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tashreads2manybooks's Reviews (1.06k)
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Wow, what a satisfying and gripping conclusion to the Silo saga. I enjoyed this book so much that I forgot to take review notes while I was reading it. I was so engrossed in the plot and so invested in the characters that I forgot that this was an ARC for review!
So, we are back with Juliette in Silo 18. She is the reluctant new mayor and is in the midst of a ‘rescue plan’ for her friends in Silo 17. At the same time we touch base with Donald & co in big bad Silo 1 as he wakes up to yet another new name and the task of saving the world (no pressure!)
As with the first two books, this is a fast-paced, gripping adventure. Though it doesn’t necessarily push the envelope of literature, it is damn good entertainment.
Hugh Howey is a master of leaving you hanging between chapters, and I often wanted to scream “No! Don’t end it there, what happens?” Luckily, the action in other places is just as thrilling so it does not remain a problem for long.
Sort of SPOILER ALERT so skip this paragraph if you don’t want to know ANYTHING about the ending.
I loved the hopeful ending. Some people had a problem with it. Yes, there could have been other survivors to encounter or glimpses into other silos but sometimes the simple endings are the best. It was optimistic. He could have just ended it with a group heading out of the silo door – now that would have been frustrating! I am glad we were there to share the joy of the outside with them.
I love book to movie adaptations and am so excited to see that casting for Wool will begin next year. Yay!!
I gave the first two books 4 stars because I am difficult to please and there were tiny things I didn’t like about them, but Dust gets the big one – 5 Stars! Thanks Mr Howey for a rip roaring adventure and I blame you for my lack of sleep this past week.
So, we are back with Juliette in Silo 18. She is the reluctant new mayor and is in the midst of a ‘rescue plan’ for her friends in Silo 17. At the same time we touch base with Donald & co in big bad Silo 1 as he wakes up to yet another new name and the task of saving the world (no pressure!)
As with the first two books, this is a fast-paced, gripping adventure. Though it doesn’t necessarily push the envelope of literature, it is damn good entertainment.
Hugh Howey is a master of leaving you hanging between chapters, and I often wanted to scream “No! Don’t end it there, what happens?” Luckily, the action in other places is just as thrilling so it does not remain a problem for long.
Sort of SPOILER ALERT so skip this paragraph if you don’t want to know ANYTHING about the ending.
I loved the hopeful ending. Some people had a problem with it. Yes, there could have been other survivors to encounter or glimpses into other silos but sometimes the simple endings are the best. It was optimistic. He could have just ended it with a group heading out of the silo door – now that would have been frustrating! I am glad we were there to share the joy of the outside with them.
I love book to movie adaptations and am so excited to see that casting for Wool will begin next year. Yay!!
I gave the first two books 4 stars because I am difficult to please and there were tiny things I didn’t like about them, but Dust gets the big one – 5 Stars! Thanks Mr Howey for a rip roaring adventure and I blame you for my lack of sleep this past week.
This is a story about time. How a few seconds can alter lives forever.
Byron Hemming is concerned after his friend James tells him that two seconds are going to be added to time. He becomes convinced that this is unnatural and is sure to result in some disastrous consequences. He is not wrong. After he inadvertently causes an accident, his life begins to unravel.
This accident will forever alter the lives of an array of characters; Byron and James, Diana and Seymour (Byron’s mother and father), and a little girl and her mother (Jeanie and Beverley) from the wrong side of the tracks.
In alternating chapters we are introduced to a middle-aged man named Jim who is battling both severe mental illness and the demons from his past. You sense that somehow these two stories are connected, and I was so sure I had it figured out until Part 3 when I realised all my expectations and assumptions were incorrect (in a good way).
This was a very good story, and yet I found it so uncomfortable to read. It was like waiting for a horrific accident you know is going to happen, but you don’t know when or how. And there is nothing anyone can do to change it. Beverley was so manipulative and the most unsympathetic character I have met in a long time, despite her unfortunate social situation. I was really hoping her scheming would lead to her own undoing.
And poor James and Byron, despite their good intentions, their interference just made matters worse for everyone.
The looming catastrophe was shocking, but not in the way I expected, almost as if the entire story was a red herring. Part three felt a bit anti-climatic, but I liked the way it slowed down towards the end.
SPOILER: I really liked the way the alternating chapters stopped once Byron felt whole again. It was a clever and subtle literary device.
Rachel Joyce is clearly a gifted writer. As the novel progresses you can see Diana and Byron slowly unravelling and looking back I had to ask: could Diana’s inaction and fear regarding Beverley and her manipulation have lead to her undoing?
Perfect poses some very interesting social questions regarding gender roles, class and ultimately mental health.
Byron Hemming is concerned after his friend James tells him that two seconds are going to be added to time. He becomes convinced that this is unnatural and is sure to result in some disastrous consequences. He is not wrong. After he inadvertently causes an accident, his life begins to unravel.
This accident will forever alter the lives of an array of characters; Byron and James, Diana and Seymour (Byron’s mother and father), and a little girl and her mother (Jeanie and Beverley) from the wrong side of the tracks.
