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Review Date: 1/22/2011
Imagine Sir Isaac Newton playing the role of Sherlock Holmes in London in the 1600s. Newton, late-in-life, is one of the leading officials of the British mint and, as part of his position, is in charge of investigating counterfeit coin press operations. The penalties for the crime are severe in that place and time and there is plenty of time for segues into descriptions of medieval torture and execution techniques. People are being murdered in the Tower of London and Newton is the only one that is interested in solving the mystery. Shhh, I wont spoil it.
The book is narrated by Newton s newly hired assistant. As a result of his daily association with Newton , the assistant slowly loses his religion. Newton was a genius by all accounts and, according to Kerr, did not accept the concept of the trinity (the basis for Protestantism and the Church of England). The assistant is also involved in a dalliance with Newton s niece who, as near as I can tell is Newton s only blood relative at this point in his life.
The story is interesting, is paced nicely, and draws the reader in quickly. Kerrs Character development and writing capability are nicely showcased. I did not feel as though the book closed well. In the end I am left wondering who drugged our wine and left us off from the coach - wondering where we were going in the first place.
The book is narrated by Newton s newly hired assistant. As a result of his daily association with Newton , the assistant slowly loses his religion. Newton was a genius by all accounts and, according to Kerr, did not accept the concept of the trinity (the basis for Protestantism and the Church of England). The assistant is also involved in a dalliance with Newton s niece who, as near as I can tell is Newton s only blood relative at this point in his life.
The story is interesting, is paced nicely, and draws the reader in quickly. Kerrs Character development and writing capability are nicely showcased. I did not feel as though the book closed well. In the end I am left wondering who drugged our wine and left us off from the coach - wondering where we were going in the first place.
Review Date: 7/30/2011
this is a monologue by a bitter old man. it is a slow moving book. but you won't put it down.
the hidden agenda of the main character lingers out there. tension is high and you have to know.
best friends part under mysterious circumstance - yes, there is the possibility of an unfaithful spouse. now, 41 years later, the old friends are reunited. sadly, there is no resolution. the air, however, is cleared and the reader moves on to the next book.
the hidden agenda of the main character lingers out there. tension is high and you have to know.
best friends part under mysterious circumstance - yes, there is the possibility of an unfaithful spouse. now, 41 years later, the old friends are reunited. sadly, there is no resolution. the air, however, is cleared and the reader moves on to the next book.
Review Date: 9/3/2011
this was a great book. i have read a couple of harris' books and, in general, i'm a fan.
i could not put this down. something kinda icky is going on the whole time in an upscale boys' school. i did have it figured out well before the punchline. but i liked it anyway. the characters are great - very well defined - i feel like i might know them :) i will never look at private schools the same way!
i could not put this down. something kinda icky is going on the whole time in an upscale boys' school. i did have it figured out well before the punchline. but i liked it anyway. the characters are great - very well defined - i feel like i might know them :) i will never look at private schools the same way!
Review Date: 2/7/2011
I read The Sea a while back and thought I would give this a try. Being just part of my backlog, I failed to realize it was the second part of a trilogy until after I finished Ghosts.
JB is incredibly gifted. One might say that the style is stream-of-consciousness. Scratch that. The author's descriptive prose, I am convinced, is directly posited from his mind telepathically to the page. The style is a bit terse for the uninitiated.
The primary character is a recently-released convict that is striving to repatriate himself in a world that is a bit larger than he recalls. The loss of friends and family over his long incarceration weighs heavily on him. He is the narrator of the book (obviously) and ends up on a sparsely populated island in a large house, taken in by a famous art professor and his furtive assistant. A group of tourists, temporarily marooned when a drunken tour guide runs their boat aground, take shelter at the house and odd circumstances of the book develop out of that occurrence.
There are no heroes in this book - the characters are believably human. The storyline actually completes the circuit. Ghosts came full circle for me - even thought it is part of a greater work.
JB is incredibly gifted. One might say that the style is stream-of-consciousness. Scratch that. The author's descriptive prose, I am convinced, is directly posited from his mind telepathically to the page. The style is a bit terse for the uninitiated.
