Leni Zumas's writing crackles. Her books are sharp, bleak, funny, and possibly dangerous. When her collection of short stories, Farewell Navigator,...
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I really wanted to like this book. I wanted to believe that Dare Wright was a fascinating, dark, and creepy person, based on the reviews and on her weird children's books. However, having slogged through it, I feel cheated. The author, Jean Nathan, obviously struggled in telling this story, and granted, it is a difficult story to tell given the lack of data and living relatives and friends. But in lieu of having a real story, Jean just gives a bunch of filler, details that don't mean anything in the bigger picture of Dare's life, and that actually muddy and taint the story. Chop out about 50 pages of inconsequential facts and the book would read much better.
Example: Dare and her mother Edie rented a 4-door Renault on their trip to France in the 70's. Did they crash in it? No. Did they steal it and run off to Russia? No. It's a single sentence of nothingness that lends nothing to Dare's story. This type of filler just makes the book frustrating to read.
Overall, I came out of this feeling empty about Dare Wright. She had a strange relationship with her mother and some bad childhood trauma that affected her deeply, both of which manifested through her books. What percentage of people could say the same thing, sans being an author? It's nothing special, and the author did nothing in her writing to make me think otherwise.
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(4 of 10 readers found this comment helpful)
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Renee Anderson has commented on (1) product.
The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll: The Search for Dare Wright by Jean Nathan
Renee Anderson, July 16, 2008
I really wanted to like this book. I wanted to believe that Dare Wright was a fascinating, dark, and creepy person, based on the reviews and on her weird children's books. However, having slogged through it, I feel cheated. The author, Jean Nathan, obviously struggled in telling this story, and granted, it is a difficult story to tell given the lack of data and living relatives and friends. But in lieu of having a real story, Jean just gives a bunch of filler, details that don't mean anything in the bigger picture of Dare's life, and that actually muddy and taint the story. Chop out about 50 pages of inconsequential facts and the book would read much better.Example: Dare and her mother Edie rented a 4-door Renault on their trip to France in the 70's. Did they crash in it? No. Did they steal it and run off to Russia? No. It's a single sentence of nothingness that lends nothing to Dare's story. This type of filler just makes the book frustrating to read.
Overall, I came out of this feeling empty about Dare Wright. She had a strange relationship with her mother and some bad childhood trauma that affected her deeply, both of which manifested through her books. What percentage of people could say the same thing, sans being an author? It's nothing special, and the author did nothing in her writing to make me think otherwise.
(4 of 10 readers found this comment helpful)