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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
Normally I don't write reviews for anything that falls under 3 stars because I've always thought, what's the point? Since I am evolving as a reader and someone who shares thoughts about books, I think it's okay to express disappointment because a review is purely subjective and my intent is not to bash a book but merely point out why I couldn't connect.
First, let me start by stating that I'm a fan of both, Charles Sheehan-Miles and Andrea Randall. They are talented writers and in their previous books I've been captivated, moved and highly entertained but with that being said, this book was a huge miss. A beautiful cover and exceptional title will only get you so far if the content is lacking and that's the bottom line, it was lacking in complexity, depth and some of the characters seemed to be lacking redeeming qualities.
If you are going to write about the love affair between a teacher and student it needs to feel completely and utterly real within their fictional world. The dialogue felt forced many times and I mostly felt that coming from Gregory, every time he said anything...A.) I couldn't believe in what he was saying and B.) The way he spoke seemed over-stylized for the situation at hand. There were moments when it felt like I was reading about a soap-opera versus a forbidden relationship that was blossoming and facing challenges.
Karin was made out to be a villain for not being able to help the fact that she fell in love with Gregory. Granted, she made some poor choices but she's portrayed in a way that makes her look evil because she desperately wants to hold onto her husband. A better angle would have been not to have any villains but have both, Karin and Savannah worthy of love. Again, this is the complexity piece that is missing and that I keep referring to.
I will say, I did love Savannah and there's was a lot about her that had me cheering because I wanted her to find happiness and peace. Growing up in the shadow of an absent parent should shape you into an insecure girl but not her; she's resilient and capable of giving and receiving love.
Gregory and Savannah were polar opposites but music was their connection and it was through the music that they communicated when words failed them. The only problem with these two, it wasn't believable. I felt their attraction but many times I couldn’t believe in Gregory. They both fall in love with each other early on, but Gregory inadvertently states to a colleague he will “cut it off” with Savannah and the drama intensifies.
They meet years later and Savannah finds out Gregory is married and at this point, I’m thinking things will get interesting and complicated. Nope, sure doesn’t. Instead he asks her simply to be his mistress. WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW?? Then he strings his wife along because apparently she’s evil but he also wants the cake and to eat it too, even though that’s not his intention. Time and time again, Gregory seemed wimpy and not able to take control of his situation.
“I am in love with you, but there’s nothing I can do about it, and I’m sorry for that.”
What I liked about the book was Savannah and the music is described beautifully but unfortunately it wasn’t enough for me to feel invested and I felt disappointed. Again, I must stress that it’s difficult to write a tough review but a tough review can sometimes make another reader interested enough to want to take the gamble.
Normally I don't write reviews for anything that falls under 3 stars because I've always thought, what's the point? Since I am evolving as a reader and someone who shares thoughts about books, I think it's okay to express disappointment because a review is purely subjective and my intent is not to bash a book but merely point out why I couldn't connect.
First, let me start by stating that I'm a fan of both, Charles Sheehan-Miles and Andrea Randall. They are talented writers and in their previous books I've been captivated, moved and highly entertained but with that being said, this book was a huge miss. A beautiful cover and exceptional title will only get you so far if the content is lacking and that's the bottom line, it was lacking in complexity, depth and some of the characters seemed to be lacking redeeming qualities.
If you are going to write about the love affair between a teacher and student it needs to feel completely and utterly real within their fictional world. The dialogue felt forced many times and I mostly felt that coming from Gregory, every time he said anything...A.) I couldn't believe in what he was saying and B.) The way he spoke seemed over-stylized for the situation at hand. There were moments when it felt like I was reading about a soap-opera versus a forbidden relationship that was blossoming and facing challenges.
Karin was made out to be a villain for not being able to help the fact that she fell in love with Gregory. Granted, she made some poor choices but she's portrayed in a way that makes her look evil because she desperately wants to hold onto her husband. A better angle would have been not to have any villains but have both, Karin and Savannah worthy of love. Again, this is the complexity piece that is missing and that I keep referring to.
I will say, I did love Savannah and there's was a lot about her that had me cheering because I wanted her to find happiness and peace. Growing up in the shadow of an absent parent should shape you into an insecure girl but not her; she's resilient and capable of giving and receiving love.
