I don't believe in evil. It's a word I use, certainly, because words are shortcuts and we all take the short way round from time to time, but that's...
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This could be read as a response to the environmental crises the world has thrown itself into, but I don't think that was really the point. After great thought I believe the author just has seen too many movies, especially of the disaster genre.
That should not be taken as a reason not to read it however, because this book had one major thing that I love to see in books: a multitude of well-researched and explained scientific factoids that are actually pertinent to the plot. This was chock full of them and while most were about biology (not my favorite), they were still fascinating. If you don't give a hoot about science, this is probably not going to be your favorite...
The back of this book calls it a successful amalgamation of The Day After Tomorrow and The Abyss, which I found to be a surprisingly accurate description. The action, while it took a bit to get started, was well described and enthralling and there's enough time between bouts to catch your breath and get a sense of what's going on. It's appalling how real it seems and how easy he makes it sound to end the world.
While I think that the characterizations could have used some work and the whole "disaster concept" is a bit trite (although the actual reason behind it seemed new to me), all in all, it was good enough to support the real baby behind this book: the plot.
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(1 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
An interesting take on life-after-death, Molly looks in on the people she loved from the Duration. Unlike most chick lit, I think this really had something to say other than "let's all dress up and fret about boys". I respect that, because while those books can be fun, there is way more to life than that, no?
Having two simultaneous story lines naturally revolving around her time of death, Molly reflects on whether she made the right choices involving her heart. This isn't simply "does he like? what if he doesn't?", this is more about how the choices we make reflect the people we are. And Molly was indecisive, but she was trying to be a better, more resolute person, up to the end.
The ending is both a clear cut resolution and an inconclusive realist's fantasy. You know from the beginning what's going to happen in the end, but the journey to get there was worth it. A quick, sweet read, although I disagree with others characterizing this as a mystery, I would even quibble over chick lit. While it is women's literature, romance is the centerpiece. While there are mysteries, this is not the compelling plot point.
Recommended for those looking for something to read about real love and the hardships thereof, not that movie romance stuff.
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(2 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
This has been one of my all-time favorite plays for a very long time. It may be because of the subject matter: mathematics and psychology. This is the story of a 25-year-old woman who is the daughter of a famous mathematician who went insane. She grapples with the question of her own sanity, her future, a new man in her life, and her prudent sister after her father's death. It brings up so many questions I've had for myself that it has always been easy for me to identify with it.
I saw this play produced very well and the movie, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins, and Jake Gyllenhaal, is also done particularly well (with a script written by the play's author and following the play closely with some very interesting changes due to the added flexibility of a film rather than a play). Auburn's poetic writing from the point-of-view of an insane genius is moving and magnificent. Catherine's character is wholly developed and realistic, being someone I could see being friends with.
If there is a production of this in your area, I encourage you to go! As a fine substitute, rent the movie. And above all, read Auburn's beautiful play!
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(3 of 4 readers found this comment helpful)
I can absolutely say, this was my favorite book so far this year. I can't definitively say it was the best, but I loved it. This is in large part because of how well I connected to the material and Plath's beautiful, overwhelming descriptions of each event.
Plath has been one of my favorite poets for a long time - since I wrote a long report about her in the 7th grade. Her poetry moves me and makes me wish I could write some of my own that didn't sound ridiculous.
In the book, "the bell jar" refers to the feeling of suffocation that depression causes. This is one of the best descriptions I've ever heard, being the most accurate, in my experience. Yet I feel as if writing this must have been slightly cathartic for her. When I think how she went on to kill herself the month this was first published, it makes a strange sense to me.
On a purely literary level, Plath's writing moves me, as her poems have in the past. She has a dry sense of humor and ironic voice that, if misread, would probably sound strange, but read correctly amuses and entertains. Esther's reminisces on her time in New York are realistic and aptly prosaic.
Overall, I loved it and recommend it as a way to understand depression. Sometimes depression doesn't necessarily have an definitive basis, nor an easy fix like so many would like us to think.
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(2 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
Again I must say, this was one of the best books I've read this year. It was entertaining and enlightening and all those other things that make novels particularly impressive. It didn't mess with history for the sake of the narrative and it didn't try to create romance in a situation where romance would be seriously out of place.
Other than that it's hard to really describe this one. As I was reading other more negative reviews, I could see where most of their writers were coming from. If you are looking for a particularly fast paced novel, this probably isn't the book to pick up. It steadily works it's way towards the conclusion without cutting corners or forgetting to detail the mediaeval world that makes this book so engrossing. The modern storyline could become tedious, but I found the way Willis tied the two together engaging. Without Dunworthy's story, I'm afraid the message of historical repetition would have been lost on me. The future also let in the comic relief that was necessary to cut the high drama of the mediaeval sections for me.
I can see why this was given so many awards, it was well researched and put together and allowed me to recall the power of storytelling (something I believe every good novel should do). This is highly recommended to those who like science fiction, historical fiction, or stories of good and evil.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(5 of 7 readers found this comment helpful)
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Ambrosia4All has commented on (14) products.