The primary character is a recently-released convict that is striving to repatriate himself in a world that is a bit larger than he recalls. The loss of friends and family over his long incarceration weighs heavily on him. He is the narrator of the book (obviously) and ends up on a sparsely populated island in a large house, taken in by a famous art professor and his furtive assistant. A group of tourists, temporarily marooned when a drunken tour guide runs their boat aground, take shelter at the house and odd circumstances of the book develop out of that occurrence.
There are no heroes in this book - the characters are believably human. The storyline actually completes the circuit. Ghosts came full circle for me - even thought it is part of a greater work.
Review Date: 2/9/2010
i should have known that when bohjalian gave this book such a glowing commendation it would be a dud.
lyrical? yes it was well written, prosaic even. and for a guy to write a woman's story? good effort - e for effort. i even thought the characters were well fleshed out.
but the story was lacking. ok, non-existent. a woman in a struggle inside her own head. she ends up coming back full circle to the beginning of her saga. there is no moral. there is no conviction or zeal. she just meanders through the grey matter of this book and we willingly follow.
and what the heck is so hidden?
i mean, after all of her struggle she shuffles off to an unplanned future - oh well, another lesson learned. i started out empathizing with her but in the end almost thought she got what she deserved for being so weak.
my recommendation - don't bother. if i could give this a negative star, i would.
lyrical? yes it was well written, prosaic even. and for a guy to write a woman's story? good effort - e for effort. i even thought the characters were well fleshed out.
but the story was lacking. ok, non-existent. a woman in a struggle inside her own head. she ends up coming back full circle to the beginning of her saga. there is no moral. there is no conviction or zeal. she just meanders through the grey matter of this book and we willingly follow.
and what the heck is so hidden?
i mean, after all of her struggle she shuffles off to an unplanned future - oh well, another lesson learned. i started out empathizing with her but in the end almost thought she got what she deserved for being so weak.
my recommendation - don't bother. if i could give this a negative star, i would.
Review Date: 9/7/2008
Helpful Score: 6
fiercely erotic? err.... maybe not. the book is slow, bland, with no direction but it punctuated with small-town "controversy" to keep one's interest. the characters are weak an uninteresting - even the "mysterious" main character. would i read it knowing what i know now? no.
Review Date: 3/31/2008
Helpful Score: 1
what a waste of time. the book is written in reverse chronology. my guess is that it was written this way to hide the fact that the story did not have a coherent flow. this might have been better as a series of short stories. no - i take that back.
Review Date: 10/20/2008
Helpful Score: 2
this book was a refreshing change for me. its matter-of-fact. dowager moves into a crofting community in the hebrides. the simple down-to-earth life of her neighbors provide material for the storyline. i read that in reality the neighbors were not happy with their portrayal - guess that is always a risk. would any of us, given a genuine objective reflection of our lives? this book felt pretty genuine to me. full of good humor and human nature. i would like to visit but live? i dunno.
Review Date: 2/21/2010
wandering. no purpose, no plot. in the end you're left wondering "why did i read this book?" the characters and the setting are appealing enough but nothing ever really happens. there is tension but no resolution. after the climax, everything returns to ho-hum. i just didn't get it.
stay away.
stay away.
Review Date: 7/21/2011
There was some FINE prose in this book. That, in itself, is worth reading this book for. The 1.5 star? There were a couple of interconnecting stories that did not interconnect. The book suffered as a result. I kept thinking that there was more to it and that some parallels between the various lives could be drawn. The light bulb never went off. Call me shallow.
Review Date: 4/30/2010
Helpful Score: 1
exceptional. i loved the lyrical prose and the character portrayal. it dragged in places. but the storyline was coherent and the ending was sewn up tight enough to suit me. i will look for other books by ms ellis.
Review Date: 7/25/2011
great book. colorful characters, florida flavor. there are a lot of very disturbed people in this story. the book was well written and is tightly woven.
great fun! if you like hiassen, you will like this book.
great fun! if you like hiassen, you will like this book.
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