I don't know whether to say that I loved this book or hated this book.
I started it thinking that it was a mystery which it's not. There is always in tI don't know whether to say that I loved this book or hated this book.
I started it thinking that it was a mystery which it's not. There is always in the background the fact that two young girls are missing and that is sometimes central to and sometimes just peripheral to the lives of the other characters.
In fact, it isn't really a novel in the usual sense of a continuous narrative. It's really a series of short stories only very loosely tied together by their location on Kamchatka and by this background of the missing girls. It reminds me somewhat of Sherwood Anderson's winesburg, Ohio and Elizabeth Stroud's olive kittredge.
Each of the stories contains a powerfully drawn set of characters, but the characters don't develop the way they would in a novel. Only a few of them reappear in later stories.
So I hated it because it fails as a mystery or a thriller, it doesn't develop and deepen the way a novel can, and frankly I'm not entirely sure that I understood the ending. But I loved it because I'm still thinking about the characters, the location of Kamchatka is as exotic as the Amazon, and the structure was different, even if I did skip a couple of chapters towards the end to find out how the darn thing ended....more
I have been listening to this, but I wish that I had read it. I could have skimmed virtually the entire book, which is filled with detailed informatioI have been listening to this, but I wish that I had read it. I could have skimmed virtually the entire book, which is filled with detailed information about budget and expenses, directed mostly towards the FIRE community, who are used to scrimping and plan to continue doing so. Having lived in Ireland, Paris and Panama, the author emphasizes those locations. Somehow, she found Paris to be affordable. Still, it contains lots of info about getting residency, taxes, and the quality of schools, hospital and infrastructure (especially internet.)...more
The mystery isn't particularly clever, and the writing is decidedly simple, but I loved hearing (I listened to the audiobook) the Thai names and foodsThe mystery isn't particularly clever, and the writing is decidedly simple, but I loved hearing (I listened to the audiobook) the Thai names and foods so much, that I gave it an extra star. Also, the setting in a hospital and the protagonist's position as Nurse Ethicist has great potential....more
This one fell flat for me. As much as I enjoyed listening to the reader's posh accent, that politesse made for a dull story, polite but lifeless.This one fell flat for me. As much as I enjoyed listening to the reader's posh accent, that politesse made for a dull story, polite but lifeless....more
I gave this one an extra star, because I loved the snippets from the Austin Rocks newsletter. Hearing them at the beginning of each chapter often madeI gave this one an extra star, because I loved the snippets from the Austin Rocks newsletter. Hearing them at the beginning of each chapter often made be laugh....more
A fascinating history of a huge area of the world about which I knew little. Concise and articulate. Personally, I got more out of the earlier sectionA fascinating history of a huge area of the world about which I knew little. Concise and articulate. Personally, I got more out of the earlier sections than the last five chapters that covered the period after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It gave me a glimmer of the pride of Slavs, especially Poles and Lithuanians and significantly changed my understanding of WW1 and WW2, about which I had thought I knew a great deal....more
I just couldn't take the cluelessness of the protagonist as she gets into trouble. Although this is a common trope, this one crossed the line into silI just couldn't take the cluelessness of the protagonist as she gets into trouble. Although this is a common trope, this one crossed the line into silliness....more
Very much like a Hallmark movie, which isn't exactly a compliment, but not a bad escape from the war in Ukraine and other news.Very much like a Hallmark movie, which isn't exactly a compliment, but not a bad escape from the war in Ukraine and other news....more
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