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3.12 AVERAGE
3.12 AVERAGE
Upon reading the first 50 pages or so: Can't decide how to categorize this. It's about an intellectual property attorney who gets caught up in intrigue related to a possible undiscovered Shakespeare manuscript.
Now that I'm finished: Holy smoke, what an awesome read. Found myself sitting at a diner this a.m., well after I finished my breakfast, keeping an eye on whether there were still empty tables or whether I'd soon be getting the hairy eyeball from the waitress if I continued to occupy my booth. I HAD TO FINISH those last 40-50 pages!
As I've said elsewhere, I love books about books, and this is a dilly. However: in addition to the mystery about the possible discovery of a previously unknown Shakespeare play, Gruber also delves into the mysteries of the human heart: the stories we grow up believing about our family, our history, and ourselves; the stories we tell ourselves about the choices we've made, and how we ended up who we are; the faces we wear, different ones for different audiences; our willingness to forgive anything in the beloved, even in the face of strong (even indisputable) evidence to the contrary. Really, really well done.
I really need to look into this guy's other books.
Now that I'm finished: Holy smoke, what an awesome read. Found myself sitting at a diner this a.m., well after I finished my breakfast, keeping an eye on whether there were still empty tables or whether I'd soon be getting the hairy eyeball from the waitress if I continued to occupy my booth. I HAD TO FINISH those last 40-50 pages!
As I've said elsewhere, I love books about books, and this is a dilly. However: in addition to the mystery about the possible discovery of a previously unknown Shakespeare play, Gruber also delves into the mysteries of the human heart: the stories we grow up believing about our family, our history, and ourselves; the stories we tell ourselves about the choices we've made, and how we ended up who we are; the faces we wear, different ones for different audiences; our willingness to forgive anything in the beloved, even in the face of strong (even indisputable) evidence to the contrary. Really, really well done.
I really need to look into this guy's other books.
The things that I liked most about this book are fairly superficial: one of the main characters is named Mishkin (one of my cats is named Myshkin), and he also happens to be a lawyer (I am a lawyer, and therefore predisposed to like books wherein lawyers are reasonably well-portrayed). It begins in a used bookstore, and ultimately is a book about books, or, more precisely, a book about old books, with ancient manuscripts in secretary hand concealed in their covers, with heavy doses of cryptography and suspected forgery and the life-threatening adventures that necessarily follow.
I enjoyed this as an audiobook; the reader was skilled at voicing different characters and had a pleasant speaking style. The one drawback is that the Bracegirdle letters, written as they are in archaic style, became somewhat tedious to listen to. I suspect they might have been more palatable in written form.
Also -- 15 CDs! I appreciate that this was unabridged but that many CDs was a lot to keep track of, and took me almost 3 months to get through on my daily commute.
I enjoyed this as an audiobook; the reader was skilled at voicing different characters and had a pleasant speaking style. The one drawback is that the Bracegirdle letters, written as they are in archaic style, became somewhat tedious to listen to. I suspect they might have been more palatable in written form.
Also -- 15 CDs! I appreciate that this was unabridged but that many CDs was a lot to keep track of, and took me almost 3 months to get through on my daily commute.
This has to be the worst book I have ever attempted to read. I did not even bother to finish it because it was too painful. I just skipped to the last couple of chapters to find out "who-dun-it". Thankfully, I only paid $.50 for the book, but I wish I had remembered it was the book a friend mentioned she did not like and I would not have even wasted that money. I am not even going to waste my time putting it on Paperback Swap, but since I cannot bear to throw a book away I will drop it in the charity box. So, needless to say, but don't waste your time reading this book.
I did make it past the first few pages of this book, although like others I found the crass childish sexuality of the two main characters to be tedious and off putting. However, I think that what the people who didn't finish it couldn't tell you - is that the second half is far better than the first. It takes awhile to realize what he's doing, but once it gets going and he gets over the emotional immaturity of these guys, it's better. I really liked his mom - a late middle-aged woman who is intelligent and has sexuality (no, no sexual acts, she just happens to be in a budding romance that is handled as okay and not somehow freakish) that's refreshing and almost makes up for the fact that Carolyn, Miri and Amalie remain two-dimensional cutouts. I must admit I liked Paul too. He was quite a bit of fun.
