I'd never heard of this book when I bought it off a discount e-book website based on its positive reviews. Sometimes those are misActually, 4.5 stars.
I'd never heard of this book when I bought it off a discount e-book website based on its positive reviews. Sometimes those are misleading; in this case, they understated this spare but very powerful novel.
The plot, in brief, centers on white South African Maureen Smales and her family--husband Bam and three children--as they flee a fictional coup by blacks to end apartheid. Their longtime servant July brings them to his native village far outside the city of Johannesburg, where the plot unfolds.
I use "plot" loosely, because July's People is not so much a story as a scenario. Through Maureen's eyes, the book explores the precarious nature of power, privilege, and belonging as the Smales become increasingly dependent upon (and at the mercy of) their former servant and his fellow villagers. Gordimer's spare, forthright prose deftly underscores this progression; the abrupt and very ambiguous ending drives home how rapidly and completely that progression disintegrates "normal" life.
This is not an easy nor joyful read. I had to put the book aside a couple of times to process the bleak and complex dynamics it portrays. But it's a profound message at both social and personal levels. Well worth the effort....more
Amor Towles sure knows how to put together a story. Briefly, The Lincoln Highway follows 18-year-old Emmett Watson, who's just been discharged from a Amor Towles sure knows how to put together a story. Briefly, The Lincoln Highway follows 18-year-old Emmett Watson, who's just been discharged from a juvenile detention facility, and his little brother Billy as they set out to drive to California in search of the mother who abandoned them years before. Add two of Emmett's fellow inmates who've gone AWOL literally to find their fortune, and things quickly ramp up into a rollicking road trip. The plot is fast paced, good natured, and a tad fantastic; there are setbacks, surprises, magical coincidences, and a good dose of pathos at every turn. But underneath the twists and turns, this is story about longing and belonging, coming of age and coming to terms. It succeeds at both levels.
Towles is a masterful storyteller. The road trip adventure tale is interwoven with flashbacks, soliloquys, and lyrical descriptions of people and events at both the center and the periphery of the plot. Characters take turns in the spotlight, some in the first person and others in the third, and each voice adds depth to the story. Even when the events are painful, they're portrayed gently and wistfully.
In short, an engaging and beautifully constructed book. Highly recommended. ...more
As a long time science fiction fan, I found the plot description for The Sentient promising; social science fiction addressing cults, cloning, future As a long time science fiction fan, I found the plot description for The Sentient promising; social science fiction addressing cults, cloning, future psychotherapeutic techniques (yes, I'm a psychologist), a bit of space travel, and some cloak and dagger intrigue as well. All fine stuff, but that's a lot to cram into a single novel.
So the book's first problem is lack of focus: too many moving parts, all tied together loosely but not well enough to feel like a coherent story. The plot is also highly derivative, drawing liberally from The Handmaid's Tale and the Hunger Games series, with overtones of Banks's Culture series and a pinch of Oliver Twist. Characters are generally two-dimensional and somewhat stereotypic; Hadrian's dialogue is downright cringeworthy at points.
Add a focus on recent advanced degree graduates feeling their way into career paths and you end up with a decidedly second-tier YA market feel. I slogged along gamely to about the halfway point. But when the heroine got stinking drunk and picked a fight with her best friend before blacking out and waking up in the care of the mysterious Hadrian, I'd had enough of youthful angst. Put the book down and went looking for something a bit more sophisticated.
The book has some appeal, but I'm clearly not among its target audience....more
I got 20 pages in and had to quit, knowing things were just going to get worse. Some sick stuff here. Maybe there's a good literary reason for it; I dI got 20 pages in and had to quit, knowing things were just going to get worse. Some sick stuff here. Maybe there's a good literary reason for it; I don't really care. Life's too short to read things that turn your stomach....more
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