Book Review -- Landline

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

My enjoyment rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Hangover rating: 2

Source: Goodreads and St Martin's Press (Other than a free review copy, I was not compensated in any way for my review).

Genre:  Fiction

Objectionable material:  Multiple Fbombs

 

Determined to meet her deadline, comedy writer Georgie McCool chooses a meeting with her sitcom co-creator, Seth and studio execs over Christmas with her husband, Neal, and children in Nebraska. The results of her decision lead to a personal downward spiral of doubts, reliving the past, and wondering if her marriage will survive the separation.

Rainbow Rowell is a master at writing relationships -- whether it's teenagers dating (Eleanor & Park), or Twentysomethings (Attachments), or in this case, a married couple experiencing a marital crisis AND a writing partnership on the brink of disaster. With every word and sentence I could totally relate to what the characters were experiencing. Her dialogue is equally outstanding: it's witty, honest, painful.

I also loved her use of the yellow trimline-landline phone that she uses to converse with Neal. So, so clever.

She had equally quirky characters to add to the mix: Georgie's sister Heather, her mother and step father, her mother-in-law and deceased (or is he?) father-in-law; even her mother's beloved pugs are necessary additions to the storyline.

 

And...for someone who is terrified of flying (me!), she absolutely NAILS the terror a person experiences on an airplane.  Just sayin...

I loved two of Rainbow Rowell's previous books, Eleanor & Park, and Attachments (I couldn't finish Fangirl) , and I liked this one too, although not as much as the others. She's very fond of the Fbomb, which felt so unnecessary in the book, almost distracting. And the ending seemed so abrupt. I liked the end...but I felt cheated. I wanted more.

Thanks to Goodreads and St Martin's Press for the preview copy.

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Book Review -- The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
My enjoyment rating: 3 of 5 stars
Hangover rating: 1
Source:  Library copy
Genre: General fiction
Objectionable material: minor language

An homage to books, bookstores, book lovers, book readers, writers of words, seller of books; quaint, cute, charming; choppy narrative, odd-duck characters, abandoned baby, romantic coupling, all centered in a dusty bookstore.

 

Best quote, "You know everything you need to know about a person from the answer to the question: What is your favorite book?”  

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Book Review -- The Language of Flowers

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

My enjoyment rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Hangover rating:  3

Source: Personal copy

Genre: Literary/general fiction

Objectionable material: mild sexual innuendo

Narrated by Victoria in flashbacks, this novel follows her life as she bounces from one foster situation to the next until she "ages out" from foster care at 18. Her most significant relationship is with Elizabeth, a gardener who grew up on a Northern California vineyard and is now estranged from her family. Elizabeth introduces her to the Victorian-era symbolism of flowers and their secret meanings, and Victoria embraces it as a way to express difficult emotions to the adults in her life. She describes the situations that led her to become an often abrasive young adult, the self-sabotage that left her homeless in a San Francisco park, and the twists of fate that lead to her work with a high-end city florist and her guarded relationship with a Napa Valley farmer who understands her secret language like no one else. Book Page

This was a rich novel full of beautiful prose -- both functional and floral. The author, who is a foster parent as well, seemed to nail the plight of an emancipated foster child and their difficulties assimilating themselves into society. Victoria's insecurity, fear, hunger and homelessness was heartbreaking. I loved how the author turned one of Victoria's few "talents" (her knowledge of the meaning of flowers) into her societal salvation. What a learning experience.

However, I felt Victoria, the character, was unevenly written -- as a 18 year old foster-releasee, she seemed much OLDER on the written page. Also, the latter half of the novel -- once it gravitated towards Victoria's personal life -- was awkward and overly complicated...and I would say more, but it would reveal too much.

That being said -- overall I enjoyed this novel and would read future works by Ms. Diffenbaugh.

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Book Review -- Under the Jeweled Sky

Under the Jeweled Sky by Alison McQueen

My enjoyment rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hangover rating: 4

Source:  Received review copy from publisher; was not compensated in any other way for my review.

Genre: Fiction; historical fiction; women's fiction

Objectionable material:  None

What would you do for love? To what lengths would you travel?

