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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
Thank goodness that’s over. Boring! Characters uninteresting!
Starts off a bit cold but gets warmer, sadder, and lovelier as it goes on. This book will linger with me.
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I think it will take awhile for this book to settle in my mind. I enjoyed the writing style, but felt so unsatisfied at the end. I need more closure - so many characters were abandoned along the way.
I'm teetering between three and four stars for this one. There was no one part of this book I didn't like. The language is beautiful and the stories Ondaatje tells here are vivid and gorgeous throughout the book. I'm just not sold on how all the parts actually fit together as a whole. I'm a big fan of the books The English Patient , Anil's Ghost and Coming Through Slaughter, so I'm used to Ondaatje's work veering from the central story to explore the experiences of characters adjacent to the story. This novel, however, shifts into in-depth explorations of characters two or three times removed from the original story. And though I actually enjoyed the stories of the characters described at the end of the book more than those at the beginning, I was not at all satisfied with how the last section tied (or rather did not tie) back in with the original set of characters and the events that started the whole book. Maybe I'm missing something. I don't know.
In the end, I'm going with four stars because I believe the language, the vivid depiction of each character and beauty of the individual stories most likely warrant the fourth star.
In the end, I'm going with four stars because I believe the language, the vivid depiction of each character and beauty of the individual stories most likely warrant the fourth star.
There's some gorgeous descriptive writing in this book.
I am mourning the fact that this book ended. It is something to be read slowly, eyes sweeping over the paragraphs multiple times. It is something to be re-read once you realize how intricately things relate. Heartbreaking and exquisite.
This book lost me about half-way through. I read it all in one day, laid up with the flu, so it definitely propels you along. But i wound up disappointed. The primary set of stories it started out following was abandoned for a second set of stories, and I found myself wanting to return to he abandoned characters and their unfulfilled storylines.
I don't get why the author chose to construct his novel in this way, and it made me lose patience a bit.
I don't get why the author chose to construct his novel in this way, and it made me lose patience a bit.
This is my 3rd Michael Ondaatje book. I've also read The English Patient and In the Skin of the Lion. The English Patient I found incredibly disappointing. Each page was more boring than the next and the only part that I found even vaguely entertaining was the part involving Kip becoming a sapper for the British army.
However, the more I read of Ondaatje, the more I enjoy his work. Perhaps it’s because I’m learning to appreciate his meandering style. His prose puts me in a meditative mood. After reading, I feel calm and sated. Also, I might have enjoyed this book more because it includes topics that interest me, like poker and the Vietnam War. So, I did enjoy Divisadero the most out of any of the three books I read.
I do take issue with some aspects of his writing. I don’t like when he makes vast generalizations. And I don’t agree with one of the major themes of the book: that we keep on living the same stories again and again. Yes, there are similarities between the stories, but the difference is in the details. Just because someone experienced an event similar to an event that you experienced doesn’t mean that it was the same event. Some of the reviews I read said that the story was heart breaking. But I found only one of the love stories in it heart breaking: the story of Marie-Neige and Lucien. Other than that, it seemed as if the characters fell in together and happened to be together through proximity rather than any true feelings of love.
I also read an interview of Ondaatje where he said that he was inspired to write this novel by realizing how callow he was as a youth, and how he thought that youth shouldn’t be judged for their actions. I think that youth are adults and, even though they may not have all the knowledge of an adult, they are more than capable of taking responsibility for their actions and understanding the consequences of those actions. But then again, I never slept with my step-brother.
However, the more I read of Ondaatje, the more I enjoy his work. Perhaps it’s because I’m learning to appreciate his meandering style. His prose puts me in a meditative mood. After reading, I feel calm and sated. Also, I might have enjoyed this book more because it includes topics that interest me, like poker and the Vietnam War. So, I did enjoy Divisadero the most out of any of the three books I read.
I do take issue with some aspects of his writing. I don’t like when he makes vast generalizations. And I don’t agree with one of the major themes of the book: that we keep on living the same stories again and again. Yes, there are similarities between the stories, but the difference is in the details. Just because someone experienced an event similar to an event that you experienced doesn’t mean that it was the same event. Some of the reviews I read said that the story was heart breaking. But I found only one of the love stories in it heart breaking: the story of Marie-Neige and Lucien. Other than that, it seemed as if the characters fell in together and happened to be together through proximity rather than any true feelings of love.
I also read an interview of Ondaatje where he said that he was inspired to write this novel by realizing how callow he was as a youth, and how he thought that youth shouldn’t be judged for their actions. I think that youth are adults and, even though they may not have all the knowledge of an adult, they are more than capable of taking responsibility for their actions and understanding the consequences of those actions. But then again, I never slept with my step-brother.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced