Scan barcode
thereadingpotato's review
4.0
A thought-provoking novel ideal for storytellers. Based on the notion that everyone has a story, the authors weaves in a pivotal backstory for each character as the two main characters embark on their own respective journeys that ultimately intersect. Although each story is its own, they are all tied together through forms of exile, loss and a strong sense of resolve. This book might take you on the long way to the destination, but that is exactly the point- it's all about the journey.
bianca89279's review
3.0
The Lost Book Of Adana Moreau had potential, in the beginning, I was certain it was going to be right up my alley. For a little while, the writing had that magical Latin American atmosphere, a la Garcia-Marquez or Isabella Allende.
Zapata tried to do too many things, went on too many tangents, covered too much ground in too few pages. The omniscient third-person narration, the jumping around in time and space and too much telling without enough showing kept me at a distance and disengaged.
The books mentioned by Zapata were mostly sci-fi, majority of them unknown to me as I don't read the genre, but not the reason for not loving this novel.
Displacement, longing for lost parents, searching for knowledge, revolutions, natural disasters are some of the themes of this novel. There's also a quest to find the physicist Maxwell Moreau, Adana's Moreau son, who seemed to have disappeared. Unfortunately, there's never enough to sink your teeth into and the ending itself was unsatisfactory.
I'm sorry to say, this was the novel that could but didn't. In saying all that, there were enough sparkling paragraphs, so I'm going to give Zapata another chance to impress me.
Zapata tried to do too many things, went on too many tangents, covered too much ground in too few pages. The omniscient third-person narration, the jumping around in time and space and too much telling without enough showing kept me at a distance and disengaged.
The books mentioned by Zapata were mostly sci-fi, majority of them unknown to me as I don't read the genre, but not the reason for not loving this novel.
Displacement, longing for lost parents, searching for knowledge, revolutions, natural disasters are some of the themes of this novel. There's also a quest to find the physicist Maxwell Moreau, Adana's Moreau son, who seemed to have disappeared. Unfortunately, there's never enough to sink your teeth into and the ending itself was unsatisfactory.
I'm sorry to say, this was the novel that could but didn't. In saying all that, there were enough sparkling paragraphs, so I'm going to give Zapata another chance to impress me.
patriciareedreads's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyed this book mixing science fiction with reality. Written almost like an adult fairy tale. Some profound thoughts and stories.
rachelsschulte's review against another edition
3.0
This book has some of the most beautiful turns of speech and evocative language that I have read in a long time and I was immediately transported by its story. The themes of exile and longing were deftly portrayed. However, by the second portion, the plot just slid off the rails and petered out. Not only did it become boring and a slog of a read by the end, but I failed to understand the meaning of book or its ultimate message. It pained me to discover this as I believe this author has so much potential as evidenced in the first half of the book.
simoneclark's review
3.0
Thank you, NetGalley and Harlequin, for a complimentary copy of this book! This review reflects my personal opinion.
I had a hard time coming up with a description of my feelings about this book. Thankfully, another reviewer mentioned exactly what I felt was off for me in the book: "Written entirely in omniscient third person past tense narrative with little quoted dialogue, the coldly remote observer style loses readers as the author moves omnisciently between time, place, and character." (Todd Stocklager) I honestly got lost a lot. There was hardly any real dialogue and that made it hard for me to identify with the characters or at least feel some kind of connection to them. The story itself was great and unique. I loved the combination of sci-fi, a bit of fantasy, history, and contemporary. However, the implementation of the concept was not for me.
I had a hard time coming up with a description of my feelings about this book. Thankfully, another reviewer mentioned exactly what I felt was off for me in the book: "Written entirely in omniscient third person past tense narrative with little quoted dialogue, the coldly remote observer style loses readers as the author moves omnisciently between time, place, and character." (Todd Stocklager) I honestly got lost a lot. There was hardly any real dialogue and that made it hard for me to identify with the characters or at least feel some kind of connection to them. The story itself was great and unique. I loved the combination of sci-fi, a bit of fantasy, history, and contemporary. However, the implementation of the concept was not for me.
kteddycurr's review against another edition
4.0
The epilogue might have made the book a little worse. But I otherwise loved it
oknicky's review
4.0
Zapata wrote his book over ten years. Reading it is like opening a drawer filled with a decade's worth of ideas. Story upon story upon story, descriptions and overviews of stories. Lists of books and authors. Oh, and jokes. Also, a few paintings and maps. Very Jewish. Would recommend.
joangittel's review against another edition
3.0
This got great reviews, and I sort of understand why. Reminded me of the style of Isabel Allende a little. Although I really wanted to love this and I really tried, ultimately I couldn't get into it and abandoned it halfway through.