Reviews

The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion

zoefruitcake's review

2.0

I loved the Rosie books so much and fancied an entertaining laugh from this clever writer. Sadly I didn’t get it from this book. I didn’t care for any of the characters and ended up feeling like they were just cut rate copies of ones from his other books

hathsch's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

book_concierge's review against another edition

1.0

From the book jacket: Adam Sharp is content. He gets on well with his partner, Claire, he does the occasional consulting job in IT to keep busy, and while he doesn’t play the piano much anymore, he is the music expert at the local pub’s trivia night. Life may not be rock ‘n’ roll, but neither is it easy listening. And yet, something has always felt off-key. And that’s his nostalgia for what might have been, his blazing affair more than twenty years ago with Angelina Brown, a smart and sexy, strong-willed actress who taught him for the first time, as he played piano and she sang, what it meant to find – and then lose – love. How different might his life be if he hadn’t let her walk away?

My reactions
Meh.

Is this the best of Adam Sharp? Probably. But it’s definitely NOT the best of Graeme Simsion. I really enjoyed Simsion’s The Rosie Project, but this did absolutely nothing for me. Neither Adam nor Angelina seemed at all mature enough for a real love relationship. They were both self-centered and closed off from genuine connection with another person. There was no great love here that I could see. I saw two people fall in “lust,” act on it and then walk away, only to reconsider decades later. They seemed motivated by boredom (and perhaps revenge). The whole situation when they re-connect twenty years later was just strange and creepy and distasteful.

I did enjoy all the music references, though I still wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

alidottie's review

2.0

Ach! This book had potential, but it went to what for me was a very ugly, voyeuristic place (where I barely skimmed to get past it!) that ruined this book.

esshgee's review against another edition

2.0

I'm giving this rating purely for the first part of the book. Was hoping for something more interesting

robyng317's review

3.0

The first half of the book was very enjoyable, and I connected to the characters as they were 20 years ago. Unfortunately, the present day characters were whiny, indecisive and irritating! The plot went roundup round.

geisttull's review

3.0

I picked this up because i loved the Rosie books, but this was not one of those! I liked the characters and the story was well told. But I still like the Rosie characters more.

etakloknok's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

pallavi_sharma87's review

3.0

****3.5****
Review soon

goldenlife's review against another edition

3.0

I liked The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect so much, so I came to this book with high expectations. Sadly, I was a bit disappointed. The love triangle was so strange and extremely off-putting for me. The characters were interesting, and there were elements that I really enjoyed, but things got a bit weird for my taste.