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3.08 AVERAGE
3.08 AVERAGE
I can't go any further. No substance. I went looking for a thrilling murder investigation and all I got was a repetative character description over and over. The focus is not on the murder mystery whatsoever it's on boring characters who are SAID that they're interesting and we were constantly TOLD that they're but in fact we didn't see that translat into actions because the author didn't allow the reader to be the judge of them she kept directing us to believe so and so.
I want to point as well all the over sexualizing of the female body.
I want to point as well all the over sexualizing of the female body.
From a Bustle Article on 2/5/15 about 25 Great Books By and For Women.
Mother Indiana and daughter Amanda have been on their own for years. Amanda is a high school senior addicted to crime novels and an online game called Ripper. When her mother disappears amongst a string of Jack the Ripper-esque murders, she investigates on her own, determined to find her mom. Isabel Allende’s works are timeless, and this page-turner is a great way to spend a winter night.
This was a bit of a slog for me. Perhaps because this is a translation, some of the sentences feel clunky and unclear to me. Or perhaps that’s my lack of vocabulary? For example, "Her ability to somatize was capricious and manifested itself in different ways; sometimes it worked, sometimes it did not, but when it didn’t she resorted to intuition, which never failed her when it came to the health of others." 96/97 I know what those words mean, mostly, but why write it that way? Run-ons and lack of clarity! Other parts are certainly beautifully written and I was very curious about the story, but some of the writing felt off. And the dialogue throughout was so stilted. The "dispassionate" narration style didn't work for me. Despite the exciting plot it was... what's the opposite of gripping? It just dragged. So many backstories of quirky people and so many descriptions of interactions or conversations that were not relevant to the plot!
It’s very American based - set in San Francisco in 2008 and talks a lot about the culture of the time. Surprising to me it’s a Chillean Peruvian author - oh but she was living in San Francisco at the time.
Sooo much detail about the many characters and their back stories and the backstories of random other people in their lives. Beautiful writing, undeniably, but definitely slow going.
Quotes:
"What I did wasn’t subjective - it was real."
"You can’t change the things that happened, but you can change the way you see them." [268]
"She measured happiness using a simple equation: one good day plus another good day equals a good life." [302]
Mother Indiana and daughter Amanda have been on their own for years. Amanda is a high school senior addicted to crime novels and an online game called Ripper. When her mother disappears amongst a string of Jack the Ripper-esque murders, she investigates on her own, determined to find her mom. Isabel Allende’s works are timeless, and this page-turner is a great way to spend a winter night.
This was a bit of a slog for me. Perhaps because this is a translation, some of the sentences feel clunky and unclear to me. Or perhaps that’s my lack of vocabulary? For example, "Her ability to somatize was capricious and manifested itself in different ways; sometimes it worked, sometimes it did not, but when it didn’t she resorted to intuition, which never failed her when it came to the health of others." 96/97 I know what those words mean, mostly, but why write it that way? Run-ons and lack of clarity! Other parts are certainly beautifully written and I was very curious about the story, but some of the writing felt off. And the dialogue throughout was so stilted. The "dispassionate" narration style didn't work for me. Despite the exciting plot it was... what's the opposite of gripping? It just dragged. So many backstories of quirky people and so many descriptions of interactions or conversations that were not relevant to the plot!
It’s very American based - set in San Francisco in 2008 and talks a lot about the culture of the time. Surprising to me it’s a Chillean Peruvian author - oh but she was living in San Francisco at the time.
Sooo much detail about the many characters and their back stories and the backstories of random other people in their lives. Beautiful writing, undeniably, but definitely slow going.
Quotes:
"What I did wasn’t subjective - it was real."
"You can’t change the things that happened, but you can change the way you see them." [268]
"She measured happiness using a simple equation: one good day plus another good day equals a good life." [302]
Indiana Jackson is a holistic healer with an ex-husband who is a cop, a rich boyfriend, a former Navy SEAL boyfriend wannabe, and an eclectic clientele who visit her for massage and aroma therapy. Her daughter, Amanda, is a senior at a private boarding school who is a little too interested in crime. She and her friends, with the help of her grandfather, play an on-line role playing game called Ripper. When they decide to solve real crimes being committed in San Francisco, they have no idea what they are getting into. Things turn serious when Indiana is kidnapped and will by the serial killer's next victim, unless Amanda and her Ripper friends can solve the mystery of "The Wolf". Very different from other Allende novels, this is still a fantastic book that keeps you going until the very end.
A minha classificação é 3.5 por causa das 100 páginas finais. O livro lê-se bem conta historias interessantes sobre quase todos os personagens mas não tem grande acção policial até à página 300. Aí é que começa a sério. Apesar de tudo é uma boa leitura e apesar de não ser acção a toda a hora também não é aborrecido.
A very forgettable read. I did not understand the title, the group of teenagers playing Ripper did not play an important part in the unfolding of the action (and they aren't really fleshed out as characters with the exception of Amanda and her grandfather). The crimes appeared out of nowhere and they simply interrupted what looked like a love triangle. I think the book would have worked better as a piece of chick-lit without the crime part which was pretty predictable and boring. Not a big fan of Allende. This is the second book I try, I've also started her YA fantasy series and did not finish the first book because the pacing was very slow and I got bored to death. Maybe I will try something else.
