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naomistrange's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
kaadie's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I did not really enjoy this book. The first and most pertinent reason was that the big plot twist was easily deduced very early on in the book. This just made the rest of the book tedious and annoying as we painstakingly watched the characters try to puzzle out a seemingly obvious solution. The obviousness of the main plot twist (the origins of the twins) is probably due to the fact that the twist is due to, what was at that time, a relatively new an unknown medical procedure. Unfortunately in this day and age in vitro fertilization is not a bizarre and new scientific discovery but rather an established and reasonably accepted procedure. This in turn renders most of the mystery and tension around the twins' origins moot.
Ken Follet is not terrible at writing a female character but there are still some inconsistencies that lend a superficity to the characters. Additionally there was a lot of strange and focused attention on woman and their bodies in this book, with overt and weird sexual overtures concerning both. Which seemingly clashed with the conversations and subsequent condemnation of sexual assault and rape in the book.
I also felt that the books final opinions on the issues that it brought up were somewhat ambiguous. The book did valiantly address some big issues like rape culture, eugenics and sexism however the resolution of the plot left me personally, unsatisfied.The old boys club, consisting of Berrington and his friends, wreaked absolute havoc on people's lives, including impregnating eight unsuspecting women and being freaking nazis and yet faced no consequences other than social disgrace and the loss of potential wealth and power . Additionally Harvey Jones , who brutally rapes a woman faces only 5 years in prison. While these are perhaps realistic endings it certainly left me wanting. These were bad people who committed terrible crimes that our protagonists had to risk life and limb to unearth and their punishment simply feels insufficient.
Despite all of these complaints I will acknowledge that considering the time in which the book was written and the fact that it was written by a man, the novel is surprisingly adept at addressing rape culture. While the conversation is in no way subtle or nuanced it is definitely there and that still deserves congratulations. (Such are the low standards set by every other novel that likes to parade toxic masculinity as the unquestionable norm).
I did feel like the ending was unnecessarily dragged out, particularlySteve's deception of Berrington, contacting the clones and the press conference. We know the story is going to end and we know the protagonists are going to emerge victorious so all of the little twists and sudden discoveries of Jeannie's plan were annoying and just served to stall the inevitable ending and offer cheap tension.
Overall my opinion of the book was that it was boring but a relatively engaging read for say the first 200 pages, however after that it plateaus. I definitely think depending on when you read the book and how much you know aboutin vitro fertilization will definitely impact your enjoyment of the book.
Ken Follet is not terrible at writing a female character but there are still some inconsistencies that lend a superficity to the characters. Additionally there was a lot of strange and focused attention on woman and their bodies in this book, with overt and weird sexual overtures concerning both. Which seemingly clashed with the conversations and subsequent condemnation of sexual assault and rape in the book.
I also felt that the books final opinions on the issues that it brought up were somewhat ambiguous. The book did valiantly address some big issues like rape culture, eugenics and sexism however the resolution of the plot left me personally, unsatisfied.
Despite all of these complaints I will acknowledge that considering the time in which the book was written and the fact that it was written by a man, the novel is surprisingly adept at addressing rape culture. While the conversation is in no way subtle or nuanced it is definitely there and that still deserves congratulations. (Such are the low standards set by every other novel that likes to parade toxic masculinity as the unquestionable norm).
I did feel like the ending was unnecessarily dragged out, particularly
Overall my opinion of the book was that it was boring but a relatively engaging read for say the first 200 pages, however after that it plateaus. I definitely think depending on when you read the book and how much you know about
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
mrjwathen's review against another edition
5.0
Not going to lie. I’m a huge fan and this didn’t disappoint. Story line from 1996 is now a little dated (modems, landlines got calls) but I was hooked from the start. Great characterisation, as you’d expect, and a page turner to the end.
mckrainn24's review against another edition
5.0
When my mom told me to read this book I was very against the idea, but, WOW!! One of my all time favourites!
eevarez's review against another edition
4.0
una historia interesante, compleja y bien narrada. A veces me ha parecido que se tiraba un poco de cliché pero bueno, me ha mantenido enganchada hasta el final. Ya formo parte del book club de Menchus yaas!
gabrielakds's review against another edition
5.0
Honestly I have to say this book was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! Not only did it have a component of scientific research but it also thrilled the soul of every reader.
Jeannie besides being atletic and beautiful had an intelectual side that made her even more compelling.
Regarding all her research I thought that the study of monozygotic twins was very interesting. Same DNA but different lifes and choices. Or instead same DNA and similar characteristics and problems. Surely this theme deserves to be studied by everyone of us.
Jeannie besides being atletic and beautiful had an intelectual side that made her even more compelling.
Regarding all her research I thought that the study of monozygotic twins was very interesting. Same DNA but different lifes and choices. Or instead same DNA and similar characteristics and problems. Surely this theme deserves to be studied by everyone of us.
dontmissythesereads's review against another edition
3.0
I thought this book was pretty interesting. It was heavy on scientific research at times, but the story was good.
melzmeyers's review against another edition
4.0
I mistakenly checked out this book when I was looking for another of the same name, but I found it fascinating and well-worth my time.
nadiaisabk's review against another edition
1.0
As I read this book, I could not believe it was Ken Follett's work.
There are books that really get me -phenomenal books that I can't seem to lay down, books that I take everywhere, although they are over a thousand pages long and feel like brick stones in my bag. It's The Pillars of the Earth, it's Fall of Giants - it's Ken Follett! And then there's books you just read, it takes hardly a few days and you're either bored (predictable plot....) or constantly on the edge of blurting out comments about the terrible writing style. To this point, this could not have possibly been Ken Follett.
The whole storyline is predictable, the characters get over traumatizing events in mere minutes and you can't possibly find a page that has not been clearly written by the most superficial man on earth.
There are countless descriptions about the protagonist's sexiness, the clothes of every single character. The villains are pure villains. Everyone just seems to try way too hard to stay 'in character'.
Other than that, I still read it until the end and thought of it as amusing (also because I giggled every time the author described another person's wardrobe or hairstyle).
I guess my mistake was that I read his other work before getting my hands on this piece.
I usually love Ken Follett's work and I will try to think of it as a work done by a man that coincidentally shares the name with him. ;-)
There are books that really get me -phenomenal books that I can't seem to lay down, books that I take everywhere, although they are over a thousand pages long and feel like brick stones in my bag. It's The Pillars of the Earth, it's Fall of Giants - it's Ken Follett! And then there's books you just read, it takes hardly a few days and you're either bored (predictable plot....) or constantly on the edge of blurting out comments about the terrible writing style. To this point, this could not have possibly been Ken Follett.
The whole storyline is predictable, the characters get over traumatizing events in mere minutes and you can't possibly find a page that has not been clearly written by the most superficial man on earth.
There are countless descriptions about the protagonist's sexiness, the clothes of every single character. The villains are pure villains. Everyone just seems to try way too hard to stay 'in character'.
Other than that, I still read it until the end and thought of it as amusing (also because I giggled every time the author described another person's wardrobe or hairstyle).
I guess my mistake was that I read his other work before getting my hands on this piece.
I usually love Ken Follett's work and I will try to think of it as a work done by a man that coincidentally shares the name with him. ;-)
nuno_monteiro's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5