Gregory and Savannah were polar opposites but music was their connection and it was through the music that they communicated when words failed them. The only problem with these two, it wasn't believable. I felt their attraction but many times I couldn’t believe in Gregory. They both fall in love with each other early on, but Gregory inadvertently states to a colleague he will “cut it off” with Savannah and the drama intensifies.
They meet years later and Savannah finds out Gregory is married and at this point, I’m thinking things will get interesting and complicated. Nope, sure doesn’t. Instead he asks her simply to be his mistress. WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW?? Then he strings his wife along because apparently she’s evil but he also wants the cake and to eat it too, even though that’s not his intention. Time and time again, Gregory seemed wimpy and not able to take control of his situation.
“I am in love with you, but there’s nothing I can do about it, and I’m sorry for that.”
What I liked about the book was Savannah and the music is described beautifully but unfortunately it wasn’t enough for me to feel invested and I felt disappointed. Again, I must stress that it’s difficult to write a tough review but a tough review can sometimes make another reader interested enough to want to take the gamble.
Kind of a good story. Too Christian for me. Been there, done that, thankfully got out of the lifestyle and don’t want to be reminded of it.
Yes, I know, it's one of the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die. And yes, it's all about revenge and redemption. But oh my goodness how tedious is this? Dull, overly verbose, what good story there may be lost in unnecessary words. I have no idea how much time I invested in reading this book. However much it was, it was about 75% too much!
After trying to read this several times in the past couple years I finally finished it a couple weeks ago. It's a really awesome book. It's exciting and has some very moving parts if you are a person of faith. I listened to it as an audio book. It is very detailed in its visual descriptions.
The 1959 movie Ben Hur is one of my favorites. Although it has a subtitle "A Story of the Christ" the William Wyler movie has under-emphasized the Christian theme and concentrated on the revenge. Charlton Heston is superb in his portrayal of Judah Ben Hur, especially in the chariot race scenes and in general.
I discovered the Kindle edition of the original Lewis Wallace novel and downloaded it with excitement. Oh God! What a bore! It is very long, didactic, uses a very archaic style. The scriptwriter was very skillful, to carve a good story out of an awful text.
I discovered the Kindle edition of the original Lewis Wallace novel and downloaded it with excitement. Oh God! What a bore! It is very long, didactic, uses a very archaic style. The scriptwriter was very skillful, to carve a good story out of an awful text.
I can't believe I'd never read this before! Such a gem! It reminded me a great deal of "The Count of Monte Cristo" at least for the first half or so, since the theme of betrayal and revenge drove the plot. But after that, the story abruptly changes course. It's interesting that it's billed as a Tale of the Christ, since Jesus has only a few short cameos, though He ends up being a primary motivator for the second half of the story.
The story opens with a retelling of Jesus' birth, from the perspective of the three wise men. Then it skips ahead some 20 years in time.
Judah Ben-Hur is a Jew living in first century Rome, and he's a contemporary of Jesus, of about the same age. We meet his betrayer in the same scene where we meet Ben-Hur himself: a Roman called Messala who grew up with him, but who now has ambitions that require him to leave his old friend behind. He unequivocally insults and humiliates Ben-Hur in their farewell encounter, so that he can climb the ranks of the Roman military. Rome's new governor rides into Judea with pomp and circumstance, and Judah and his sister watch the procession from their magnificent roof--only a roof tile dislodges and happens to fall on the new governor's head. He's only knocked out, but Messala seizes upon the opportunity to make Ben-Hur out to be a militant Zionist who will lead a revolution against Rome. Ben-Hur is sent to be a slave where he is expected to die in service, first in mine shafts and then rowing on a battleship. But his determination to live, to return, and to pay Messala back keeps him going. A series of unlikely events transpires in which Ben-Hur saves a titled Roman from a sinking ship, and said Roman is so grateful that he adopts Ben-Hur as his son. Not only is he no longer a slave at that point, but he is wealthy again too.
With his new Roman name, Ben-Hur returns incognito to reclaim the inheritance stewarded for him by his family slave, Simonides. The former slave has a beautiful daughter named Esther who falls in love with Judah, but it's unrequited. Simonides and Esther are also in contact with one of the wise men at the opening of the story, who has a beautiful Egyptian daughter named Iras whom Ben-Hur loves instead. Judah is desperate to know what happened to his mother and sister in all his years away, but can't seem to learn the answer--no one will speak of them. Meanwhile, a sheik conscripts Ben-Hur to drive his horses in an upcoming chariot race against Messala and others, which is probably the most famous scene in the film, at least. Of course Ben-Hur wins, and in the process Messala is not only beggared but also crippled. He sends assassins, whom Ben-Hur wins over to his side.