I read in the NYTimes book review that Isabel Allende had a good time writing this, her first "mystery" novel. She might have had a good time, but I didn't. I put it down after the first 100 pages, because the story hadn't really started yet. The book was poorly written and full of quirky characters. Every time some action got started, Allende would stop and do backstory on one of these quirky characters. I gave up and looked at the ending. Reading the last chapter, I'm glad I didn't waste my time reading the entire book.
Just one example of lazy, uninteresting writing: At page 156, she starts a chapter by going through the morning of Ryan Miller, an ex-serviceman, and his dog Atilla. None of this has any relevance to the plot. At page 159, he goes to a private swim club and sneaks the dog in. His training is detailed, along with a conversation with the trainer...At page 162 he has a confusing confrontation with his friend Indiana (a woman). The only sentence with any meaning in the whole chapter comes at the end, when she says, "I think someone's spying on me, Ryan." I'm not a practiced novelist, but I could have made this chapter so much better-and shorter.
If you're an Allende fan, you'll probably like it. Not me. A waste of time.
Just one example of lazy, uninteresting writing: At page 156, she starts a chapter by going through the morning of Ryan Miller, an ex-serviceman, and his dog Atilla. None of this has any relevance to the plot. At page 159, he goes to a private swim club and sneaks the dog in. His training is detailed, along with a conversation with the trainer...At page 162 he has a confusing confrontation with his friend Indiana (a woman). The only sentence with any meaning in the whole chapter comes at the end, when she says, "I think someone's spying on me, Ryan." I'm not a practiced novelist, but I could have made this chapter so much better-and shorter.
If you're an Allende fan, you'll probably like it. Not me. A waste of time.
I went back and forth between two and three stars but I settled on three because this is my first Allende novel and I know that this isn't her usual wheelhouse. It also was an alright book despite being a little bit disappointing.
I was really taken by the idea of the RPG being the centre of the crime solving efforts but there wasn't enough going on with them. Amanda, of course, was the star of the show but most of the time was spent with Amanda and Blake with the other Ripper player making appearances whenever Amanda needed a sounding board or other opinions. I did love the granddaughter/grandfather dynamic that was happening, as well as the whole Jackson/Martin family dynamic,but I was expecting a bit more from the RPG side of things.
I think in the end we had literary and genre fiction trying to meet here and getting a little lost in each other. There were parts I enjoyed but also parts that I found problematic and the amount of disbelief I had to suspend with Amanda and the Ripper players being taken legitimately. The mystery itself was alright but I was much more interested in the characters than the plot since I'd guessed the culprit early (though a few details I admit got past me). I also really wish there hadn't been such a jump between the crime's resolution and the final chapter. I was curious to see a bit more aftermath for some of the characters.
I'm curious to read Allende's usual fare so that is one thing I got out of this experience,
I was really taken by the idea of the RPG being the centre of the crime solving efforts but there wasn't enough going on with them. Amanda, of course, was the star of the show but most of the time was spent with Amanda and Blake with the other Ripper player making appearances whenever Amanda needed a sounding board or other opinions. I did love the granddaughter/grandfather dynamic that was happening, as well as the whole Jackson/Martin family dynamic,but I was expecting a bit more from the RPG side of things.
I think in the end we had literary and genre fiction trying to meet here and getting a little lost in each other. There were parts I enjoyed but also parts that I found problematic and the amount of disbelief I had to suspend with Amanda and the Ripper players being taken legitimately. The mystery itself was alright but I was much more interested in the characters than the plot since I'd guessed the culprit early (though a few details I admit got past me). I also really wish there hadn't been such a jump between the crime's resolution and the final chapter. I was curious to see a bit more aftermath for some of the characters.
I'm curious to read Allende's usual fare so that is one thing I got out of this experience,
I stayed up way too late reading this book - but it still took more than one night because work :o(
I know there's too much description and there are stereotypes aplenty and the woo-woo bits around Amanda's mother are just a bit too much and hey, isn't it lucky that her dad can feed her and her friends info about the case ... but it managed to move along regardless. And I did like that grandad is so thoroughly involved - yay for cross-generational cooperation!
I know there's too much description and there are stereotypes aplenty and the woo-woo bits around Amanda's mother are just a bit too much and hey, isn't it lucky that her dad can feed her and her friends info about the case ... but it managed to move along regardless. And I did like that grandad is so thoroughly involved - yay for cross-generational cooperation!
Sort of a noir thriller set in San Francisco area. I think Allende went out on a limb writing this. Her experience writing characters with some depth saves this. Most of the main characters are sharply etched. The plot is interesting with a bunch of kids in a role-playing game making many of the investigative break-throughs in hunting down a serial killer who is leaving clues. But I have never liked the plot ploy of having the perpetrator explain themselves in monologues.