This book gets excellent reviews but I couldn't get into it. It was really creepy and slow. But I should add that in general, stories of people stuck This book gets excellent reviews but I couldn't get into it. It was really creepy and slow. But I should add that in general, stories of people stuck in hospitals despite not being sick/crazy cause me a lot of anxiety and I can't really enjoy the story. I haven't finished it but maybe I'll go back and read the end to see what happens....more
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. Being a big fan of Gerald Durrell, I figured, naturally, I would love Lawrence Durrell's writings. HI wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. Being a big fan of Gerald Durrell, I figured, naturally, I would love Lawrence Durrell's writings. His writing was excellent, no complaints there, therefore th 3 stars. The story was quaint and funny at times, but most of the time I was bored out of my mind. Specially during the second part of the book when it seems the only subject to be discussed is politics. Interesting at first, but after the same discussion is repeated over and over I found myself skipping through some pages. That's never a good sign. Still, after reading this book I'm resisting going into Travelocity.com and buying a one-way ticket in to Cyprus. I need a long vacation....more
Very entertaining story of a an American boy traumatized by the loss of a limb to cancer. His mom inherits a lighthouse in Ireland and they decide to Very entertaining story of a an American boy traumatized by the loss of a limb to cancer. His mom inherits a lighthouse in Ireland and they decide to move right away...she will need to fill me in to how you move to another country and find a job that quickly, but that's another story. The boy, Jamie, makes a good friend of Ramsey, an all-around good Irish boy. He's handsome, he's good at all kinds of sports, and does well in school. Actually I'd say he's above average intelligence. I was sometimes confused about the real age of these kids, but nowadays it's hard to tell, I guess. Are they 13 or 31? So not to spoil it but these 2 end up having a great old fun adventure for a couple of weeks. It's a bit of sci-fi, a bit of war and adventure, and a bit of teenage everything else. I'm just mad it's a trilogy, because now I'm going to have to read the other ones, and I hate to be entrapped like this....more
I just read another review that mentioned this book was quiet. Exactly. This book is quiet. Part of it takes place in a monastery, and that's how thisI just read another review that mentioned this book was quiet. Exactly. This book is quiet. Part of it takes place in a monastery, and that's how this book is, simple and quiet. It's the story of a young man leaving his country for the first time and leaving his father and twin autistic brother behind. His mom died a few years back and the family still seems to not have moved on. Part of the book is the road trip to his destination, which is never mentioned by name. Neither is his country of origin. But at least I came to the conclusion that he's going from Iceland to somewhere in southern Europe. There are no superfluous details. And it's very direct. Despite this the descriptions and the characters do not come across flat or lacking. And this is a very believable young man, with issues, awkward moments and obsessions very typical of his age. And being a gardening lover I really enjoyed the progress in the rose garden. I think this was one of the most enjoyable books i've come across this year....more
This book was entertaining enough to keep me listening for 10+ hours. This doesn't happen very often. I won't go into the plot, which is thoroughly desThis book was entertaining enough to keep me listening for 10+ hours. This doesn't happen very often. I won't go into the plot, which is thoroughly described in plenty of reviews, and I won't go into a deep discussion on the religious symbology of the book. I wanted something to entertain me during my commute and workouts and I got it. I think the author did a great job with the research on the Hagaddah (a book of which I knew nothing of) and compared to other historical fiction I've read the characters were interesting enough. My biggest complaint about this book is that each story in each time period left me wanting to know more. But then this would have to be a 1000 page book or a series of books....more
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