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3.06 AVERAGE
3.06 AVERAGE
I finished this book with such mixed feelings. I thought the "The Children's Hospital" by the same author was wonderful, and had very high expectations for this. Some of those expectations were met. The parts of the book telling the story of the the death of Titania and Oberon's child and very beautiful and sad. On the other hand, the stories of the messed-up lives of Henry, Molly and Will out in the “real world” are so dull. Half a loaf . . .
Clever and well-written story but somehow just didn't really reach me emotionally. Three grieving people get trapped in a park in San Francisco on Midsummer's Eve. The park is the secret home of Titania, Oberon, and the Faerie Court; Titania is grieving the loss of a mortal boy who had been her playmate. High jinks and faerie drama ensue.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Didn't finish. It was a really cool concept and a somewhat promising beginning but then it just died. It got too bizarre and gratuitously graphic.
I got through at least 3/4 of this book but eventually had to stop. Too many characters, too much sex that does nothing for the plot, tons of going forwards and backwards in time without actual resolution. The only thing that kept me going was the writing. There were great turns-of-phrases that really caught my attention. But the writing couldn't overcome the plot points for me. Quite unfortunate as Midsummer is one of my fav Shakespeare plays and I was excited to go into the universe.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This novel was a bit of a mess. I didn't care about any of the characters since they all seemed to have similar stories and no distinguishing characteristics, there wasn't much of a plot thanks to way too much back story, and sex was thrown in everywhere without any purpose. I started skimming large chunks of it the further I read, and after that ending I'm glad I didn't waste more time on it. There were some flashes of interesting writing, which makes me curious about the author's other works, and is the only reason I gave this novel two stars instead of one.
I liked it. It was clever and creative and interesting. But I never really got hooked by any of the characters, so the threat hanging over them all didn't carry as much weight as it might have. I remained a spectator through the whole book. Ultimately, I think, it's a story about love, although I wouldn't call it a love story.
It's something I may come back to at some point, maybe on vacation, when I'm rested and I can devote long periods of time to reading.
It's something I may come back to at some point, maybe on vacation, when I'm rested and I can devote long periods of time to reading.
I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand the story is rather boring and all over the place, on the other hand it draws out some kind, motherly thoughts in me before I became a mother. On one hand it has lots of sex, on the other hand the sex was awful (this is the first book ever that I read about "vaginal fart" and I hope it will be the last). On one hand I struggled to read any sentence as each one is half a page long, on the other hand I find the writing a very beautiful one.
Just rated it 3 star.
Just rated it 3 star.