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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
had potential but ended up being disappointed by a dismal plot with dry characters.
Whipped through this in just a few days. A pretty enthralling spy story that sneaks up on you, then throws a few (kinda confusing) twists into the end. Makes for a fascinating companion to Ondaatje's Warlight. The novels are almost mirror images of one another.
I've just come through a period of reading books by writers who seemed so afraid of their protagonist being a Mary-Sue that they made her thoroughly unlikable, and it frankl;y made me want bad things to happen to them. So this was a real relief.
Juliet Armstrong is real, complex, and has some very obvious faults. But she is also someone I could really root for. Maybe it's an age thing, but unlike other reviewers, I didn't find her naive at all - except in one instance where what was going on was obvious to me, but I'm sure would not have been to my mother, who was of Juliet's generation.
I had been quite disappointed by 'Started Early, Took My Dog' (where her writing was very pedestrian), so it was a real pleasure to feel safe in Kate Atkinson's hands again.
I enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot, the writing, the characters I could so easily picture - and although the ending was a surprise, it did make sense to me, and in a way it harked right back to 1940, as well as Juliet's pragmatism being overtly on display throughout the book.
And it was just so nice to be on the side of the protagonist again.
Juliet Armstrong is real, complex, and has some very obvious faults. But she is also someone I could really root for. Maybe it's an age thing, but unlike other reviewers, I didn't find her naive at all - except in one instance where what was going on was obvious to me, but I'm sure would not have been to my mother, who was of Juliet's generation.
I had been quite disappointed by 'Started Early, Took My Dog' (where her writing was very pedestrian), so it was a real pleasure to feel safe in Kate Atkinson's hands again.
I enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot, the writing, the characters I could so easily picture - and although the ending was a surprise, it did make sense to me, and in a way it harked right back to 1940, as well as Juliet's pragmatism being overtly on display throughout the book.
And it was just so nice to be on the side of the protagonist again.
I'm being generous giving this book 3 stars. It was lacklustre and dawdled along to a bizarre ending that was at complete odds to the rest of the book.
I liked Lily the dog but that's about it.
I liked Lily the dog but that's about it.
Ugh- i just could not get into this book at all. It should have been a total win for me but maybe it was just poor timing ?
After the first 50-75 pages, I had hoped this was going to be a 5 star book, the middle was a little "messy," and the final 50 pages redeemed it and brought it back up to 4 stars. All in all, if you are interested in WWII and the post war time period -- and especially spy stories -- it's a worthwhile historical mystery. There's an unusual point of view that was intriguing and a good twist that I did not see coming.
I was disappointed with Atkinson's latest, particularly since I adored Life After Life. This had all the elements to make it great: the backdrop of WW2, quirky British characters, and an intriguing plot. And yet it never really took off for me. I didn't connect with Juliet and found the timeline to be very choppy and disjointed. Nevertheless, I love Atkinson's style and her portrayal of the lasting damage of the war on England and her people is brilliant.
I thought this book was just ok. I never felt terribly connected to any of the characters, or all that interested in what happened next.
Solid 3.5 stars. This is not on a par with Atkinson’s Behind the Scenes at the Museum or Life After Life, But it’s an entertaining spy story.
I have a soft spot for war stories with female protagonists. So, I read a lot of them. This book was special because it has a lot of mystery to it. And, although we watch the characters, Juliet especially, very closely, there is still so much surprise. I highly recommend it.