Sophie Schofield, a young British colonialist living with her parents in India after WWII, learns that true love knows no boundaries, even if it is love for a servant boy within the maharaja's palace, for whom she is forbidden to see.

Author Alison McQueen, in epic form, recreates the life of British colonialism in India with a story that is as vast as the country itself.

I was swept away by the love story of Sophie and Jag, the boy she loved and would spend her life yearning for.

I was transported back to a time, that I knew very little about, when India gained Independence from Britain and chaos and mayhem reined. I felt like I'd traveled the entire country with both Sophie and Jag as their lives transversed in unexpected, and sometimes very tragic ways.

But where the story (and author) truly shined, was when Sophie, in the midst of an unplanned pregnancy, expresses unyielding love and grief over a baby that would be taken away from her, for no other reason than she was unmarried and the child was of mix race. It was a beautiful, if not tragic scene that made this mother (and adoptee) weep.

In the tradition of The Thorn Birds, where characters, forbidden love, and a continent play such a vital role, Under the Jeweled Sky, was an unexpected, but treasured gem.

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Book Review -- The Voices of Heaven

The Voices of Heaven by Maija Rhee Devine

My enjoyment rating: 2 of 5 stars

Hangover rating: 0

Source:  I received a FREE copy of this book, but no other compensation

Genre: Fiction; historical fiction

Objectionable material:  Sexual innuendo

A story of tradition, families and sacrifice, The Voices of Heaven by Maija Rhee Devine, was unlike any book I have ever read.

Unable to produce a male heir, Eum-chun and her husband Gui-yong, must welcome a "seed bearer" into their family in order to secure the continuation of their family through a son. Conflicted and hurt by this necessity, we learn through alternating narratives, the internal feelings of all three participants, including seed bearer, Soo-yang.

This was a unique book -- as I was totally unfamiliar with Korean culture. I was fascinated by their traditions, and how they lived their lives under Japanese occupation and through the Korean War.

That being said, I found the alternating narratives difficult to follow, if for no other reason than I had to spend a considerable amount of time trying to remember the names, and to whom they belonged. Also, and this is to no fault of the author --my expectation was a historical fiction look at the Korean War, not a family drama -- with a rather explicit look at their intimate relationships (a dildo made out of a dried eggplant? Who knew?). I guess producing an male heir required us knowing what went on in each pair's bedroom.

Ultimately, it was a book that didn't keep my interest. I would set it down and forget to pick it back up again, which required extensive re-reads to remember what happened.

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January Book Club -- The Snow Child

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

My enjoyment rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Hangover rating:  4

Source:  Personal copy

Genre: Literary fiction

Objectionable material:  None

Is she real? Is she not? A child conceived of snow?

After creating a "snowman" on their Alaskan farm, Jack and Mable are left to wonder if the child they see on their frontier wearing Mabel's homemade clothing, is a blessing or a fantasy.

What a marvelous novel!

Steeped in glorious storytelling tradition author, Eowyn Ivey, has created an Alaska where only a special girl like Faina could exist.

It was a delight to read and I was completely immersed in the richness of the narrative and the descriptions of the hearty landscape, where families survived by trapping, farming and all manner of early frontier life.

The relationship between Jack and Mable was complex, yet tender. Two souls who longed for a family, and receive one in the end, but certainly not the way they expected.

And Faina -- she was everything you'd expect from a sprite, and more.

This was a special novel -- and one our book club adored.

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Book Review -- The Time Between

The Time Between by Karen White

My enjoyment rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hangover rating: 1

Source: Library

Genre: Literary fiction

Objectionable material: None

 

Seeking atonement over her guilt that she caused her sister's paralysis, Eleanor Murray takes a job caring for an elderly woman and becomes caught up in the woman's life of passion, danger, heartache, and deception in Hungary during World War II. 

 

Things I liked:

I love WWII survival tales. The escape by the Szarka sisters from Hungary was harrowing and dramatic.

The lush descriptions of the Carolina low country was exceptional.

Things I didn't:

Narrated from three different points of view (Eleanor, her sister Eve, and Aunt Helena) -- the alternating voices were far too similar. If it hadn't been for the chapter headers at the beginning, I would never have known which character was speaking.  It was very confusing and one deminsional.

