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ursulaursula's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
markyc's review against another edition
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
beastreader's review against another edition
2.0
While on the way to a party in the Moroccan desert, David and Jo Henniger have an accident. It is the middle of the night and two men approach David and Jo in their car. David caught off guard swerves and hits one of the men. The other man takes off running into the desert. David and Jo put the dead man's body in the trunk of their car and make their way to their destination. It is not long after they arrive that word spreads about what David and Jo did.
I was excited to pick up this book and start reading it. I kind of feel like this was a bad Halloween joke. I just stumbled me way along through this book and not continuously. I would skim it or even jump forward several chapters and than start reading again. I found the pacing of this story to be extremely slow. Too much so for my liking. I might have been singing a different song if I had liked the characters but none of them were that interesting. There were too many descriptive details. Reading this book I felt like I was sitting in the office with a psychologist. Overall, this book was not my cup of tea.
I was excited to pick up this book and start reading it. I kind of feel like this was a bad Halloween joke. I just stumbled me way along through this book and not continuously. I would skim it or even jump forward several chapters and than start reading again. I found the pacing of this story to be extremely slow. Too much so for my liking. I might have been singing a different song if I had liked the characters but none of them were that interesting. There were too many descriptive details. Reading this book I felt like I was sitting in the office with a psychologist. Overall, this book was not my cup of tea.
briandice's review against another edition
5.0
Beautifully written, shattering prose that makes Western (in)sensibilities crumble in the harsh desert sun of northern Africa. I want to pen so much more about why this novel is superlatively fantabulous, but I'll unwittingly spoil things without Spoiler tags.
The only future worth entertaining is the one we can’t imagine at all.
Forgive me, please, and read this wondrous novel about how we all go about [un]Forgiven.
gitta_g's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
gilmoreguide's review against another edition
4.0
The suburbs of Tangiers were ruined, but the gardens were still there. And so were the crippled lemon trees and olives, the dogged disillusion and empty factories, the smell of seething young men.
A sybaritic weekend in the Saharan desert of Morocco, at a fantastically renovated fortress compound. Richard and Dally have invited friends from around the globe and for Londoners, David and Jo, it seems the perfect antidote to a marriage that is fraying. That is, right up until the moment when, in the midst of an argument and perhaps too much alcohol, David hits a man who runs out into the road in the middle of nowhere as they are lost on their way to the party. They arrive in the early morning hours with the man’s body in the backseat and what was supposed to be a carefree weekend is transformed into a tension filled drama.
Read more of this review at The Gilmore Guide to Books: http://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2012/09/the-forgiven/
A sybaritic weekend in the Saharan desert of Morocco, at a fantastically renovated fortress compound. Richard and Dally have invited friends from around the globe and for Londoners, David and Jo, it seems the perfect antidote to a marriage that is fraying. That is, right up until the moment when, in the midst of an argument and perhaps too much alcohol, David hits a man who runs out into the road in the middle of nowhere as they are lost on their way to the party. They arrive in the early morning hours with the man’s body in the backseat and what was supposed to be a carefree weekend is transformed into a tension filled drama.
Read more of this review at The Gilmore Guide to Books: http://gilmoreguidetobooks.com/2012/09/the-forgiven/
christar_123's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book, although there was not a single character I really liked in it. i know that sounds strange. The writing style Osborne used was almost classical; I loved his ways of describing the environment, the actions, the food. The way he often would write what a character thought, before writing what he or she actually said or did allowed me to have a better understanding of the complex ways everyone was deceiving one another (and themselves) throughout the events. The slow way in which the character of Driss was revealed was also interesting, adding almost a hint of mystery to the read.
It is clear that Osborne spent a lot of time in Morocco. I was intrigued by the locations characters visited and spent time online trying to map out where everyone was. I was pleasantly surprised to realize I lived in more of a southern desert than the "Southerners" in the story and could perfectly picture the landscape they traveled through. There were a few mistakes that really bothered me though. A group of Gnaoua, southern singers would be from TATA, not TAZA. The travelers would go UP to Fez from Midelt, not DOWN. A man wouldn't be named MOULAY - that would just be used as a sign of respect to refer to someone.....little things like this make me think that the author lived in Rabat or Casablanca, away from the villages. It reminds me that even when writing carefully, little things can be mistaken - is it possible to write about a foreign place without making errors like these? It's reasonable that a traveler in Morocco may think many old men are named "Moulay" but I don't think I ever met anyone who was actually named that....
The thing I most liked about the work, though, was how Osborne did not fall into the common trap I find in Western writers' works - the way of presenting people living in traditional societies as a people of noble poverty. The idea that life for them is "simple but better, because they have fewer possessions," as though living in poverty somehow imbues them with nobility. From my experiences, people living in these areas were usually just as commodity driven as many Americans I've met; they just don't have the same access to resources and money. It drives me crazy when wealthy, financially stable first world inhabitants assume everyone else is happy because they have "less stuff." As though people in other places don't realize they have less stuff and don't want to have more.
Osborne represented the hopeless frustration of young people stuck in impossible situations and locations so well.
A very interesting read, if you can stomach the overwhelming excesses of the Europeans at the party.
It is clear that Osborne spent a lot of time in Morocco. I was intrigued by the locations characters visited and spent time online trying to map out where everyone was. I was pleasantly surprised to realize I lived in more of a southern desert than the "Southerners" in the story and could perfectly picture the landscape they traveled through. There were a few mistakes that really bothered me though. A group of Gnaoua, southern singers would be from TATA, not TAZA. The travelers would go UP to Fez from Midelt, not DOWN. A man wouldn't be named MOULAY - that would just be used as a sign of respect to refer to someone.....little things like this make me think that the author lived in Rabat or Casablanca, away from the villages. It reminds me that even when writing carefully, little things can be mistaken - is it possible to write about a foreign place without making errors like these? It's reasonable that a traveler in Morocco may think many old men are named "Moulay" but I don't think I ever met anyone who was actually named that....
The thing I most liked about the work, though, was how Osborne did not fall into the common trap I find in Western writers' works - the way of presenting people living in traditional societies as a people of noble poverty. The idea that life for them is "simple but better, because they have fewer possessions," as though living in poverty somehow imbues them with nobility. From my experiences, people living in these areas were usually just as commodity driven as many Americans I've met; they just don't have the same access to resources and money. It drives me crazy when wealthy, financially stable first world inhabitants assume everyone else is happy because they have "less stuff." As though people in other places don't realize they have less stuff and don't want to have more.
Osborne represented the hopeless frustration of young people stuck in impossible situations and locations so well.
A very interesting read, if you can stomach the overwhelming excesses of the Europeans at the party.
pixieparliament's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.5
I bought this because I saw the movie advertised, and I prefer to read the book before watching the movie. I haven't watched the movie yet but it's on the list.
I'm not sure what I expected from either the book or the movie. I thought more angst, more tension - this is what I expected from the movie trailer. Instead what I got was so much broader.
The book was very interesting, a blend of culture and seeing things from different perspectives without saying that either perspective was either wrong or right. You see rich lives, poor life, live of privilege and toiling for every penny. It blends themes of religion and culture, western and easter together very well.
It was well written but moved slowly.
I'm not sure what I expected from either the book or the movie. I thought more angst, more tension - this is what I expected from the movie trailer. Instead what I got was so much broader.
The book was very interesting, a blend of culture and seeing things from different perspectives without saying that either perspective was either wrong or right. You see rich lives, poor life, live of privilege and toiling for every penny. It blends themes of religion and culture, western and easter together very well.
It was well written but moved slowly.
mcatsambas's review against another edition
3.5
I liked this book's focus on place, and it really evoked the moral discomfort of westerners "invading" a foreign country for their own pleasure and gain. As a thriller, though, it was too slow and detached for me. The characters weren't three dimensional enough to make up for the plotlessness.
caroparr's review against another edition
3.0
A plus for its setting in the Moroccan desert, but the pervading sense of anxiety is not my favorite kind of reading. Nevertheless, very well done, and I may watch the recent film version if only to revisit Morocco.