Woody
I don't know how to judge this book. It is full of violence and depravity. The writing is rich and engrossing. I couldn't recommend it to most people I know, yet I'm glad that I read it.
This story is entertaining, but the implausible plot will cause you to groan frequently. At its best, the writing is quite good. I feel that this author is capable of producing something better, but she needs to work harder on the plotting. Lots of deaths, wildly unlikely escapes, blithely committed murders, give this book the feel of a mildly entertaining, but ultimately forgettable movie drama.
I liked this book. Sort of a mashup of Tana French and Benjamin Black. I'm looking forward to reading more of this author.
This is such an entertaining book, largely because the author is so clever. Horowitz incorporates himself into the book as a character, a bold move, because he has to walk a tightrope all though the book as he mixes real people and events into his fictional stew. Highly recommended.
This is the first Harlan Cohen book I've read. The plot is strong and the dialog is well done. I will be reading more of his novels.
A good yarn. This novel is a display of the inventiveness and virtuosity of Robert Owen Butler, in that it is written in quite a different style than his earlier works.
Very impressive first novel by this young writer. The story is compelling, the dialog and the characters ring true.
The book is a little scattered as it covers two long generations of this large family. I think some of the subplots could have been reined in and tightened up. The book seemed just a bit too long.
Still, the story is satisfying and is unlike anything else I've read. I look forward to reading her next novel!
Very enjoyable. This is a well-plotted, thought-provoking book. I had a few quibbles with Mandel's idea that so much technology would be lost in a mere 15 years or so. If like to think that a post-apocalyptic world would be able to pull things together better than the novel suggests.
Good writing. Tana French manages to create a police procedural with overtones of a gothic novel. She creates characters with flaws that she can exploit to produce gripping drama. I would give the book 4 stars if the plot were not implausible in several ways. In spite of that, a well-crafted, enjoyable book.
Fascinating for anyone with who's even slightly geeky. The author makes this complex subject comprehensible and interesting, as he traces the history of codemakers vs codebreakers.
A very entertaining, well-crafted book. Black shows a craftsman's ability to capture the feel of a Raymond Chandler novel. Highly recommended for fans of noire fiction.
I'm 2/3 through and really hating this book. I'm really tired of reading about the misadventures of this little psychopathic junkie who never makes a good decision. At this point, I really detest the protagonist and don't much care what happens to him.
So, I guess that the “goldfinch” symbolizes Theo, who is bound by his addictions and trauma. Is that about it? Otherwise, Tartt has written a novel that reads as if it were co-written by Dickens and Dostoevsky, with the most annoying qualities of both. Double the bathos, double the prolixity.
I've read books about antiheroes that were worthwhile and enjoyable. This one is not. In the beginning, I sympathized with Theo because of his trauma. By the midpoint, though, it became clear that Theo's character disorder is inborn and not a result of his mother's death. He is simply a weak, addictive, sociopath just like his father. Hard to see any redeeming qualities.
The endless, pointless minutiae of the writing cries out for editing. This story might have made a good short story. It's a miserable novel.
I know that, based on the reviews and the awards, many people will disagree with me. I'm extremely puzzled about the highly favorable reviews. Of course, I'm also puzzled about the popularity of reality TV, which involves millions of people hanging on the shenanigans of detestable people. Coincidence?
An intriguing book. I was engaged by it, but the book is a bit of a dismal slog. The subject and narrator is a repellant character who does nothing to make himself look better than he is. His frankness is his only redeeming quality.
The writing is very good and I would gladly give it an additional half star if I could.
The ending is somehow satisfying; I felt that the main character got his just deserts.
A great read. Second in the series, and even better than the first one. Intelligent, quirky, and engaging.
This is an early work by Stout and definitely not up to the level of his later books.
I had paradoxical reactions to this book. I found the writing somewhat flaccid, but even so, the book was a compelling read, largely because of the period atmosphere and the exotic locations. At the end of the book, I felt cheated, because the massive plot holes were never filled and the story line didn't really make sense.
The ludicrous coincidences are never explained and the plot more or less dissolves into an unsatisfying and illogical mess.
The only way to redeem this story would be if it turns out to be a setup for a sequel that would cleverly resolve the outstanding problems. Short of that, I think the book is not really a complete novel.
