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huffampat's review against another edition
2.0
This one hurt. It has such a good outline of a story and I kept waiting for it to get there and it just never does. I didn’t feel connected to any character and eventually stopped caring about the question of who did it and/or why. I do want to see the movie now. I feel a large portion of the book spent in descriptions or flashbacks could be interpreting visually without taking as much away from the main storyline.
abastone's review against another edition
2.0
There is a beautiful story under this heavy burdensome book, just waiting to come out. But it's held in check by overdone descriptions and details. Why, for example, do we need to know the size of the deceased's penis or how his sex life was faring the morning before his fateful boat ride? In fact, every time a penis was mentioned (seemingly frequently in this book), I thought, "Why?" What a stupid detail to include. These kind of excerpts distract in a huge way and really should have been struck by a good editor. The best parts were the simple descriptions (often of the landscape) that let the reader picture the scene without the author's verbose interference. I ended up skimming a lot and was subsequently underwhelmed.
My overall impression of the book was just that the author kind of had a thing for penises.
My overall impression of the book was just that the author kind of had a thing for penises.
cookie_clo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
rockymtngal's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book . it was a little slow getting started but I couldn't wait to see what happened once I got into it. It is the story of love and prejudice. it is the story of being true to yourself and forgiveness. It is the story of fairness and bitterness.Memories and lies. All taking place during a murder trial taking place in 1954.
readwatchhike's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 would recommend. This was engaging and a fairly quick read that as a really well crafted story
jbroadbent's review against another edition
3.0
Initially attracted by the name (obviously), we'll see how it goes.
I think if I ad read this book faster I would have enjoyed it more. Instead I became somewhat detatched from the characters that I initially was interested by. I was never able to get behind the "fallen hero" of the novel, instead was very frustrated by his behavior. Still, I would recommend this to many people.
I think if I ad read this book faster I would have enjoyed it more. Instead I became somewhat detatched from the characters that I initially was interested by. I was never able to get behind the "fallen hero" of the novel, instead was very frustrated by his behavior. Still, I would recommend this to many people.
carinbrat's review against another edition
5.0
Poetic and nuanced and vivid. It's a courtroom drama, but doesn't feel like it at all.
geowhaley's review against another edition
3.0
If I had a ranking system for the novels I read and it was based on beauty, Snow Falling on Cedars would definitely be towards the top of that list. It has to take an amazing writer/wordsmith to make me want to live on a small island off the coast of Washington State and take up farming of some sort. I read this book for my Books into Movies book group at the local library and I am VERY glad I did. I plan on watching the movie later this evening or tomorrow.
Snow Falling on Cedars focuses on a murder trial, but it is not just a legal story, or a love story, or even just a war story as you might think from the back cover. It is a novel about a town forced to look into the mirror and see the harsh truths and realities simmering just under the surface. Set almost ten years after the end of World War II, the novel was a lot broader and a lot more powerful (and suspenseful) than the back-cover synopsis led me to think. But, more than anything, what took my breath away was the vitriol of some of the (surprisingly mostly female) characters and their overt racism. I was surprised at how upset I was at various points throughout the novel when placed into a character’s shoes and how they were treated.
And my guttural reaction was in direct response to Guterson’s astounding skills as a writer, specifically his gut wrenching passages of the Japanese islanders being rounded up and taken to the dock with their non-Japanese (read white) fellow islanders watching to the heart breaking images of thousands of years of Japanese history and family mementos being hidden and buried or confiscated by the FBI. I only vaguely remember learning about the Japanese American internment during WWII, but if it’s even half as harrowing as Guterson’s writing makes you believe then there should be more taught about it rather than just a brief glossing over.
Click here to continue reading on my blog The Oddness of Moving Things.
Snow Falling on Cedars focuses on a murder trial, but it is not just a legal story, or a love story, or even just a war story as you might think from the back cover. It is a novel about a town forced to look into the mirror and see the harsh truths and realities simmering just under the surface. Set almost ten years after the end of World War II, the novel was a lot broader and a lot more powerful (and suspenseful) than the back-cover synopsis led me to think. But, more than anything, what took my breath away was the vitriol of some of the (surprisingly mostly female) characters and their overt racism. I was surprised at how upset I was at various points throughout the novel when placed into a character’s shoes and how they were treated.
And my guttural reaction was in direct response to Guterson’s astounding skills as a writer, specifically his gut wrenching passages of the Japanese islanders being rounded up and taken to the dock with their non-Japanese (read white) fellow islanders watching to the heart breaking images of thousands of years of Japanese history and family mementos being hidden and buried or confiscated by the FBI. I only vaguely remember learning about the Japanese American internment during WWII, but if it’s even half as harrowing as Guterson’s writing makes you believe then there should be more taught about it rather than just a brief glossing over.
Click here to continue reading on my blog The Oddness of Moving Things.