Take a photo of a barcode or cover
foxglovefiction 's review for:
The Mysterious Plasticity of Trees
by Charlotte Noble
Summer, 2008 -- 21-year-old Tess Morrow feels herself on the verge, working as an intern at Vanity Fair and having casual flings with older men by night. The world, too, is near the edge of a long, intoxicating night, with the heady seductiveness of the Manhattan elite on one side; and on the other, the idyll of the ivory tower, where the young and beautiful pore over books by day, and dance and drink until dawn.
Precocious yet naive, cynical yet tender, Tess's self-discipline is put to the test when she falls for a married filmmaker with dazzling charms. Fleeing his advances, Tess returns to Princeton, determined to make good of her final year; but before long, she finds herself losing grip on everything she cherishes, alone before a world that has changed overnight. And through her struggles with sex, money, career, and friendship, Tess discovers the family secret that finally reveals the truth about herself, in an unexpected and haunting conclusion.
I got a copy of this in the mail after being contacted by Charlotte Noble through my book blog (http://literateceillie.tumblr.com) and being asked to review it.
The Mysterious Plasticity of Trees seems (and is, actually) a strange title for a book about a Princeton student/graduate, but it brings in an interesting part of the book, and it’s definitely memorable. The book was paced fairly well, if a bit slow for me.
The main character, Tess Morrow, was someone I probably would have been friends with if it weren’t for her tendency to sleep with men who were taken. I get that she was drunk the one time, but the other… not my cup of tea. Daniel drove me crazy. No one could pretend he was happy in his marriage, whether he was “born a cheater” or not. I feel like maybe the author hasn’t found
The Mysterious Plasticity of Trees was realistic, and well written. I totally loved the descriptions of the places, and I wouldn’t mind seeing some of Tess’s artwork. However, the ending really came out of nowhere, and it felt like it didn’t make sense with what we knew about the characters, which is what brought the book down to three stars for me.
Precocious yet naive, cynical yet tender, Tess's self-discipline is put to the test when she falls for a married filmmaker with dazzling charms. Fleeing his advances, Tess returns to Princeton, determined to make good of her final year; but before long, she finds herself losing grip on everything she cherishes, alone before a world that has changed overnight. And through her struggles with sex, money, career, and friendship, Tess discovers the family secret that finally reveals the truth about herself, in an unexpected and haunting conclusion.
I got a copy of this in the mail after being contacted by Charlotte Noble through my book blog (http://literateceillie.tumblr.com) and being asked to review it.
The Mysterious Plasticity of Trees seems (and is, actually) a strange title for a book about a Princeton student/graduate, but it brings in an interesting part of the book, and it’s definitely memorable. The book was paced fairly well, if a bit slow for me.
The main character, Tess Morrow, was someone I probably would have been friends with if it weren’t for her tendency to sleep with men who were taken. I get that she was drunk the one time, but the other… not my cup of tea. Daniel drove me crazy. No one could pretend he was happy in his marriage, whether he was “born a cheater” or not. I feel like maybe the author hasn’t found
The Mysterious Plasticity of Trees was realistic, and well written. I totally loved the descriptions of the places, and I wouldn’t mind seeing some of Tess’s artwork. However, the ending really came out of nowhere, and it felt like it didn’t make sense with what we knew about the characters, which is what brought the book down to three stars for me.