Eleanor's two jobs for one boss was problematic: she never seems to be "at the office" -- which in real life would create many problems among co-workers.

I felt like the author was trying to manipulate my emotions -- I was not at all vested in the story and tried to push back against her literary motivations.

Details: and this totally bugged me -- library materials, not meant for her, were handed over without concern. Does. Not. Happen. Or shouldn't anyway (much like medical records).

This author's Tradd Street series is supposed to be very good. I'm still willing to give her another chance.

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Book Review -- Tell the Wolves I'm Home

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

My enjoyment rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hangover rating: 2

Source: Personal copy

Genre: General fiction (but really could be YA)

Objectionable material: None

June Elbus is heartbroken when her beloved Uncle Finn dies of AIDS. What he leaves behind is a portrait, a boyfriend, and sister (June's mother) who is reluctant to accept Finn's past lifestyle and the man he left behind. June must act as the peacemaker in her family to resolve the conflict within her home, even at the risk of hurting the one she cares the most about.

I loved June. A 14 yr old obsessed with Mozart's Requiem is a girl after my own heart. She was loyal, independent, fearless and carefree. Getting on a train to Manhattan from her suburban home, without an adult knowing her whereabouts, was completely normal. She fought with her sister and loved unconditionally.

My biggest hurdle with this novel was the relationship crafted between June and Toby (her deceased uncle's surviving boyfriend). For me it was just odd, weird, creepy -- they met at his apartment after school, they got drunk together, he taught her how to smoke -- I just didn't get it. At the end of the novel -- the author uses these interactions to show the deep well of love and loyalty June had not only Toby, but Finn as well, but it still seemed unnatural to me.

That being said -- I loved the layers the author created between June, her sister Greta, her parents, school, the art world -- a very multidimensional narrative that was brilliantly executed.

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Book Review -- Attachments

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

My enjoyment rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hangover rating: 5!

Source:  Personal copy

Genre: General fiction (romantic comedy)

Objectionable material:  A possible cuss word -- maybe.

 

I didn't know anything.

I didn't know it was going to be funny. On the very first page.

I didn't know that there were going to be nerds playing Dungeons & Dragons, and girlfriends emailing each other, and bad breakups, and marital drama, and a boy still living with his mom, and sadness, and uncertainty.

I didn't know you could write a romantic comedy from the guy's point of view. And it work.  Who does that?

I didn't know it was going to be a cross between Bridget Jones meets a Friends episode.

 

I didn't know I would be so happy that I'd read Eleanor and Park first, because I would have assumed that it was going to be Ha Ha Funny, when it clearly was not. Whew.

 

I didn't know that Rainbow Rowell could write two totally and completely different books, but yet nail the relationships in both. Absolutely perfectly.

I didn't know I was going to love everything about this book. Everything.

I didn't know what I was missing.

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Book Review -- A Corner of White

A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty
My enjoyment rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book hangover:  4

Source: Public library

Genre: YA fiction (with a bit of fantasy!)

Objectionable material: none

Parallel lives...parallel realities...and nothing but a crack between a broken TV set and a parking meter that divides the two.

Madeleine and her mother have started over in Cambridge, but Madeleine is wondering why.

Elliott's father is missing and he is determined to find him.

Both are leading practically normal teen lives, when they start communicating via a void in the universe that separates them -- neither one believing that the other is real.

I loved Madeleine -- she was tough, sassy, vulnerable, and trusting. Elliott was the tough guy, with the potential to break your heart.

This book was like nothing I've ever read: part fantasy, part time travel, part whimsy, part science lesson (be prepared for a primer on Sir Isaac Newton), part potential teen romance -- it was quite delightful!

One flaw: the story did take quite a bit of time to develop -- I was 3/4 through the book before anything really happened. So, it does take some patience.

However, it's the first book, in a planned series of books, that I'm actually EXCITED about reading the sequel! Take that Divergent!

I'm really happy I took a chance with A Corner of White.

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Book Review -- Eleanor & Park

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

My enjoyment rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hangover rating: 4

Source: Personal copy

Genre: YA fiction

Objectionable material: strong language, sexual innuendo

Park rides the bus.

