Can you like a book and not like a book at the same time? Is it possible to read about the protagonists and wish that the supporting characters had a bigger roll? In a book can the supporting cast be better than the stars?
My second book for RIP made me ask these questions. I read
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger and honestly have to say that I wish the book had focused more on Martin and Marijke than the twins, either set. I do not know if it is a twin thing that I cannot relate to or that there seemed to be something missing in the characters of Julia, Valentina and Elspeth. I can see where Elspeth, is missing something in her personality, but Valentina and Julia both seem to be incomplete.
I believe that Martin was placed in the book to show that the girls are not as insane as he is, but I found him to be a more believable character then either of the girls. His OCD, and Agoraphobia is debilitating, but it makes him seem more rounded. His wife Marijke, is in just a few pages of the book and I wish that she had been in more.
That being said, I would probably read something else that this author had written but I would not put her on my must read now list.
Quotes:
"Elspeth Noblin was dead and no on could do anything for her now except bury her."
"Marijke suddenly saw the cemetery as an old theater: the same play was still running, but the costumes and hairstyles had been updated.:
7 comments:
I have this in my tbr mountain..I guess I will not make it a priority. thanks for the review.
I say "Yes" to all of your questions at the start of this post.
The Time Traveler's Wife made me a big fan of Audrey Niffenegger and I read this in an ARC just before it came out. While I would argue that it is a well written and at times wonderfully chilling read, Niffenegger populates the book with largely unlikable characters who made choices that annoyed me by the end of the book.
Martin and Marijke were great and I loved the way their story played out. Sadly there was too little of them compared to the other characters.
If you want to talk about the book in more detail, I would point you to the SPOILER REVIEW I did for it:
http://www.stainlesssteeldroppings.com/her-fearful-symmetry-the-spoiler-review
I had so many thoughts about it at the time that I did two separate reviews, a spoiler one and a non-spoiler one.
Yes, I like and not like the same book all the time. I like certain parts but something the end can color the way I felt about it.
I have Her Fearful Symmetry on my tbr list but I guess I can wait a bit before diving into it.
I have this one on my library pile at the moment but as I found The Time Traveler's Wife to be average at best I'm not at all sure I'll get to it. We'll see.
Des, keep in mind you might like it more than I did, and I did like it just I liked Martin and Marijke better than the rest of the story.
Carl, I read your spoiler post and I agree with what you said. Thank you for sending me the link.
Linda, when you read it let me know and we can talk about it. I love talking about books.
Cath, I have not read the Time Traveler's Wife. I have heard good things about it but it will be one if I read it I do. If not I won't feel like I am miss out on anything.
I have this one on my TBR pile and had mixed feelings about getting it (and might not have without the discount as the reviews are about right on with what you wrote) but I'll give it a try sometime.
Elizabeth, Hi. It is not a bad book, it is just a little odd/off for me. One night give it a try, and then let me know what you think.
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