(3.5) I liked this book better than most Goodreads reviewers, so I feel an explanation is in order. A few people said Sisters reminded them of a Lifet(3.5) I liked this book better than most Goodreads reviewers, so I feel an explanation is in order. A few people said Sisters reminded them of a Lifetime movie. This is accurate. It also reminds me of one of those true crime shows that showcase a real-life mystery with a grave voice-over and crime scene reenactments.
If you start watching a Lifetime movie expecting it to be Citizen Kane, you're going to be disappointed. When you want to sit down with a big bowl of popcorn and watch a bunch of melodrama and over-the-top acting, a Lifetime movie is just the thing.
The point is, Sisters is like a Lifetime movie or episode of Dateline NBC in the best possible way. It's engrossing, entertaining, and actually makes you think about some Important Issue. In this case, the Important Issue is closed adoption and the heartache it can cause.
I don't really read that many mysteries (which may also explain my higher-than-average rating), but one of my pet peeves is when I, the reader, am about five steps ahead of the detective or whoever is solving the mystery. That happened to me while reading In the Woods. While some plot points got spelled out a little too explicitly, Sisters was complicated enough to keep me guessing throughout....more
I would probably give this 3.5. It doesn't bother me if all the characters are unlikable!I would probably give this 3.5. It doesn't bother me if all the characters are unlikable!...more
The reason I avoid self-help books is very similar to the reason I never touch illicit drugs. I have an obsessive personality. Convinced that if I takThe reason I avoid self-help books is very similar to the reason I never touch illicit drugs. I have an obsessive personality. Convinced that if I take a puff of a joint or snort one molecule of coke, I’ll spiral into a life-long bender, stay high for life, and wind up in a gutter or (more optimistically), a Swiss methadone clinic.
Same with self-help. One minute I’m reading about how to find Mr. Right, the next I’m wearing a wedding dress, chasing twenty bachelors down the street. So I’m not one to read a guidebook (regardless of the fact that I’m the author of one . . . whoops!), but I couldn’t resist one about tidying. More specifically, Japanese tidying.
Sure enough, not even halfway through the book, I was already tearing through closets, rummaging through drawers, filling up garbage bags with everything that did not “spark joy.” (This, in spite of the constant, very serious warnings from KonMari to not do that. Do everything in the correct order. That is very important.)
I do believe this book is already changing my life for the better. I will probably lose weight, as many of her clients do, but only because I’m running around the house all day on a decluttering rampage.
At the very least, the book is pure entertainment. “There’s nothing more satisfying than finding that ‘sweet spot.’” What is she talking about? Folding. Folding laundry. ...more
Anna, 44-year-old rocker, is a cool character. I haven't seen anything quite like her in fiction before. Stories about people who devote their lives tAnna, 44-year-old rocker, is a cool character. I haven't seen anything quite like her in fiction before. Stories about people who devote their lives to their art are usually about men. So I liked that.
Anna's father was an artist who made a name for himself by dissecting an entire train car and revealing its innards. Wonderland is a lot like that. The plot doesn't run down a track. It's a train car, cracked open, so we can poke around inside. A memory of childhood here, a reverie about the path not taken there. It's fairly interesting and insightful stuff, but in the end I felt like I'd been stalled on the tracks too long without going anywhere. ...more
Muriel Spark is always amusing, but I have the feeling I'll forget this book in a month.Muriel Spark is always amusing, but I have the feeling I'll forget this book in a month....more
By the time I got to the end, I wanted to throw this book across the room, but by then I was exhausted. The book was too heavy to lift and heave propeBy the time I got to the end, I wanted to throw this book across the room, but by then I was exhausted. The book was too heavy to lift and heave properly, so I slapped the paperback covers with as much derision as I could manage.
This is the longest book I’ve ever read. It’s the world’s 17th longest novel. Longer than Infinite Jest. Longer than War and Peace.
You’d think they’d give me some sort of prize for reading all that. But what do I get instead? (view spoiler)[I get THAT ending? Some reviewers congratulate Vikram Seth for not indulging the romantic notions of readers who want a happy ending for his two star-crossed lovers. That elevates A Suitable Boy above tawdry romance novels. The thing is, if I read a whole book only to have the heroine choose the easy, boring choice, that is not a story. That is just someone doing the obvious, pedestrian things we go through every day. I stuck with this story for 1500 pages because I wanted to see how the girl would end up with the perfect but tragically unsuitable boy. And she didn’t! I am so annoyed and heartbroken. (hide spoiler)]
I was all set to give this book four stars. The boring parts—hundreds of pages of boring parts—would be forgiven because the good parts were so good. Ugh. But then I began turning those last pages with a sick, disgusted, wretched feeling. That cost the book two more stars. Now that I’m finished I have to keep telling myself it’s not real. It’s only a story. So then I should probably add a star back on because if it made me feel that emotional about it, that is effective. On some level. Not the best level, but I guess you can’t have everything. ...more
Here's a blurb George Eliot can use on the next edition: "A cute little story!"Here's a blurb George Eliot can use on the next edition: "A cute little story!"...more
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