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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
I wasn't crazy about the first half of this book -- it had the kind of very heavy, melancholy tone that rarely appeals to me, and many elements (sad, elderly holocaust survivor; person who models for art classes) seemed lifted from several other books I've read recently (see "Blue Nude"). But in the second half, things got interesting...and, by the end, downright confusing, in a good, mind-bending way. Half an hour perusing the discussion boards on Amazon (after Googling "History of Love" and "confused") helped me sort things out, though, and now I'm pretty satisfied. And it was a very fast read, so even the parts I wasn't crazy about went by very quickly.
I liked it, but I had heard from others that this was "the best book ever" and "life-changing" and I didn't think it really was. It's a great story and very well-written though, and I enjoyed it a lot. I was just a little let down because my expectations had been really high.
I loved the writing -- the many different voices-- but I almost feel like I need to go back and start at the beginning again in order to understand the "plot" more clearly!
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I loved this book. LOVED this book. I continue to be stunned by the wisdom, insightfulness, and depth of an author this young. Amazing talent here.
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
85% - percentage of time I was confused while reading this
100% - how great the ending was
3.5 - the number of stars I'm settling on for The History of Love....I really think the writing was quite beautiful and probably deserves a higher rating but I spent so much time trying to figure out who was who and how it all fit together that I couldn't truly enjoy it. If that could have been smoothed out I think this could easily have been a 5 star book.
100% - how great the ending was
3.5 - the number of stars I'm settling on for The History of Love....I really think the writing was quite beautiful and probably deserves a higher rating but I spent so much time trying to figure out who was who and how it all fit together that I couldn't truly enjoy it. If that could have been smoothed out I think this could easily have been a 5 star book.
Lovely book so far (so much better than the last couple I read!)