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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
challenging
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had high hopes of this, although mostly based on the fact that I had a) heard of it b) I have seen her talk before and enjoyed listening to her. So, in retrospect, not particularly solid bases for high expectations!
I found it unbearably ponderous and wrapped up in what felt like the author’s endless use of analogies and intermittent launches into babble-thons. The younger Jeanette has a certain smugness to her internal dialogue, which isn’t really a barrier to enjoying a book and can, in the right circumstances, be an effective strategy or theme of a book. But the fact that it is surrounded by layer upon layer of the author’s ineffective analogies that she lingers on, such as the nature of history or social interaction meant that for me the process of slogging my way through was incredibly tedious and at points cringeworthy.
I gave it two stars because the limited narrative was briefly interesting at points, and some of the characters were intriguing on the rare occasion they were allowed room to breathe. Again, I appreciate this may have been a calculated strategy, but for me it utterly failed. I’m not remotely of an opinion that fiction needs to be a linear journey from a to b without any deviation or sojourns. But it at least needs to work on some level if it’s going to veer off into parallel allegorical forays or myths around Rapunzel and Merlin. The author needs to carry the reader or pique their interest a little enough to make it worthwhile. This book almost completely failed to do either for me.
I found it unbearably ponderous and wrapped up in what felt like the author’s endless use of analogies and intermittent launches into babble-thons. The younger Jeanette has a certain smugness to her internal dialogue, which isn’t really a barrier to enjoying a book and can, in the right circumstances, be an effective strategy or theme of a book. But the fact that it is surrounded by layer upon layer of the author’s ineffective analogies that she lingers on, such as the nature of history or social interaction meant that for me the process of slogging my way through was incredibly tedious and at points cringeworthy.
I gave it two stars because the limited narrative was briefly interesting at points, and some of the characters were intriguing on the rare occasion they were allowed room to breathe. Again, I appreciate this may have been a calculated strategy, but for me it utterly failed. I’m not remotely of an opinion that fiction needs to be a linear journey from a to b without any deviation or sojourns. But it at least needs to work on some level if it’s going to veer off into parallel allegorical forays or myths around Rapunzel and Merlin. The author needs to carry the reader or pique their interest a little enough to make it worthwhile. This book almost completely failed to do either for me.
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Enjoyed this a lot, but I can’t help but think the parables could have been reeled back a bit - ultimately they take up about a third of the book, and are either too clearly reflective of the narrative, or too obtuse.
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
On the road to reading all of JW’s works & writings with absolute delight, having my life perspective changed by her grasp of storytelling.