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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
Very engrossing and a quick read. It's a fascinating modern take on the classic fairy abduction tale. Woman returns 20 years after she went missing, appears to have not aged, and says she was only away 6 months. Her family reaction is to send her for a barrage of medical tests and pay for an expensive (but quirky) therapist. The chapters containing the psychiatrist's reports were the most compelling. His attempts to create clinical, psychological explanations for the tale he is being told drags the reader's mindset onto the fence. The reader goes from I'm-reading-a-fairy-tale-and-buying-into-it to This-shrink-has-a-point. Ultimately, I bought the fairy tale (because that was my expectation when I picked up the book), but I very much enjoyed the alternate explanations.
I almost gave this 4 stars, because of all of the above, but I was disappointed in the lack of development of some of the key characters. Particularly Heiro, the fairy abductor, who stalks Tara with serious, sometimes sinister motivation. But you never find out what that motivation is. Tara's parents, and their emotional journey after the return of their missing daughter, were mostly ignored in favor of her big brother and nephew. There is an attempt at a twist at the end - the identification of the narrator - but you aren't told this is a mystery that will be revealed until the penultimate chapter. I hadn't been wondering and didn't care when I found out.
I almost gave this 4 stars, because of all of the above, but I was disappointed in the lack of development of some of the key characters. Particularly Heiro, the fairy abductor, who stalks Tara with serious, sometimes sinister motivation. But you never find out what that motivation is. Tara's parents, and their emotional journey after the return of their missing daughter, were mostly ignored in favor of her big brother and nephew. There is an attempt at a twist at the end - the identification of the narrator - but you aren't told this is a mystery that will be revealed until the penultimate chapter. I hadn't been wondering and didn't care when I found out.
Please step forward one of my new favourite authors! This book was a book club choice and I'm so glad it was picked as I absolutely loved it. Couldn't put it down and the author's magical writing and enchanting tale made me want to run away with the fairies! Or not.
Very disappointed in the lack of an ending after I muddled my way through the book just to figure out what was happening.
The style of this one is just not for me. I don't find Joyce's prose engaging, there's a lack of exposition and character development, and the revolving narration isn't effective.
mysterious
slow-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
Please note: This book is NOT a fairy tale. If that is what you are hoping for, it will disappoint.
Despite the fact that it took me forever to get through this book (due to having to wait to check it out again from the library), I actually really enjoyed it. Usually I don't like "open-ended" stories. I like everything wrapped up nice and neat for me. However, in this case I liked the fact that we were able to pretty much draw our own conclusions as to what "really" happened.
I enjoyed the complexity of the characters, although I do wish more time had been spent on the fairies and the fairy realm. However, I suppose that would have taken a bit away from the other aspects of the book- such as: is it all in her head?
There was definitely a lot of focus on sex in it. Not sure what the author was trying to accomplish with that, since it didn't seem to matter much in the context of the story. Maybe just showing differing viewpoints on it?
The book moves between lovely, poetic type writing, to more brash and straight-forward. Sometimes I found this to be a bit jarring, but loved the lyrical feel when it was there. I think it also helped to differentiate between the fairy and the real-life.
Despite the fact that it took me forever to get through this book (due to having to wait to check it out again from the library), I actually really enjoyed it. Usually I don't like "open-ended" stories. I like everything wrapped up nice and neat for me. However, in this case I liked the fact that we were able to pretty much draw our own conclusions as to what "really" happened.
I enjoyed the complexity of the characters, although I do wish more time had been spent on the fairies and the fairy realm. However, I suppose that would have taken a bit away from the other aspects of the book- such as: is it all in her head?
There was definitely a lot of focus on sex in it. Not sure what the author was trying to accomplish with that, since it didn't seem to matter much in the context of the story. Maybe just showing differing viewpoints on it?
The book moves between lovely, poetic type writing, to more brash and straight-forward. Sometimes I found this to be a bit jarring, but loved the lyrical feel when it was there. I think it also helped to differentiate between the fairy and the real-life.
BIt of a mix between [a:Tana French|138825|Tana French|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1277505771p2/138825.jpg]'s novels and [b:The Ocean at the End of the Lane|15783514|The Ocean at the End of the Lane|Neil Gaiman|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1351914778s/15783514.jpg|21500681], for whatever reason.
slow-paced
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
At first I had difficulty getting into this book, I had almost decided to put it down. But then, it came to life in my hands and I couldn't put it down. There were a few references to words I didn't think needed to be written in, but I overlooked those words and enjoyed the book.