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jhale42's review against another edition
4.0
I truly enjoyed this book and found myself thinking about it quite a bit whenever I would put it down. I’m a sucker for a survival story and Huckelbridge does a good job of combining that with beautifully sad writing. I really enjoyed this book.
mynameislily's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
annamay's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
rjwilliams911's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
rajaraks's review against another edition
2.0
Since this had such a high rating, I had high hopes. But apparently unlike the other raving reviews, I was continuously annoyed at the third person narration. It got better when the story turned to the characters fantasizing how they would have met in more normal circumstances but that same narration style was basically just ported to the dialogue of the characters. "I would do this and then you would think this, etc".
Another point of annoyance was the French sprinkled throughout. It takes me out of the story when I had no idea what Sophie was saying. There were points where I could guess but there were many more lines where I just started to ignore any italicized sentence.
Overall, the story idea was fine it's just the execution that annoyed me. I did have some plot points where I had some grievances (3 pairs of contact lenses for 3 years?! DIY saline?!) but I'm not going to get into it since I just want to be done thinking about this book. Obviously it wasn't for me but it is for many others.
Another point of annoyance was the French sprinkled throughout. It takes me out of the story when I had no idea what Sophie was saying. There were points where I could guess but there were many more lines where I just started to ignore any italicized sentence.
Overall, the story idea was fine it's just the execution that annoyed me. I did have some plot points where I had some grievances (3 pairs of contact lenses for 3 years?! DIY saline?!) but I'm not going to get into it since I just want to be done thinking about this book. Obviously it wasn't for me but it is for many others.
emertbyrne's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
findyourgoldenhour's review against another edition
5.0
This was my final read for 2017, and what a way to end this year of epic reading! I loved this book so much. Beautifully written, emotionally intense, with characters that I cared deeply about and open wept for by the end. Sigh. Every novel should be this good.
kellyhook_readsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting premise and unique writing style. Ultimately I felt that the ending was rushed, and I was left with a lot of unanswered questions.
saralynnburnett's review against another edition
5.0
Where do I even begin with this book? First of all, I had (still have…) a major work project due so I needed something to escape into during breaks and settled on this classic castaway story but then 2 pages in I didn’t stop reading. I could NOT put this book down. So here I am a day later, no further towards completing that aforementioned work project but in the last 24 hours I have laughed, cried, stopped breathing, started breathing again, nodded along, thrown this book, cradled this book, and googled lots of pictures of random Pacific islands.
There’s nothing surprising about this story – it’s a castaway story and set not *that* far from the castaway story we all know (Tom Hanks / Wilson the football etc - Fiji area vs. Tahiti area) but it was so much more than that. It was beautifully written and seamlessly combined all the trappings of French-American bohemianism with survivalist knowledge, research (you didn’t know about the equatorial counter current either?), and dry humor on a gorgeous island in the vast Pacific.
I’ve often said that if I end up a castaway on a deserted island and got to bring something it would be books… well this book shows that all you really need is the company of someone who appreciates western literary traditions, adventure, and Paul Gauguin as much as you do.
Plus, it was SO refreshing to read a book with a fun / great story that isn’t dumbed down (fact: most mainstream novels, even in the literary fiction category, are written at a 5-6th grade reading level. Fact: a writing craft book I recently read recommended keeping that in mind. Fact: Dane Huckelbridge did not keep that in mind, thank goodness, and did it all without sounding odiously pretentious which is a total feat considering the author graduated from Princeton, wears tweed, and lives in Paris). I found myself reaching for my dictionary app a few times, marveling in the sentence structure, narrative structure, and missing the classic literature I grew up on.
I need more books like this in my life pronto.
There’s nothing surprising about this story – it’s a castaway story and set not *that* far from the castaway story we all know (Tom Hanks / Wilson the football etc - Fiji area vs. Tahiti area) but it was so much more than that. It was beautifully written and seamlessly combined all the trappings of French-American bohemianism with survivalist knowledge, research (you didn’t know about the equatorial counter current either?), and dry humor on a gorgeous island in the vast Pacific.
I’ve often said that if I end up a castaway on a deserted island and got to bring something it would be books… well this book shows that all you really need is the company of someone who appreciates western literary traditions, adventure, and Paul Gauguin as much as you do.
Plus, it was SO refreshing to read a book with a fun / great story that isn’t dumbed down (fact: most mainstream novels, even in the literary fiction category, are written at a 5-6th grade reading level. Fact: a writing craft book I recently read recommended keeping that in mind. Fact: Dane Huckelbridge did not keep that in mind, thank goodness, and did it all without sounding odiously pretentious which is a total feat considering the author graduated from Princeton, wears tweed, and lives in Paris). I found myself reaching for my dictionary app a few times, marveling in the sentence structure, narrative structure, and missing the classic literature I grew up on.
I need more books like this in my life pronto.
katieneedsabiggerbookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
Sophie and Barry have practically nothing in common. Well, except that they both boarded the small plane to an island, and when it crashed, they both survived. Sophie’s new husband, and the pilot did not make it, but both Sophie and Barry end up stranded on a small island nobody knows about in the South Pacific. Their dislike for each other is palpable at first, but the two know they need to learn tog et along in order to survive.
So first of all you should know that I WILL resort to bribery to get my friends to read The Guncle. When Kirsten from @beyondthebookends still hadn’t read it, we made a deal that if I read Castle of Water she would read The Guncle (spoiler alert: she loved it, just like I knew she would! I don’t know why y’all don’t listen to me about this book!) Anyway, this book was weirdly sold out everywhere and my library didn’t have it, and since I refuse to pay 15 bucks for a kindle book, I had to wait for her to lend me her copy. Once she did I devoured this baby in a single day. I had no idea what to expect going in, but this book as so beautifully written and the story was just heart wrenching. I finished this one with tears in my eyes slightly cursing Kirsten for making me cry!