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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I picked this up from the library because I needed something to keep me from listening to news.
It's a little new age-y, a little cult-y. A woman on a spiritual journey gains a cult following and disappears. The story is told through interviews with people that knew her.
The story held my interest, sorta, for about 2/3s of the book, while we got the backstory of Athena and her spiritual journey. Then it picked up the pace as she became a guru with a following and things fall apart.
I may have enjoyed this more with a different reader. Rita Wolf did not do a particularly good job of keeping the voices distinct, and several times I simply could not tell who was speaking. Her accents were odd, and everyone that wasn't English was indeterminately "foreign" but not enough to give any authenticity to the characters.
So, an interesting premise, perhaps poorly executed in audio. If you like new-agey stuff, you may like this.
It's a little new age-y, a little cult-y. A woman on a spiritual journey gains a cult following and disappears. The story is told through interviews with people that knew her.
The story held my interest, sorta, for about 2/3s of the book, while we got the backstory of Athena and her spiritual journey. Then it picked up the pace as she became a guru with a following and things fall apart.
I may have enjoyed this more with a different reader. Rita Wolf did not do a particularly good job of keeping the voices distinct, and several times I simply could not tell who was speaking. Her accents were odd, and everyone that wasn't English was indeterminately "foreign" but not enough to give any authenticity to the characters.
So, an interesting premise, perhaps poorly executed in audio. If you like new-agey stuff, you may like this.
I like the set up of this book. We get to know the main character through interviews of those who knew her. I like the novelty of this style of writing. My only complaint is in regards to the narration of the audio book. The narrator adopts terrible accents for some of the characters - sure they might have accents but it is not well done. Also, her style of speaking for Athena makes her sound mean and slow - everything is abrupt. By the end, I was sure if I really cared about Athena at all. I wasn't surprised by the ending, but I was pretty blah about it.
It's been a while since I've had to force myself to finish a book and this was one of those times.
Tried as I might to get into the story, the single person per chapter viewpoint format and key characters were like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.
I really was hoping that I would be spellbound, but in the end I couldn't read fast enough so I could put the thing down already. This was my very first Paulo Coelho read, surely this isn't the norm?
Tried as I might to get into the story, the single person per chapter viewpoint format and key characters were like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.
I really was hoping that I would be spellbound, but in the end I couldn't read fast enough so I could put the thing down already. This was my very first Paulo Coelho read, surely this isn't the norm?
This book was weird. It was wonderful in moments and confusing on others, but I think intentionally so. It carried in it the beauty and ugliness of humanity and love. It makes the reader question. It's a good read, but an odd one.
This book isn't anywhere near the top of my list of "good" books but it was alright. I was halfway through this book quite some time ago and accidentally left the book at the airport. I had abandoned the book entirely until a friend of mine had one lying around and let me borrow it.
The character, Athena, felt extremely artificial to me. I can appreciate the concept of female empowerment, but I was extremely disappointed that her independence was at the expense of everyone that loved her. He (ex) husband, child, adoptive parents, etc. No real emotional attachment to anything but her son and even that relationship was strange.
I read the Alchemist and felt the same sort of detached feeling after completing that book. I like writing that pulls me in and I just can't put the book down. This was not one of those books. It was a struggle to pick back up and an even bigger struggle to finish.
As for Paulo Coelho, I commend him for taking on the topic of spirituality and individualism....in a woman. :)
The character, Athena, felt extremely artificial to me. I can appreciate the concept of female empowerment, but I was extremely disappointed that her independence was at the expense of everyone that loved her. He (ex) husband, child, adoptive parents, etc. No real emotional attachment to anything but her son and even that relationship was strange.
I read the Alchemist and felt the same sort of detached feeling after completing that book. I like writing that pulls me in and I just can't put the book down. This was not one of those books. It was a struggle to pick back up and an even bigger struggle to finish.
As for Paulo Coelho, I commend him for taking on the topic of spirituality and individualism....in a woman. :)
Ohhhh jackie thank you for giving me this book, this was so so good. I think it was the perfect time for me to read this and I literally read it just in one day. It wasn’t confusing like I thought it might be and there wasn’t any part of it that I didn’t like. It was so beautifully written and I cannot wait to give to everyone to read.
Very good book. Makes you stop and think about who you are and what kind of person you want to be
I kept thinking there was something I was supposed to get. But I didn't get it.
Starts off compelling, gets muddled in the middle, and ends on a whimper. There are still moments of brilliance and bits that I'm going to copy out and keep forever, but not one of my favorites.