Eleanor is new to riding the bus.

The only place to sit on the bus is next to Park because Steve, Tina and their posse refuse to let Eleanor sit anywhere else.

With Park's quick slide toward the window, Eleanor finds a seat -- and what will turn out to be, her salvation.

Rainbow Rowell has written the pitch perfect novel of outcasts, bullying, dysfunction, abuse and frenetic, impassioned young love.

She is flawless in encapsulating Park and Eleanor's relationship -- two teens who have nowhere else to turn except to each other.

The danger and peril that exists in Eleanor's home and with her siblings is heartbreaking. But with Park's bravery they find a way to...survive.

This is a book that will linger with you a long time.

 

I will certainly be reading Rainbow Rowell's other novels!

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Book Review -- The Husband's Secret

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
My enjoyment rating: 4 of 5 stars
Hangover rating:  3
Source:  Library copy
Genre:  General fiction
Objectionable material:  Language; sexual relations

Three ordinary families whose lives are subtly intertwined and the extraordinary secrets that change their lives forever.

I really enjoyed this book and how the author turned run of the mill families into an escalating moral dilemma.

An interesting look at the "butterfly effect" (in which a small change at one place results in large differences later) on a very personal, intimate level.

Reminded me of Jodi Picoult's novels.

Would definitely like to read this author's other novels.

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Book Review -- Elizabeth the First Wife

Elizabeth the First Wife by Lian Dolan

My enjoyment rating: 3 of 5 stars (should have been 4!)

Hangover rating: 1

Source: Public library

Genre: Fiction, "Chick-Lit"

Objectionable material: One sexual reference -- really tame. 

One day Elizabeth Lancaster is teaching her college level Intro to Shakespeare class – the next, she’s off to Ashland Oregon, as a consultant for a newly imagined production of the Bard’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, staring none other than her ex husband, FX Fahey (think Hugh Jackman) and directed by superstar Taz Buchanan (think Baz Luhrmann). Her summer is filled with all things Shakespeare – but the drama is not confined to the stage – the arrival of her family sets in motion a comedy of errors and love interests that the Bard would truly appreciate.

This was SO my book: I loved the theatrical setting; I loved ALL the references to Shakespeare; I loved the comparisons between Shakespeare’s characters and their real life counterparts (Henry V & Katherine = Duke & Duchess of Cambridge); I loved that she had Team Romeo vs. Team Hamlet vs. Team Twilight (Edward doesn’t stand a chance!); it was witty, it was smart, it was clever – something I would never attribute to “chick lit.”

But here is the rub:

I had 3 serious issues that I just couldn’t get past:

 

• During the casting of the production it is mentioned that the actors were cast by the OSF, not the director, Taz Buchanan – no way would that happen!! At least not in my theatre world.

 

• When referencing Elizabeth’s father winning the Nobel Prize, he is said to be attending on the arm of “Princess Sophia.” There is NO Princess Sophia of Sweden. (Princess Victoria and Princess Madeleine).

 

• But this is the kicker – she has Elizabeth I “executing her sister, Mary Queen of Scots.” NOOOOOOOOO!!! Mary Queen of Scots was NOT HER SISTER!! She was her cousin (and a 2nd or 3rd at that…I think). Mary I was her sister! How does this slip by an editor? Even I, lowly public school educated, state undergraduate degree awarded human, knows that they weren’t sisters.

So…suffice it to say…the book I was ready to award 4 stars, dropped to a 3.

Totally took the shine off my reading experience.

But yes…overall, it was still fun.

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Book Review -- The Member of the Wedding

The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers

My enjoyment rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hangover rating: 3

Source:  Library copy

Genre: General fiction

Objectionable material: None

Frankie Addams is bummed. Her older brother is getting married and moving away. Now she will be stuck at home with her dad and housekeeper with no chance of leaving her small town Georgia home.

Why oh why won’t the newlyweds take her with them?

Carson McCullers brief but powerful novel expertly examines the mindset of a precocious 12 year old girl who is dealing with tremendous loneliness and trying to find her way in the world, all the while thinking she’s more mature than she really is.

