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| Name : | Maureen S. |
My Reviews
I really appreciated the deeper understanding of court politics in very personal terms while reading this book and the intimate dilemmas of living within a family whose fortunes are dependent on such a political system.
I did often wonder as reading if the book could have been half or two thirds as long if every dress worn had not been described in detail.
It is worthwhile to take the time to learn the many characters in this complex and affecting story. This superbly written book engages the reader on an emotional level and brings up many ideas and concepts relevant to our own lives.
The story of the World's Fair from its conception to completion is a mulifaceted and fascinating look at a specific time and city, and the men (and a few women) who made the Fair happen.
The story of Holmes is peripheral to the Fair. Holmes uses the environment of a booming city and the construction of the fair to enable his criminal activities. The character of Holmes remains illusory in comparison to those men building the Fair.
I never would have bothered to finish this book if it was not a selection for my book club.
The characters were one dimensional and not at all likable or sympathetic. It was impossible to become emotionally involved with the characters or the story which just went on and on with no resolution or character growth.
The time period did not ring true due to a number of glaring mistakes.
All in all, a great disappointment packaged in tantalizing cover.
The nursing home narrative rang true to me, the circus life, although interesting, did not engage me. Most characters seemed like one dimensional plot devices to me.
My book club enjoyed this book a great deal, much more than I did and there was a lively discussion.
An absorbing look at life in the small town of Stanton, KS, in the years before WWI. The characters are presented through their relationship with a young poor black boy and his family.
The author brings alive the characters, their time, and their place. The music becomes audible in the Chapter titled Dance.
Highly recommend
This interesting story plot was presented with excessive detail and repetition of emotional histories. If I had to read this book again, I would skim the first half and read the second half. The story was mostly predictable, an interesting historical period was weighed down with extraneous details. Where are the editors?
Amusing book. Not sure it would lead to much discussion in book club but I could be totally wrong about that. Particularly enjoyed the chapter on love of books/reading, On Rapture, and the words about tracking down a favorite food,
The Lost Strudel of Le Strudel Perdu.
What seems to have started off as a rash impulse, gave Ms. Powell much food to eat and even more food for thought. I enjoyed reading my way through her trials and tribulations. I felt I'd entered a culinary world seasoned with a smidgen of Sex and the City and a dollop of all those little niggling everyday occurrences that challenge everyone in their working lives. Enjoyed all the tidbits (letters)about Julia Child's life. Found my introduction to the blogospere entertaining
Welcomed the insight into a sharecropper's life and life on the street as a homeless person.
Each book,"March" and "Little Women", add a great, emotional richness to each other. Geraldine Brooks' researchs into the Alcott family and the 19th century are apparent and appreciated.
This is a very well written novel with finely drawn characters and settings. Toward the end the focus is a police procedural which slows the book down a great deal. Many readers may be disgruntled by the unsolved older mystery in the story as I was.
contemporary story did not ring true, historical story harrowing and heartbreaking. my copy had many grammatical errors or typos.
impossible to put down, compels you to look at the world through another's eyes and discover it anew in all its confusion and contradictions
Reading this after enjoying the charms of "Midnight in Paris", the movie, is a mistake. Very little of the excitement of the time is conveyed. Forgetting the miseries of this marriage is my next project.
This book was so much fun to read. Club discussion was very in depth and absorbing. A real bonus was the insights that hit you at the end.
The characters were mostly one dimensional. And not set in a place that could come alive in your imagination.
Characters did not sound like they inhabited their period in history.
I read this for book club. Wish I had back the time I spent reading this. Characters were one dimensional except the main character who was contradictory and not believable. The sections about horseback riding were well drawn; obviously the author has a lot of knowledge of this subject.
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