The Swarm by Frank Schatzing
Ambrosia4All, June 17, 2009
This could be read as a response to the environmental crises the world has thrown itself into, but I don't think that was really the point. After great thought I believe the author just has seen too many movies, especially of the disaster genre.That should not be taken as a reason not to read it however, because this book had one major thing that I love to see in books: a multitude of well-researched and explained scientific factoids that are actually pertinent to the plot. This was chock full of them and while most were about biology (not my favorite), they were still fascinating. If you don't give a hoot about science, this is probably not going to be your favorite...
The back of this book calls it a successful amalgamation of The Day After Tomorrow and The Abyss, which I found to be a surprisingly accurate description. The action, while it took a bit to get started, was well described and enthralling and there's enough time between bouts to catch your breath and get a sense of what's going on. It's appalling how real it seems and how easy he makes it sound to end the world.
While I think that the characterizations could have used some work and the whole "disaster concept" is a bit trite (although the actual reason behind it seemed new to me), all in all, it was good enough to support the real baby behind this book: the plot.
(1 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
The Late, Lamented Molly Marx by Sally Koslow
Ambrosia4All, June 17, 2009
An interesting take on life-after-death, Molly looks in on the people she loved from the Duration. Unlike most chick lit, I think this really had something to say other than "let's all dress up and fret about boys". I respect that, because while those books can be fun, there is way more to life than that, no?Having two simultaneous story lines naturally revolving around her time of death, Molly reflects on whether she made the right choices involving her heart. This isn't simply "does he like? what if he doesn't?", this is more about how the choices we make reflect the people we are. And Molly was indecisive, but she was trying to be a better, more resolute person, up to the end.
The ending is both a clear cut resolution and an inconclusive realist's fantasy. You know from the beginning what's going to happen in the end, but the journey to get there was worth it. A quick, sweet read, although I disagree with others characterizing this as a mystery, I would even quibble over chick lit. While it is women's literature, romance is the centerpiece. While there are mysteries, this is not the compelling plot point.
Recommended for those looking for something to read about real love and the hardships thereof, not that movie romance stuff.
(2 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
Proof: A Play by David Auburn
Ambrosia4All, June 17, 2009
This has been one of my all-time favorite plays for a very long time. It may be because of the subject matter: mathematics and psychology. This is the story of a 25-year-old woman who is the daughter of a famous mathematician who went insane. She grapples with the question of her own sanity, her future, a new man in her life, and her prudent sister after her father's death. It brings up so many questions I've had for myself that it has always been easy for me to identify with it.I saw this play produced very well and the movie, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins, and Jake Gyllenhaal, is also done particularly well (with a script written by the play's author and following the play closely with some very interesting changes due to the added flexibility of a film rather than a play). Auburn's poetic writing from the point-of-view of an insane genius is moving and magnificent. Catherine's character is wholly developed and realistic, being someone I could see being friends with.
If there is a production of this in your area, I encourage you to go! As a fine substitute, rent the movie. And above all, read Auburn's beautiful play!
(3 of 4 readers found this comment helpful)
Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Ambrosia4All, June 17, 2009
I can absolutely say, this was my favorite book so far this year. I can't definitively say it was the best, but I loved it. This is in large part because of how well I connected to the material and Plath's beautiful, overwhelming descriptions of each event.Plath has been one of my favorite poets for a long time - since I wrote a long report about her in the 7th grade. Her poetry moves me and makes me wish I could write some of my own that didn't sound ridiculous.
In the book, "the bell jar" refers to the feeling of suffocation that depression causes. This is one of the best descriptions I've ever heard, being the most accurate, in my experience. Yet I feel as if writing this must have been slightly cathartic for her. When I think how she went on to kill herself the month this was first published, it makes a strange sense to me.
On a purely literary level, Plath's writing moves me, as her poems have in the past. She has a dry sense of humor and ironic voice that, if misread, would probably sound strange, but read correctly amuses and entertains. Esther's reminisces on her time in New York are realistic and aptly prosaic.
Overall, I loved it and recommend it as a way to understand depression. Sometimes depression doesn't necessarily have an definitive basis, nor an easy fix like so many would like us to think.
(2 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
Ambrosia4All, June 17, 2009
Again I must say, this was one of the best books I've read this year. It was entertaining and enlightening and all those other things that make novels particularly impressive. It didn't mess with history for the sake of the narrative and it didn't try to create romance in a situation where romance would be seriously out of place.Other than that it's hard to really describe this one. As I was reading other more negative reviews, I could see where most of their writers were coming from. If you are looking for a particularly fast paced novel, this probably isn't the book to pick up. It steadily works it's way towards the conclusion without cutting corners or forgetting to detail the mediaeval world that makes this book so engrossing. The modern storyline could become tedious, but I found the way Willis tied the two together engaging. Without Dunworthy's story, I'm afraid the message of historical repetition would have been lost on me. The future also let in the comic relief that was necessary to cut the high drama of the mediaeval sections for me.
I can see why this was given so many awards, it was well researched and put together and allowed me to recall the power of storytelling (something I believe every good novel should do). This is highly recommended to those who like science fiction, historical fiction, or stories of good and evil.
(5 of 7 readers found this comment helpful)
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