I suppose one of the definitions of an epic is that the story spans a great deal of time and doesn't follow a single plot line. Eventually after Ben-Hur has essentially succeeded in his triumph over Messala--which is all but over after the chariot race, oddly enough--he turns his sights instead to becoming the very thing Messala accused him of being: a revolutionary. The Jews expected that the Messiah would come as an earthly king, and many of them assumed that He would overthrow Rome then and there. Judah decided that he would use his power, influence, and wealth to train an army to follow Jesus the moment He decided to declare Himself king. Unfortunately for Judah, that was not Jesus' mission.
Ben-Hur's mother and sister, meanwhile, were thrown into prison in further punishment for his supposed insurrection, where they became lepers. They were eventually released from prison, but continued to live in the leper colony. A loving servant learned that Jesus healed lepers, though, and brought them to Him just as He was entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The scene where Jesus heals them, I think, was the best part of the whole book. It brought me to tears. So even though Judah suffers the terrible disappointment that Jesus wasn't going to do what he'd hoped, after the crucifixion, Judah is reunited with his mother and sister, who are now whole.
It's a bit weird to me that the story ends there, and not at the resurrection. But I suppose Wallace thought the story is Judah's and not the gospel story. He wasn't going to renew his expectation that Jesus would become an earthly king right then post-resurrection, so why tell that part when the readers all know what happens next anyway? It still felt a little weird, but I can see why he made that choice.
Regardless, a fantastic epic!
The story opens with a retelling of Jesus' birth, from the perspective of the three wise men. Then it skips ahead some 20 years in time.
Judah Ben-Hur is a Jew living in first century Rome, and he's a contemporary of Jesus, of about the same age. We meet his betrayer in the same scene where we meet Ben-Hur himself: a Roman called Messala who grew up with him, but who now has ambitions that require him to leave his old friend behind. He unequivocally insults and humiliates Ben-Hur in their farewell encounter, so that he can climb the ranks of the Roman military. Rome's new governor rides into Judea with pomp and circumstance, and Judah and his sister watch the procession from their magnificent roof--only a roof tile dislodges and happens to fall on the new governor's head. He's only knocked out, but Messala seizes upon the opportunity to make Ben-Hur out to be a militant Zionist who will lead a revolution against Rome. Ben-Hur is sent to be a slave where he is expected to die in service, first in mine shafts and then rowing on a battleship. But his determination to live, to return, and to pay Messala back keeps him going. A series of unlikely events transpires in which Ben-Hur saves a titled Roman from a sinking ship, and said Roman is so grateful that he adopts Ben-Hur as his son. Not only is he no longer a slave at that point, but he is wealthy again too.
With his new Roman name, Ben-Hur returns incognito to reclaim the inheritance stewarded for him by his family slave, Simonides. The former slave has a beautiful daughter named Esther who falls in love with Judah, but it's unrequited. Simonides and Esther are also in contact with one of the wise men at the opening of the story, who has a beautiful Egyptian daughter named Iras whom Ben-Hur loves instead. Judah is desperate to know what happened to his mother and sister in all his years away, but can't seem to learn the answer--no one will speak of them. Meanwhile, a sheik conscripts Ben-Hur to drive his horses in an upcoming chariot race against Messala and others, which is probably the most famous scene in the film, at least. Of course Ben-Hur wins, and in the process Messala is not only beggared but also crippled. He sends assassins, whom Ben-Hur wins over to his side.
I suppose one of the definitions of an epic is that the story spans a great deal of time and doesn't follow a single plot line. Eventually after Ben-Hur has essentially succeeded in his triumph over Messala--which is all but over after the chariot race, oddly enough--he turns his sights instead to becoming the very thing Messala accused him of being: a revolutionary. The Jews expected that the Messiah would come as an earthly king, and many of them assumed that He would overthrow Rome then and there. Judah decided that he would use his power, influence, and wealth to train an army to follow Jesus the moment He decided to declare Himself king. Unfortunately for Judah, that was not Jesus' mission.
