Scan barcode
ruthmaloney's review against another edition
2.0
Elizabeth Finch is a great character and at the start of this I was really engaged. The middle of the book felt completely out of keeping and the end was a disappointment. His musings on biography and Julian we're lost on me. I wish the character study had gone somewhere more interesting.
mvps85's review against another edition
2.0
Julian Barnes is my buy blind author. And yes some parts had brilliance in them. But it wasn’t for me. I skipped the Julian the Apostel part. The rest was good…
vyshnevyjcvit's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
bags_and_bookz's review against another edition
2.0
Thank you Netgalley, Penguin Random House Canada, Random House Canada and Julian Barnes for free e-ARC in return of my honest review.
Unfortunately, Elizabeth Finch is a DNF for me. I was excited to get into a character-based book, to see the build up of Elizabeth Finch, the intellectual, the professor, seen by one of her students, Neil. I was looking forward to embrace the character-based novel with little plot development and dive in in EF character exploration. At first 50 pages, I got what I was in for. However, tiny descriptions about “racy” EF and some fantasies of her male students, who will always be “boys” repelled me from the narrator. It seemed that EF’s intellectual capabilities, which at first appeared to be paramount, turned out to be insignificant compared to the “fantasies” of male students.
Anyway, I do feel like I was the wrong audience for the novel. I wished I enjoyed it more.
Unfortunately, Elizabeth Finch is a DNF for me. I was excited to get into a character-based book, to see the build up of Elizabeth Finch, the intellectual, the professor, seen by one of her students, Neil. I was looking forward to embrace the character-based novel with little plot development and dive in in EF character exploration. At first 50 pages, I got what I was in for. However, tiny descriptions about “racy” EF and some fantasies of her male students, who will always be “boys” repelled me from the narrator. It seemed that EF’s intellectual capabilities, which at first appeared to be paramount, turned out to be insignificant compared to the “fantasies” of male students.
Anyway, I do feel like I was the wrong audience for the novel. I wished I enjoyed it more.
cymru1973's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
hannah_bookworm's review against another edition
reflective
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? Yes
2.0
This is a terrible book!
llama3's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sophieec's review
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
t6bea's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
i did not like this nearly as much as i thought i would