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atschakfoert's review against another edition
3.0
Started out great but did not keep the momentum going. The last half of the book dragged for me.
ladyonequestion's review against another edition
3.0
Think I was one of the few people who started this book having somehow missed that it was based on Oedipus Rex (what can I say, I'm not quite with it at the moment), so it was a bit of a surprise when I got to the patricide and finally twigged. So the central premise of the book was somebody else's plot that we already know, but that didn't detract from the characters, particularly Diane, who was wonderfully flawed. I think I got the sense that we knew more about her than about Ed, somehow there was a sense (deliberate I think) of never quite knowing Ed. Although the three main characters were somewhat unpleasant, they were never completely dis-likable.
Having read some other reviews, I've seen that some people found Guterson inserting himself into the book in the form of a pilot who is obsessed with anagrams to be an irritatingly affected literary device. I can't say I found it more annoying than Coupland appearing in JPod, and I quite liked Guido the annoying pilot.
It gets three stars instead of four because, whilst I found it well-written and diverting, I don't think it will stay with me for very long, nor do I think I would want to re-read it in the future. I may, however, have a look at some of the author's other books.
Having read some other reviews, I've seen that some people found Guterson inserting himself into the book in the form of a pilot who is obsessed with anagrams to be an irritatingly affected literary device. I can't say I found it more annoying than Coupland appearing in JPod, and I quite liked Guido the annoying pilot.
It gets three stars instead of four because, whilst I found it well-written and diverting, I don't think it will stay with me for very long, nor do I think I would want to re-read it in the future. I may, however, have a look at some of the author's other books.
abetterbradley's review against another edition
3.0
I love when authors take a classic tale and tweak it for modern times. That's what David Guterson does with Oedipus Rex. I've never read the original Sophocles but I'm familiar enough with it to know what was going on. In case you don't know the Oedipus story, I'll only say that in concerns twisted family loving. My problem with this book is that it falls apart towards the end. There's this great build up and then, for me, it collapses. I guess it's good for Sophocles though because now I need to read the original to see how it's supposed to end.
djrmelvin's review against another edition
2.0
A modern version of Oedipus Rex that is far too much telling and so little action. Familiarity with the original work will allow you to guess what's going to happen next and who's going to do it. More interesting characters, or perhaps a few original twists on the old plot could have made this a better book. As it stands, it's more of a very long fan fiction re-tell than a new look at an old story
han_cat's review against another edition
5.0
Seems some reviewers missed that this is a retelling of the oedipus story! Therefore it is a bit "out there" in terms of plot, but in regards to what it is trying to do it is brilliant. Beginning is a little too Lolita like but past that it is fun, griping and absorbing. Towards the end I just couldn't put it down, despite the one or two pages of very dodgy sex writing!
tdeshler's review against another edition
3.0
This was a rather amusing novel, but I found there to be rather too many sudden shifts in character behavior, without enough buildup to explain how they made the leap to the next level. Some characters are introduced, then left behind, like Barry and Diane's half brothers.
It was fun to see how Seattle was portrayed, given that is my town.
It was fun to see how Seattle was portrayed, given that is my town.
canadianbookworm's review
3.0
Overall I enjoyed this book, but there were a couple of areas that I found grating and likely would have skimmed if I were reading rather than listening to the book.
The book begins in the summer of 1962, when Walter Cousins looks for some domestic help when his wife Alice has a nervous breakdown and is hospitalized. He finds a British au pair, Diane Burroughs, who says she is 18, and is willing to come on short notice to look after things. Diane is sexy and knows it. When Walter sleeps with her, the situation alters and Diane admits she is underage and her attitude changes again at the end of the summer when she is no longer needed in the Cousins household. Unfortunately, she is pregnant, and Walter, while trying now to do the right thing, finds himself being milked and lied to. Walter is essentially a good man, who made a bad choice and definitely lives to regret it.
The story then follows the lives of Walter, Diane, and the baby (Ed King) over the course of their lives. We see how the lives interact in interesting ways as this book evolves to mirror the plot of a classic Greek tragedy. This modern novel based on a classical plot is part of an interesting trend lately.
The parts that were skimmable to me were the math stuff and the computer business stuff (note that I was a math honours student my first year of university, so it's not that I'm not math oriented, I just thought it went on a bit longer than necessary for the plot). Well written, and Guterson employs word play and characterization to subtley emphasize the connection to the classic.
The book begins in the summer of 1962, when Walter Cousins looks for some domestic help when his wife Alice has a nervous breakdown and is hospitalized. He finds a British au pair, Diane Burroughs, who says she is 18, and is willing to come on short notice to look after things. Diane is sexy and knows it. When Walter sleeps with her, the situation alters and Diane admits she is underage and her attitude changes again at the end of the summer when she is no longer needed in the Cousins household. Unfortunately, she is pregnant, and Walter, while trying now to do the right thing, finds himself being milked and lied to. Walter is essentially a good man, who made a bad choice and definitely lives to regret it.
The story then follows the lives of Walter, Diane, and the baby (Ed King) over the course of their lives. We see how the lives interact in interesting ways as this book evolves to mirror the plot of a classic Greek tragedy. This modern novel based on a classical plot is part of an interesting trend lately.
The parts that were skimmable to me were the math stuff and the computer business stuff (note that I was a math honours student my first year of university, so it's not that I'm not math oriented, I just thought it went on a bit longer than necessary for the plot). Well written, and Guterson employs word play and characterization to subtley emphasize the connection to the classic.
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