Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
I don't know what's more heartbreaking-a life not lived or a life lived without love. This novel left a lump in my throat that has yet to fully dissipate. At the end, I had to go back and read the beginning, feeling as though I couldn't quite let go of the story before the circle was complete. The story's structure was perhaps the most brilliant, for the same story told in linear fashion would have been dry and lacking emotional clarity. Heartbreaking, but essential, in the way that only fiction can truly answer the question, "What if?"
I actually enjoyed this book....would have been a 3star right up until I got to the last page.the last paragraph, actually, which made it lose a whole star. Not cool!!
I couldn't get into this, and found it incredibly painful but managed to get through to the end, really not my cup of tea so I cannot recommend.
I persisted with this book and got through 3/4 of it before I'd finally had enough. It was depressing. There was no joy in it at all. I didn't feel any kind of real connection between the two characters.
This seems like it might be pretty bad, but at least it's going quickly. Also I like books that are written backwards, Memento-style.
Horrible! My friend was so angry after reading this book she forced me to read it to give her some understanding as to why it went down the way it did...I work in a library so I know everything right.
I began reading it with a completely open mind not judging it until I read the last page. I had a feeling that I knew what the ended was, but I thought that would be stupid so I pushed it aside...I was right and it made me angry too.
I began reading it with a completely open mind not judging it until I read the last page. I had a feeling that I knew what the ended was, but I thought that would be stupid so I pushed it aside...I was right and it made me angry too.
I wished I'd read the synopsis more carefully. I can't imagine what I was thinking about that had my mind so far away from the words written in the cover of the book. Before I knew the story was completely pointless, I was a good third of the way in and felt I should finish it since it is a book I own. I am now going to donate it. This book had no substance or relevance; nevertheless, the first 100 pages were okay and only after I got to the second part, I realized I had been dreaming the plot of the book up. There was a sloppiness about the characters in the second part and by the third part, I had been glazing over half the words....what a waste of time! The only saving grace was Shreve is a good writer.
Shocking Ending
I had no idea what this book was initially about. The middle dragged a little for me, but the shock of the ending more than made up for that! A very unique premise that I have to honestly say I have yet to come across in the many books I've read!
I had no idea what this book was initially about. The middle dragged a little for me, but the shock of the ending more than made up for that! A very unique premise that I have to honestly say I have yet to come across in the many books I've read!
"A day without you seems a day unlived, bearable only because I summon memory, mine subject to the merest oxidation, a faint rust blowing in the breezes."
"What shocks me is my love for you. I would like to think that what we have could exist outside of real life, that it could be a thing apart and not invade. Foolish and dangerous thinking. It has already invaded every part of my life."
"It was as if he'd merely been distracted all these years, or had grown weary of loving only memories. And had, against all odds, been returned to a rightful state. Not reminded, but restored. As a sightless man who once had sight will learn to live with his condition, adjust to his darkened universe, and then, years later, when astonishingly he can see again, will know how glorious his world once was."
"What shocks me is my love for you. I would like to think that what we have could exist outside of real life, that it could be a thing apart and not invade. Foolish and dangerous thinking. It has already invaded every part of my life."
"It was as if he'd merely been distracted all these years, or had grown weary of loving only memories. And had, against all odds, been returned to a rightful state. Not reminded, but restored. As a sightless man who once had sight will learn to live with his condition, adjust to his darkened universe, and then, years later, when astonishingly he can see again, will know how glorious his world once was."