Member Profile
| Name : | Marcella D. |
| Gender : | Female |
| Occupation : | Medical Technologist |
My Reviews
I enjoy historical fiction and learned about Korea and the Japanese occupation/influence which
was lacking from my school history lessons.
I enjoyed Brennert's other book, Molokai
A pleasurable, interesting read.
A moving book about perserverance, family, and triumph over life's challenges.
An emotional, moving book that is hard to put down.
That the book is semi-autobiographical in that the author also immigrated from Hong Kong to Brooklyn and worked in a family sweatshop as well as went on to Harvard and Columbia leads creedence to the story.
I am sure there is a lot here for discussion but this was just not my type of book.
I found it difficult to transition between the story line of the different characters when the
narrator changed by chapter. It would take a paragraph before I realized the story line had
changed. Maybe I am dense but it took a chapter or two to tell between the two "Almas" also.
Somehow the author needed a technique to make the transitions more easily apparent to
those of us that are more dense readers.
Written in the vein of early Dick Francis. Good character development.
Enjoyed the read. Since this is a first book, uncertain whether the author has another one
of the same caliber or better in her.
Switching between three different time periods made for some confusion.
In some areas there was not enough information; ie. Nell and her daughter's relationship.
In other areas we felt the book was too long; some good editing would have gone a long way.
However, if you enjoy a family saga, this will fit the bill.
Not necessarily a Book Club selection unless you are a Mystery Book Club.
Translated from Norwegian.
A character driven book with interesting twists. The ending is left for the reader to
determine which is the one point good for discussion.
Another book by Fossum, The Indian Bride, was even better and certainly not a
cookie cutter book even though it involves the same main characters.
The author is a good read.
This is not a great work of literature but it is an emotional read that speaks to parents.
There are some unexpected turns. It inspires thoughts about what you as a parent in
the same circumstances might do and gives you a chance to critique another parents'
choices.
The group as a whole did not dislike the book. The positives included the setting and island
culture. Some of us felt that we never really connected with the characters. We also felt that the author felt it necessary to keep repeating the background storyline. We don't like being made to feel stupid or dense.
Concensus was we were glad we read it but probably would not read another as their are so many other good reads.
The author has a gift with words. That being said, I found this book confusing and difficult to get through. I guess I could say that I am glad I read it but it took extraordinary effort. Having little knowledge of Jewish language and culture put me at a disadvantage. The mixture of fact and fiction made it difficult as I often didn't know which was which. I had never heard of "alternative history" as which this is described. Now I know that I don't like it!
I would not read another of his books, even though I was enticed at looking at his past Pulitzer prize winner. However, reading reviews on Amazon made me realize that I would be in the same "plough through it" mode; so I decline.
Overall, we enjoyed the book although we were embarrassed that three of the seven of us remembered a different murderer! I guess the red herring possibilities were convincing or else the ending was not that memorable. We found a few flaws but given this was a first novel this was forgiven. We were willing to give her second book a try.
This is history at its best. Millard makes this an interesting, educational read.
This makes me realize my lack of historical education. I learned a lot and enjoyed
doing so.
I found this book interesting and worth reading but it won't go down as one of the best ever.
I was a bit confused with the wolf analogy between the significance of the painting, the tattoo,
and the main character.
This book was so depressing with the poverty, dysfunctional family, abuse, and dog fighting that I could not finish the book. Yes, it is well written but
the subject matter was too difficult for me to get through. Our book club had little discussion as we
all felt similarly.
This was a light summer read. Chet, as the dog narrator, was great. We decided the author was obviously a dog owner and lover as he got the dog parts perfectly. There are a few unbelievable scenes but this is not a serious book. It is meant to be fun.
The 6 members attending our Mystery Book Club meeting all gave this a thumbs up. We liked that the protagonist (Wisting) was not the usual disfunctional alcoholic detective with psychological issues.
A good police procedural.
An easy but good read.
We were disappointed that this book is not more generally available.
The book is set at a lighthouse in SE Alaska. There is a strong female protagonist. The author has lived and worked in Alaska and this is shown in the accuracy of events in the book especially in the scene involving a rescue from a boat.
The Hibler Rock Lighthouse in the book is fictional but based on an actual site on Eldred Rock in Lynn Canal.
The story is fine but the setting is the star of the story and it is nice to see a female portrayed in a strong role.
I would give this 2 1/2 stars between liking it and not liking it with these critiques. This is a first novel and reads as such. For parts of it you have to suspend belief. We found the medical/ER parts not true to life (from a former ER nurse).
We did find plenty to discuss (even if most of that was
critical). It was an entertaining read and we gave a
hurrah to the ending (even if it was difficult to believe).
Of 9 club members, all liked the book; some more than others. some have recommended it to others already.
We agreed there were some discrepancies in the book that would have benefited from editing.
The book generated lots of good discussion which is the mark of a book enjoyed.
This is more than "just a mystery". So well written that it can be called a literary mystery. One of the main characters is an author, so the book author and the story author seem to overlap. It made for much discussion.
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