This was an interesting novel. It was difficult to read initially because first: it was written almost entirely without chapters (drove me crazy!) and second: it took place almost entirely around the kitchen table between 3 characters, Frankie (aka F Jasmine or Francine), housekeeper, Berenice, and cousin, John Henry (which is why a stage adaptation would be brilliant).

Frankie was crazy. Really. What 12 year old isn’t? And I’m an expert – I am a mother of a 12 year old girl who acts just like Frankie. One minute she was playing – the next she was angry – the next she was threatening to run away from home – the next she was trying to hijack her brother’s honeymoon.

This is the type of book one needs to read in an English Lit class because the author obviously crafted a brilliant novel – but one I need explained to me. It wasn’t until the end that it occurred to me – oh – that might have been really good.

It also is a novel that requires a tremendous amount of patience.

But if you are a mom of a 12 year old girl – it was peaceful confirmation to learn that 12 year old girls in the 1940s were just as crazy as modern day 12 year olds – just without electronics.

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July Book Club -- The Art Forger

The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro

My enjoyment rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Book hangover: 3

Source: Personal copy

Genre: Fiction

Objectionable material: Some sexual innuendo; one F bomb.

July Book Club selection

 

Claire Roth, trying to resuscitate her career after being humiliated by a former art professor, accepts a nefarious offer from a gallery owner to “copy” as Degas painting – one that is eerily similar to a piece stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum some 20 years earlier.

With clever twists and loads of information, author B. A. Shapiro, treats the reader to a fascinating “art” mystery, which at its heart is based on an actual event.

There was so much to love about this novel: an education in art forgery, museum hierarchy, art experts, art galleries, and internal moral conflict -- it was really a ton of fun to read.

My only complaint – the ending. I was expecting something more – startling – gasp worthy. But the end was nothing more than a Disney-Nicholas Cage-National Treasure cop-out.

Oh well.

I know now why I will never be an author – endings are really difficult to write.

However – this made an AWESOME book club discussion! There was so much to discuss – everything from the actual heist to the recovery of art during WWII. It totally made up for the lack of satisfying conclusion.

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Book Review -- Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

My enjoyment rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hangover rating:  4

Source: Personal copy

Genre: Fiction, fantasy, YA, dystopian

Objectionable material: Sexual illusion, but it was faint at best; I don't remember any language.

Ladies of Literature book club July pick

Summary: Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

My thoughts:

 

Totally. Out. Of. My. Comfort. Zone.

I feel like the Mikey commercial of the 70’s – she tried it and she liked it!

Seriously…I would NEVER have read this without prompting from my friend, Heather.

I don’t read books like this. Angels? Monsters? Teeth? Parts? Wings?

Hats off to author, Laini Taylor, for creating such an otherworld experience, and having it feel authentic. Her imagery of the “chimaera” – these monster-animal-human-like creations – is vivid, and seems almost plausible.

The relationship she builds between Karou and Akiva is like any other star-crossed/Romeo & Juliet love affair, fraught with passion, angst, longing, pain, desire. I too would run off with an angel if he looked and acted like Akiva! However, if the guy I was into was half goat, not so much.

And I think where her story was brilliantly executed – is with the character’s relationships (or lack thereof) – whether it was Karou & Brimstone, or Karou & Kaz, or Madrigal &Thiago, or Zuzana & Mik – all unique, different, emotionally charged, potent, dangerous. And, well, normal. Or as normal as can be.

I don’t do sequels unless your name is Harry, but I think I will be queuing up part 2 of the Smoke and Bone series, Days of Blood and Starlight.

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Book Review -- The Ocean at the End of the Lane

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

My enjoyment rating: 5 of 5 stars

Source: Library

Genre: Fiction, fantasy, coming of age

Objectionable material: sexual situation

In the countryside of Sussex a man returns to the site of his childhood home, long since demolished, to reflect on his family after attending a funeral. Curious about the surrounding area, he wanders down the lane to visit the Hempstock farm, home to his childhood friend Lettie, her mother and grandmother.

But the visit does more than satisfy his curiosity – it also unveils years of repressed memories that are more frightening than dreams.

Neil Gaiman, where have you been all my life?

