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705 reviews by:
tamaraepps
This review has been cross-posted at Captivated by Books
What’s It About?
When Amanda suddenly discovers that her daughter, Gloria, isn’t actually her real daughter as she was switched accidentally at birth, she travels around the world in search of her birth daughter, determined to bring her back to the safety of Canada. Meanwhile, when Sonya, a Russian Jew living in Canada, kicks out her drunken husband, Alexei, she not only has to battle financially, but against her daughter, Ksenya, who won’t forgive her for sending Alexei away.
My Thoughts:
The story is told from the points of view of Amanda, who is searching for her real daughter, and Sonya, who is struggling with everything in life at that moment. Due to the kind of story it is, it doesn’t take a lot to work out what is going to happen, and there really aren’t any surprising plot-twists. However, I don’t feel that this was an issue, as it is a story about the characters and them trying to find their own identities. I personally would have liked to see more of Amanda’s daughter, Gloria, as I found her struggles particularly interesting, and I was very annoyed at Amanda’s discard for her feelings.
While this novel had an interesting (though not original) hook, I found that the telling of it fell a little flat for me. The main reason for this was the character of Amanda – I just could not bring myself to like her, or even understand her reasoning. This meant that the story, which is about discovering identity, didn’t really hold me as I couldn’t follow Amanda on her emotional journey. That said, I found the opposite to be true of Sonya and Ksenya. They both felt real and I wanted to find out what would happen to their relationship. However, I really struggled with their names as I have no idea how to pronounce Ksenya, and every member of their family had at least two names (one Russian, one ‘Western’), and Sonya was also referred to as Sofia which just made the story difficult to follow and a bit confusing.
As well as the name issue, I did struggle a little with the flow of the story as the author uses commas in abandon, particularly in the first half of the book. I don’t normally mention grammar as even badly written novels can still be enjoyable if it’s a good story (though, as a writer, I of course would prefer a well-written, enjoyable story), but in this instance, it frustrated me enough to not want to continue reading at points.
In generally I found this to be an okay read, with a few moments that really shone. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it (though I also wouldn’t dissuade anyone from reading it), but I will be looking forward to future work by Olga Godim, as I think that with a bit of experience, she could create truly compelling books.
Overall rating: 25/5
[Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
What’s It About?
When Amanda suddenly discovers that her daughter, Gloria, isn’t actually her real daughter as she was switched accidentally at birth, she travels around the world in search of her birth daughter, determined to bring her back to the safety of Canada. Meanwhile, when Sonya, a Russian Jew living in Canada, kicks out her drunken husband, Alexei, she not only has to battle financially, but against her daughter, Ksenya, who won’t forgive her for sending Alexei away.
My Thoughts:
The story is told from the points of view of Amanda, who is searching for her real daughter, and Sonya, who is struggling with everything in life at that moment. Due to the kind of story it is, it doesn’t take a lot to work out what is going to happen, and there really aren’t any surprising plot-twists. However, I don’t feel that this was an issue, as it is a story about the characters and them trying to find their own identities. I personally would have liked to see more of Amanda’s daughter, Gloria, as I found her struggles particularly interesting, and I was very annoyed at Amanda’s discard for her feelings.
While this novel had an interesting (though not original) hook, I found that the telling of it fell a little flat for me. The main reason for this was the character of Amanda – I just could not bring myself to like her, or even understand her reasoning. This meant that the story, which is about discovering identity, didn’t really hold me as I couldn’t follow Amanda on her emotional journey. That said, I found the opposite to be true of Sonya and Ksenya. They both felt real and I wanted to find out what would happen to their relationship. However, I really struggled with their names as I have no idea how to pronounce Ksenya, and every member of their family had at least two names (one Russian, one ‘Western’), and Sonya was also referred to as Sofia which just made the story difficult to follow and a bit confusing.
As well as the name issue, I did struggle a little with the flow of the story as the author uses commas in abandon, particularly in the first half of the book. I don’t normally mention grammar as even badly written novels can still be enjoyable if it’s a good story (though, as a writer, I of course would prefer a well-written, enjoyable story), but in this instance, it frustrated me enough to not want to continue reading at points.
In generally I found this to be an okay read, with a few moments that really shone. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it (though I also wouldn’t dissuade anyone from reading it), but I will be looking forward to future work by Olga Godim, as I think that with a bit of experience, she could create truly compelling books.
Overall rating: 25/5
[Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
It will probably surprise most people to learn that I have only just read this book, considering how big of a Michael Jackson fan I am. But seeing how I was mostly obsessed with him at High School, when this book was very difficult to get hold of, it isn’t actually that strange.
The first thing to point out is that this autobiography was first published in 1988 and so the bulk of it is about his childhood and his first two albums he produced as a solo singer (‘Off the Wall’ and ‘Thriller’). This obviously means it missed out about half his life which I have to admit I was disappointed by, but there’s not a lot you can do about that.
