinding I learned nothing so far that I couldn't get in a few seconds with a wikipedia article (if I didn't know it already, which I do). And cryptography? Pretty basic too.
update: finished it and the last third is better although I think parts of the denouement could have received more care in the writing. And the sexual exploits and anguish could have been massively reduced...because instead of a thriller about a mysterious text, it reads too much like a psychological study of sex addiction.
The Good: well crafted and structured with good descriptions. Most of the characters are "interesting" in the sense that their backstories are rich and colorful. The historical character's text, Richard Bracegirdle is actually quite well done I think. To follow it you have to know/learn a lot about 17th century England and I think its the heart of the story. Unfortunately it's also the least accessible. It's a chore to read. The character of Carolyn Rollie is the one I want to follow, really the only one who interests me. And I want to make tables out of pallet boards.
The Bad: both contemporary protagonists, the first person and the third, are indistinguishable to me. Both are large men who are obsessed with women and sex but deeply insensitive and deeply stupid about both. As far as rare books or Shakespeare scholarship or bookbinding I learned nothing so far that I couldn't get in a few seconds with a wikipedia article (if I didn't know it already, which I do). And cryptography? Pretty basic too.
really did not like this,found the characters completely unlikable.didn't care if they lived or died
I didn't really like this one and it was a struggle to get through. The main characters were not likeable and I did not feel compelled to keep going to see how things were going to end up. I also thought the author copped out at the end and wrapped things up too neatly.
Without a doubt, one of the most difficult to read novels in a while. The writing is disjointed, the characters unlikable, and the plot is difficult to get into to.
The plot in a nutshell? Someone discovers evidence indicating that somewhere out there is a missing Shakespeare manuscript, written in his own hand—and there are many out there that would kill to get it. The narrator of the story is Jake Mishkin who is writing the events out as he sits alone in a cabin waiting for people to kill him.
While I'm still not a hundred percent sure what happened at the end of the book I can say the best parts of the book involved reading the letters that speak of the missing manuscript. I appreciated seeing the actual text rather than having the characters repeat the text for us. That being said, unnecessary tangents and detail pulled me out of the actual drama surrounding the search for the book, making getting through it a bit trying. Also, I'm not entirely sure that Gruber was successful in weaving the plots within plots, not to mention the fact that I guessed who the puppet master was long before the I hit the final confrontation. So—what's the verdict? Could have been better, Could have been worse.
While I'm still not a hundred percent sure what happened at the end of the book I can say the best parts of the book involved reading the letters that speak of the missing manuscript. I appreciated seeing the actual text rather than having the characters repeat the text for us. That being said, unnecessary tangents and detail pulled me out of the actual drama surrounding the search for the book, making getting through it a bit trying. Also, I'm not entirely sure that Gruber was successful in weaving the plots within plots, not to mention the fact that I guessed who the puppet master was long before the I hit the final confrontation. So—what's the verdict? Could have been better, Could have been worse.
Didn't finish it, don't plan on returning to it. Too many overlapping plots and time jumps, the book is 466 trade paperback pages with small print and the audiobook is 19 hours. No thanks!
too slow, too boring, too much skeevy old men wanting to sleep with little girls
I really liked how the 2 main characters were connected. It wasnt clear how they were connected right away, but how the book created the storyline and combined their two lives together was interesting.