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cami19's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
krobart's review
2.0
This is actually a did not finish, but I read nearly half of it, so I will review it on my blog at some time.
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2016/05/06/day-896-no-country/
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2016/05/06/day-896-no-country/
emkatec's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
cyndin's review against another edition
4.0
This is the book that happens when you mix a talented writer with an ineffectual editor. The book traces two branches of one family, down 5 generations, plus another 4 or so generations of another family that intertwines with it. Then there are chapters with the life stories of supporting characters (one gives the entire life story of a character who is deathly ill at the end of the previous chapter and who dies at the beginning of the following chapter; another gives the life story of a character just as he arrives on the scene). Some chapters span a few weeks or months, others span many decades, with everything in-between. Though the chapters build from older to newer, they aren't chronological. One chapter might start in 1909 and finish a few decades later while the next starts in the late 1880's.
Then there is the storyline. It makes sense for the two families to have some contact since their initial meeting. But the latter chapters have all 3 family lines crossing paths in ways that can only be explained by divine intervention (and it's not that kind of book).
That being said, the individual stories, even the one-off chapters, are fascinating and the characters are very well done. The ending is satisfying, despite being ridiculously coincidental. That's what saved it from 3 stars. The overall writing is what saved it from 2 stars.
Honestly, this should be a trilogy. Storylines of even central characters moved so fast in parts that the reader can barely keep track. I cared about the characters and wanted to see them develop over time. Not fast forward and skip through time. The right editor could have turned this good book into a masterpiece. Think The Century Trilogy or The Cairo Trilogy. The writing was good enough but the structure was lacking.
Then there is the storyline. It makes sense for the two families to have some contact since their initial meeting. But the latter chapters have all 3 family lines crossing paths in ways that can only be explained by divine intervention (and it's not that kind of book).
That being said, the individual stories, even the one-off chapters, are fascinating and the characters are very well done. The ending is satisfying, despite being ridiculously coincidental. That's what saved it from 3 stars. The overall writing is what saved it from 2 stars.
Honestly, this should be a trilogy. Storylines of even central characters moved so fast in parts that the reader can barely keep track. I cared about the characters and wanted to see them develop over time. Not fast forward and skip through time. The right editor could have turned this good book into a masterpiece. Think The Century Trilogy or The Cairo Trilogy. The writing was good enough but the structure was lacking.
ladyr's review against another edition
1.0
DNF at 295 pages...
The first 150 pages read well and it’s a story well-told although heavily cliched in places and I’ve read better books on the same subject (eg Joseph O’ Connor).
For me the enjoyment changed when we get introduced to the main protagonists descendants: the timeline then jumps rapidly onwards and new characters are introduced without any build up or cohesion so the story just fell apart.
It’s also very obvious from the start of this novel how the crime element of it ends which would have kept me reading still if I was emotionally invested in the characters but sadly I wasn’t.
So a book of two halves really...
The first 150 pages read well and it’s a story well-told although heavily cliched in places and I’ve read better books on the same subject (eg Joseph O’ Connor).
For me the enjoyment changed when we get introduced to the main protagonists descendants: the timeline then jumps rapidly onwards and new characters are introduced without any build up or cohesion so the story just fell apart.
It’s also very obvious from the start of this novel how the crime element of it ends which would have kept me reading still if I was emotionally invested in the characters but sadly I wasn’t.
So a book of two halves really...
penny_literaryhoarders's review
5.0
WOW.
Read this. So freaking fantastically fabulous. Have you started reading this yet? Go - now - do it. I absolutely LOVED it. I just finished and I want to go back and start it all over again.
Read this. So freaking fantastically fabulous. Have you started reading this yet? Go - now - do it. I absolutely LOVED it. I just finished and I want to go back and start it all over again.
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