Ben-Hur's mother and sister, meanwhile, were thrown into prison in further punishment for his supposed insurrection, where they became lepers. They were eventually released from prison, but continued to live in the leper colony. A loving servant learned that Jesus healed lepers, though, and brought them to Him just as He was entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The scene where Jesus heals them, I think, was the best part of the whole book. It brought me to tears. So even though Judah suffers the terrible disappointment that Jesus wasn't going to do what he'd hoped, after the crucifixion, Judah is reunited with his mother and sister, who are now whole.
It's a bit weird to me that the story ends there, and not at the resurrection. But I suppose Wallace thought the story is Judah's and not the gospel story. He wasn't going to renew his expectation that Jesus would become an earthly king right then post-resurrection, so why tell that part when the readers all know what happens next anyway? It still felt a little weird, but I can see why he made that choice.
Regardless, a fantastic epic!
OMG. Great book. Just finished. I will add more to the review after I have digested it.
Okay. Now I'm back and ready to give my thoughts on the book and Savannah and Gregory. Let me start by saying that I wasn't prepared to like this book. I'm not a big fan of adultery in novels. Not at all. It squicks me out. If I want real life shit, I'll crack open a newspaper or watch E!. And I won't go so far as to say that it was just fine and dandy in this book. What saved this sitch for me was that I felt like Gregory's wife was the other woman. Yes, yes I know he was married to her and not to Savannah. But still. There are love links that can't be bridged even when someone else gets to the vows first.
Gregory was socially retarded. Seriously. And Savannah, the youngest of the three of these mooks, was the most mature. I didn't totally agree with all her decisions, but then again I don't totally agree with anybody's decisions. And you just knew when she and Gregory got back together, their connection was too deep to be denied. And yes, Gregory's wife knew how he felt about Savannah and married him anyway. Get a clue. You can't marry Romeo and expect him to deny Juliet when she comes back in the picture. Just. Not. Gonna. Happen. EVER.
Overall this read was awesome. The world building in the classical musical world was spot on. The characters were more than three dimensional. And the plot rocked.
I highly recommend this book. HIGHLY.
Okay. Now I'm back and ready to give my thoughts on the book and Savannah and Gregory. Let me start by saying that I wasn't prepared to like this book. I'm not a big fan of adultery in novels. Not at all. It squicks me out. If I want real life shit, I'll crack open a newspaper or watch E!. And I won't go so far as to say that it was just fine and dandy in this book. What saved this sitch for me was that I felt like Gregory's wife was the other woman. Yes, yes I know he was married to her and not to Savannah. But still. There are love links that can't be bridged even when someone else gets to the vows first.
Gregory was socially retarded. Seriously. And Savannah, the youngest of the three of these mooks, was the most mature. I didn't totally agree with all her decisions, but then again I don't totally agree with anybody's decisions. And you just knew when she and Gregory got back together, their connection was too deep to be denied. And yes, Gregory's wife knew how he felt about Savannah and married him anyway. Get a clue. You can't marry Romeo and expect him to deny Juliet when she comes back in the picture. Just. Not. Gonna. Happen. EVER.
Overall this read was awesome. The world building in the classical musical world was spot on. The characters were more than three dimensional. And the plot rocked.
I highly recommend this book. HIGHLY.
Not really what I expected in some ways (I have only ever watched a children's animated version of Ben Hur before this) but wonderfully written. There were times when I thought it was a little long, but generally it turned out that there was a reason for the length later. Very descriptive, detailed, and covering a long period of time.
This rivals all the best books I've ever read. The descriptions are wondrously poignant. The plot is impeccable. Like waves, each chapter surged forth with new and better inspiration. I found the climax to be most splendid and beautiful. It made me want to cry, laugh, and shout all at once. Within the genre of biblical fiction, Ben Hur is my new favorite.
Well this is indeed an epic read! A tale of betrayal and revenge on (literally) a biblical scale Wallace follows Jewish Prince Ben-Hur as he loses everything as his 'friend' turns against him and falsely accuses him of the murder of a Roman Governer. As he finds himself trapped as a galley slave he vows to seek his revenge and his determination allows him to do just that. Intertwinned in this is the story of Christ, from his birth to his death, told in great (possibly too much) detail that adds another dimension to Ben-Hur's story as it is reflected in the life of Christ. As this was first written in 1880 it does have that old world feel to it which on one hand does make it a little hard to read but on the other it makes the story feel more real as the writing reflects a by-gone age where things are not as they are today, helping the reader step back in time. When I started this I wasn't that keen but by the end Wallace had me hooked, a sign of a good book if ever there was one.