daisyjane reviewed on 4/12/2010 + 7 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 5

I much preferred Hick's first book. A Separate Country was long: 400+ pp that I feel could easily have been condensed to 3/4's of that. Specifically, for about 50-75 pp in the "300's", it was as though the editor or proofreader had either skipped them entirely or delegated the job to a summer intern. That section seemed to me to be very loose. For some reason, Hicks has an annoying quirk of liking to separate two independent clauses with a comma, e.g., "Susie was thirsty, she bought milk at the store." The first couple of times I came across that, I thought they were oversights but it happened over and over and I really didn't notice it except in that segment of the book. I agree with the previous reviewers: I plodded through to the end, hoping for the best, but overall I was disappointed. Will I read his next book? Probably, but I will check it out of the library or swap it when it's posted here. I will not invest $20+ on another of his hardcovers until the quality of Widow of the South is again evidenced.

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