In alternating chapters we are introduced to a middle-aged man named Jim who is battling both severe mental illness and the demons from his past. You sense that somehow these two stories are connected, and I was so sure I had it figured out until Part 3 when I realised all my expectations and assumptions were incorrect (in a good way).
This was a very good story, and yet I found it so uncomfortable to read. It was like waiting for a horrific accident you know is going to happen, but you don’t know when or how. And there is nothing anyone can do to change it. Beverley was so manipulative and the most unsympathetic character I have met in a long time, despite her unfortunate social situation. I was really hoping her scheming would lead to her own undoing.
And poor James and Byron, despite their good intentions, their interference just made matters worse for everyone.
The looming catastrophe was shocking, but not in the way I expected, almost as if the entire story was a red herring. Part three felt a bit anti-climatic, but I liked the way it slowed down towards the end.
SPOILER: I really liked the way the alternating chapters stopped once Byron felt whole again. It was a clever and subtle literary device.
Rachel Joyce is clearly a gifted writer. As the novel progresses you can see Diana and Byron slowly unravelling and looking back I had to ask: could Diana’s inaction and fear regarding Beverley and her manipulation have lead to her undoing?
Perfect poses some very interesting social questions regarding gender roles, class and ultimately mental health.
I just couldn't get into this book. I didn't care about the characters and I felt the writing was unimaginative and flat. There was no excitement, no beauty, it was just run-of-the-mill - he did this, and then that, and she laughed and then they walked along the river. Blah!
Maybe the size of the novel daunted me too. If it was 300 pages I may have soldiered on, but 500 pages of something I didn't find in the least bit entertaining was unbearable. Reading should not be a chore!
I only read 25% of the novel though, so it may get better later on (and to be fair, I was reading Gone Girl at the same time, and not much can compete with that in terms of intrigue).
Maybe the size of the novel daunted me too. If it was 300 pages I may have soldiered on, but 500 pages of something I didn't find in the least bit entertaining was unbearable. Reading should not be a chore!
I only read 25% of the novel though, so it may get better later on (and to be fair, I was reading Gone Girl at the same time, and not much can compete with that in terms of intrigue).
Tim Winton is a beloved Australian author. I have only read one other novel by him (Breath), and I can certainly see a pattern emerging.
He writes about life in Australia. It’s gritty. It’s real. You can actually feel yourself immersed in the culture and people of another time and another place (for those of us who did not grow up in Australia). There is no ‘rose-tinted’ filter to his stories, yet I did get a sense of some nostalgia and some regret.
The Turning is a collection of short stories all centring around a small fictional town in Western Australia. The stories are all mostly vaguely connected and work well as a novel, but could also be stand-alone as well. He tells the tale of the people of Angelus focusing on one character in particular – Victor Lang. I think Victor featured in nine of the seventeen stories. He is a damaged man trapped in his adolescent past – and Winton allows us to witness some very important moments in his life through the eyes of his mother, his father, his wife, even a girl who has a crush on him in school.
Along with Vic there are some other very memorable characters: An abused woman who develops and interest in the Christian couple who recently moved into the neighbourhood; a strange relationship between the school bad boy and the smart yet ostracised girl; and a girl with a strawberry scar.
It was a good read. Fans of Tim Winton will love it. The Turning was originally published in 2005 and has won numerous Australian Literary awards. In 2013 it was made into a movie starring Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Hugo Weaving and a host of other acclaimed Auzzie actors.
So why only 3.5 stars? As well written and poignant as this book is, I don’t think it is one I will be tempted to read again. Having said that, I think I will undoubtedly read more of Winton’s work.
He writes about life in Australia. It’s gritty. It’s real. You can actually feel yourself immersed in the culture and people of another time and another place (for those of us who did not grow up in Australia). There is no ‘rose-tinted’ filter to his stories, yet I did get a sense of some nostalgia and some regret.
The Turning is a collection of short stories all centring around a small fictional town in Western Australia. The stories are all mostly vaguely connected and work well as a novel, but could also be stand-alone as well. He tells the tale of the people of Angelus focusing on one character in particular – Victor Lang. I think Victor featured in nine of the seventeen stories. He is a damaged man trapped in his adolescent past – and Winton allows us to witness some very important moments in his life through the eyes of his mother, his father, his wife, even a girl who has a crush on him in school.
Along with Vic there are some other very memorable characters: An abused woman who develops and interest in the Christian couple who recently moved into the neighbourhood; a strange relationship between the school bad boy and the smart yet ostracised girl; and a girl with a strawberry scar.
It was a good read. Fans of Tim Winton will love it. The Turning was originally published in 2005 and has won numerous Australian Literary awards. In 2013 it was made into a movie starring Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Hugo Weaving and a host of other acclaimed Auzzie actors.
So why only 3.5 stars? As well written and poignant as this book is, I don’t think it is one I will be tempted to read again. Having said that, I think I will undoubtedly read more of Winton’s work.
A light, easy read without much substance. Although I suspect I am not part of the target demographic for a teen romance :)