In the spirit of Grimm and L’Engle, Gaiman once again weaves fairytale magic as he creates a mysterious dimension within the boundaries of Hempstock farm.

I was scared, I was mesmerized, I was anxious…and ultimately, I was completely satisfied with the unfolding fable.

I loved Lettie and the courage she exhibited, much beyond her 11 years (and one wonders, how many years?). Her mother and grandmother, along with Lettie, represent the often used trifecta (think the 3 witches in Macbeth) of magical women – and their power was unmatched. Our unnamed narrator was equally terrified, weak, broken, and brave. All of the elements of reality and fantasy are “stitched” together masterfully.

The end makes one wonder if our memories should be trusted or if if life is all a dream.

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Book Review -- Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain

My enjoyment rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book hangover rating: 4 (took me awhile to have an "aaha" moment)

Source:  Personal copy

Genre:  General fiction

Objectionable material:  Language, including the F-bomb; multiple sexual references

Remember the war? The one in Iraq? Or is it Afghanistan? I know we are in one place, but not the other? (Yes, I know, we are out of Iraq – officially December 2011, just so you don’t think I’m stupid – but didn’t you think twice (where are we exactly?), just for a moment?).

 

Americans have a tendency to forget the goings on across the globe, even when it involves the lives of thousands of service men and women ho are engaged every day, risking their lives to insure peace and democracy to those in the Middle East. We only remember when it interrupts our dinner with a CNN news crawl, or a press briefing, or notice in the local paper if a resident soldier KIA.

Or when a hero, like Billy Lynn, returns home after his Bravo Squad heroically engages Iraqi insurgents, and is given a nationwide celebration tour to honor his and his buddies efforts.

Ben Fountain’s book, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, is a brilliant, albeit mocking, look at how Americans (in general) treat our wars – like they are a sporting attractions (Get your popcorn! And watch an IED explode!) – and our service personnel – like they are rock stars or famous athletes (if they’ve done well) or if not, they are lost in the shuffle up on their return. Our pats on the back, or our, “thanks for your service,” or our yellow ribbons or flag waving are nothing more than feigned acknowledgements of what they actually do over “there” – which very few of us understand.

Truthfully, I didn’t “get this” when I started reading it – it was very slow in the beginning – then, it was like, “Oh – now I know what the author is doing!”

It’s not an easy book to read – but read it anyway.

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Book Review -- Letters from Skye

Letters from Skye: A Novel by Jessica Brockmole

My enjoyment rating: 2 of 5 stars

Book hangover rating: 0

Source:  BookBrowse.com

Genre: Fiction, historical fiction

Objectionable material: None

Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole is an epistolary generational novel, set in both WWI and WWII. We learn about the lives of Elspeth Dunn and her long distant suitor, Davey – and later, Elspeth’s daughter, Margaret, through their letters, as Margaret tries to uncover the secrets of her mother’s past.

I never felt any attachment to any of the characters. The letters’ prose seemed to be far too modern to be written at the earlier part of the 20th century. As chapters shifted between time periods – there was no distinct “voice” to differentiate between the letters. If it hadn't been for the chapter headings, one wouldn’t know if it was Elspeth or Margaret “writing” the prose. The plot was thin, and the ending contrived and predictable. I was emotionally detached throughout the entire novel.

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Book Review -- Inferno

Inferno by Dan Brown

My enjoyment rating: 3 of 5 stars

Book Hangover rating:  2 of 5 stars

Source: Library

Genre: Fiction

Objectionable material:  (none that I remember)

Robert Langdon – a cross  between Indiana Jones and James Bond – is off on another adventure involving art, history, architecture, high drama, and biological catastrophe.

For those who have read and liked Dan Brown’s books, you’ll find nothing new here. He uses the same successful formula, but with different insertable plot and storylines. We are treated to a rich history of Florence, the author Dante Alighieri and his poem, the Inferno, and numerous other exotic locales like Istanbul and Venice.

Dan Brown is my one weakness when it comes to reading brain candy – very little substance, but lots of action and a true page turner.

So sit back and enjoy a romp through Europe and be prepared for the end of life as we know it. At least according to Dan Brown.

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