[Read the whole review at Captivated by Books]
The first thing to point out is that this autobiography was first published in 1988 and so the bulk of it is about his childhood and his first two albums he produced as a solo singer (‘Off the Wall’ and ‘Thriller’). This obviously means it missed out about half his life which I have to admit I was disappointed by, but there’s not a lot you can do about that.
[Read the whole review at Captivated by Books]
Early into this book I wasn't sure I would like it as it seemed a bit cliched and didn't seem to have much of a plot. Then, it got interesting. I ended up having to read the whole thing simply because I had no idea where the story was going. It twisted and turned all over the place and I didn't see any of the twists coming (I wasn't even prepared for the story to suddenly twist whenever it did).
On the whole, I would recommend this book as it is a really interesting read though I felt the philosophical pondering and questioning at the end was unnecessary as I feel that fiction should allow the reader to question to life, but not spell out the questions for them.
On the whole, I would recommend this book as it is a really interesting read though I felt the philosophical pondering and questioning at the end was unnecessary as I feel that fiction should allow the reader to question to life, but not spell out the questions for them.
This review has been cross-posted at Captivated by Books
It is only recently that I have started becoming interested in reading historical fiction. I have always liked history; not the remembering of names and dates, but discovering how people lived, and historical fiction is a doorway for my mind. Unfortunately this novel, in some ways, felt like reading a textbook with plenty of names that seemed almost familiar and dates of battles, although most of this information was portrayed through dialogue which made it easier to follow. Nethertheless, in my opinion, the detail to facts was almost clinical throughout most of the book, which made the book a lot less pleasurable to read.
The book is told in split first person. Personally I found the ‘Lettice’ character much easier to understand and follow, and therefore more relatable to. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was too much like reading facts with no life behind them. I realise this is probably due in large part to the fact that no one really knows how Elizabeth felt about anything, but it did make reading from her point of view almost nothing more than a series of events, and I found it impossible to empathise with her. However, the book starts with a few scenes to set the time, and I didn’t realise that Elizabeth wasn’t the only perspective the book would be told from until quite late in as the novel isn’t evenly spread between the two.
The research that has gone into the book, however, has to be mentioned. At 662 pages it is far from a short read, and every page is filled with the details of the women’s lives, as well as the many key men in their lives, which I can only imagine must have taken years to research.
Personally this wasn’t my favourite historical read ever, but I did feel I was learning (seriously, my history knowledge is truly appalling), and feel this book has a unique perspective in not only using first person, but telling it from two points of view. Of course, due to the nature of the book, there isn’t really a plot to follow and I think that may have made reading a little arduous for me at times; however I wanted to read more for the majority of it. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and isn’t afraid to dedicate a decent block of time to reading it (it took me 2 weeks to read).
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
It is only recently that I have started becoming interested in reading historical fiction. I have always liked history; not the remembering of names and dates, but discovering how people lived, and historical fiction is a doorway for my mind. Unfortunately this novel, in some ways, felt like reading a textbook with plenty of names that seemed almost familiar and dates of battles, although most of this information was portrayed through dialogue which made it easier to follow. Nethertheless, in my opinion, the detail to facts was almost clinical throughout most of the book, which made the book a lot less pleasurable to read.
The book is told in split first person. Personally I found the ‘Lettice’ character much easier to understand and follow, and therefore more relatable to. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was too much like reading facts with no life behind them. I realise this is probably due in large part to the fact that no one really knows how Elizabeth felt about anything, but it did make reading from her point of view almost nothing more than a series of events, and I found it impossible to empathise with her. However, the book starts with a few scenes to set the time, and I didn’t realise that Elizabeth wasn’t the only perspective the book would be told from until quite late in as the novel isn’t evenly spread between the two.
The research that has gone into the book, however, has to be mentioned. At 662 pages it is far from a short read, and every page is filled with the details of the women’s lives, as well as the many key men in their lives, which I can only imagine must have taken years to research.
Personally this wasn’t my favourite historical read ever, but I did feel I was learning (seriously, my history knowledge is truly appalling), and feel this book has a unique perspective in not only using first person, but telling it from two points of view. Of course, due to the nature of the book, there isn’t really a plot to follow and I think that may have made reading a little arduous for me at times; however I wanted to read more for the majority of it. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and isn’t afraid to dedicate a decent block of time to reading it (it took me 2 weeks to read).
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
This book was written in 2009, which is important to point out as the first part is set in a ‘futuristic’ 2012. It may be because I don’t really have any knowledge of Iranian politics, but this didn’t phase me in the least. Greg Egan doesn’t create a far-fetched fantasy and so I found his world to be completely believable (although perhaps a little optimistic) and never felt that the 2012 he depicted couldn’t have happened. Of course, those who understand politics may completely disagree with me on that, though... Read the full review on Captivated by Books
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