francesmthompson's Reviews (976)

Man, I wish I could go for a drink with Michael... A little slow in the beginning, a little unsure why that title for the novel, but a little bit happy I read this book.

Loved the concept (time travel back to the summer and place Saturday Night Fever was made - I'll jump on that multi-coloured dance floor!) but the writing (including more than a handful of typos!), the v v v obvious twist (that actually didn't make sense), and the pace, and the overall too big-a-leap-of-faith all left me feeling a bit sober and like I wasn't wearing my best dancing shoes...

While the characters and writing was convincing and solid (as you'd expect from Queen Joanne Harris) I found the setting of a boys school a bit odd and dated and in the end just plain sexist/misogynistic (

Spoiler

when it was revealed which teacher sexually assaulted boys it was sort of overlooked or ignored or dismissed as no longer being worth punishment which in today's climate felt very backward - and rightly so!

) so I couldn't really fully enjoy the plot that was interesting and dark and engaging, but just not what I personally enjoy in a novel, I guess.

Learnt a lot reading this but still feel the most significant take-aways could have been easily condensed into an article. Still will definitely pick it up and read again as my boys get older.

One of those books I nearly didn't pick up because of the mixed bag of reviews, but goodness me I'm glad I did. So well put together, only feeding us really what we need to know in terms of characters, dialogue and plot, I just loved how real the people felt, and how raw their feelings were felt. Yes, it focuses on mostly third world problems happening (or caused by!) a group of well-to-do pseudo intellectuals and creatives who are all varying levels of self-obsessed, but that is obviously what I relate to - a fact I'll have to reconcile another time because I'm off to read the author's second book now!

While I think I liked the characters more in this book than Rooney's first, and I still loved this novel, which is essentially a modern love story, I guess my happy astonishment at discovering her work had faded a little giving it 4-stars rather than 5. I also feel like some of the themes were the same (both had writers who apparently had such a natural talent that their very first submitted stories were accepted and published - or is that me just being bitter!) and both main male characters had a slightly too ambiguous darker/cooler side, while the female MCs' problems felt much more extreme and detailed for the reader to make more judgments of. But none of this took away from the great writing, the brilliant pacing, and the way in which young love is depicted here. Also love how Rooney writes a sex scene!

Maybe it's because I've read so many extracts or reviews of this book over the years, or maybe it's because I was expecting something more than "work hard, and be in the right place at the right time" but I was a little underwhelmed by the overall message. That said, had the story of success boiled down to anything more than a combination of luck and work, I probably would have been even less impressed. Still some interesting stories and anecdotes!

Gah, Ms Picoult, I believe your heart is near enough in the right place but I also feel the sub-title to this novel should be Why White People Shouldn't Write About Race. And I am also making a note to myself that reads: Why I Need to Stop Reading Books About Race Written by White People.

Different. Dark. Disturbing. Dragged a little but... Deserving of its recent Man Booker win.