I'd give it a go as a fun read, but it's certainly not the best I've ever read.
I'd give it a go as a fun read, but it's certainly not the best I've ever read.
I hate to say it, since I think any book about the hunt for a Shakespearian manuscript should be a fun read, but I found this one pretty tedious. There are three narrators, and the letters of Bracegirdle are written in the style of the time: "I tolde hyme that the ayre" so on and so forth. I basically skimmed those parts of the novel...and I found the end pretty unsatisfying, also.
Not on my "recommended" list.
Not on my "recommended" list.
Loved delving into Elizabethan history with this mystery surrounding an ancient Shakespearean manuscript. The story was intricate and well-told - moving between three narrators. One of them writes in archaic English - which can get a tad cumbersome. The main character is jerk, but the kind you don't mind spending time with because he's an amusing jerk. Worthwhile reading.
i thought that i'd love this book. in theory, it has all the right elements to make for a riveting caper mystery about the discovery of an unknown William Shakespeare play. what it doesn't have is the right author writing it.
i found the idea of the plot to be more interesting than the actual novel itself. which was quite the disappointment for me.
neither of the two narrators were all that compelling or likeable...and what started out with some semblance of a literary mystery ended up being two separate stories about idiot guys chasing girls. word of warning...just adding a Shakespearean play into the plot of a novel does not make it "literary or historical fiction."
the subtext about Crosetti's "story" resembling a plot in a movie was irritating at best....and the way Jake Michkin rambles about, interrupting the story at every page turn to add in his own useless banter was useless. most of the ancillary characters were boring, trite or downright annoying. and the final climax scenes of the novel were predictable and not well written. in fact, it bored me a bit when i got to the ending...like there was this big long buildup throughout the novel that led to nothing.
i would not recommend this book...and i'm glad i picked it up on the Bargain shelf...as i'd feel cheated if i paid full price.
i found the idea of the plot to be more interesting than the actual novel itself. which was quite the disappointment for me.
neither of the two narrators were all that compelling or likeable...and what started out with some semblance of a literary mystery ended up being two separate stories about idiot guys chasing girls. word of warning...just adding a Shakespearean play into the plot of a novel does not make it "literary or historical fiction."
the subtext about Crosetti's "story" resembling a plot in a movie was irritating at best....and the way Jake Michkin rambles about, interrupting the story at every page turn to add in his own useless banter was useless. most of the ancillary characters were boring, trite or downright annoying. and the final climax scenes of the novel were predictable and not well written. in fact, it bored me a bit when i got to the ending...like there was this big long buildup throughout the novel that led to nothing.
i would not recommend this book...and i'm glad i picked it up on the Bargain shelf...as i'd feel cheated if i paid full price.
I SO wanted to love this book but got bogged down in the excessive detail on things that didn't add to the story. I thought about giving up several times but persevered to the end, not sure why.
This book sounded promising, but failed beyond reason; it should have been an abandoned read. Gruber's writing style is flat (ala Patterson or Brown), but without the grip of a good story to help you forget about the lack of ability. It is only given 2 stars because Gruber tries to create a Shakespearian mystery, which is a feat that should be recognized.
Oddly, I can't put my finger on why I didn't like this book. On the surface it had everything: a lost Shakespeare manuscript, a doofy would-be writer-type swept up in mob-style intrigue, three vary distinct narrators, including one from the 17th century....
But I've learned once again that the books on the clearance rack make it there for a reason. I slogged through to the end in spite of walking away from it many times, more because of sheer will than some dying need to sort out the story. The end is obvious, though the back cover makes it sound like some mind-bending twist, and the main characters are barely likable (really, a half-nazi half jewish body builder.... he was hard to sympathize with).
So that's that.
But I've learned once again that the books on the clearance rack make it there for a reason. I slogged through to the end in spite of walking away from it many times, more because of sheer will than some dying need to sort out the story. The end is obvious, though the back cover makes it sound like some mind-bending twist, and the main characters are barely likable (really, a half-nazi half jewish body builder.... he was hard to sympathize with).
So that's that.