**spoiler alert** I've struggled with how to review this book. Did I enjoy it or was it simply a rapidly progressing mystery with little opportunity f**spoiler alert** I've struggled with how to review this book. Did I enjoy it or was it simply a rapidly progressing mystery with little opportunity for the depth of the mystery to set in? Was it creative or was it simply a play on a complicated religious belief that was not properly understood at the time? Was the mystery deep & brooding or was this a case of wasted life & an obvious set of clues?
In my opinion, this was not the best book I have ever read nor was it the most memorable, nor did it leave me feeling as though I had finally accomplished the feat of reading a much-beloved classic; it was overall a disappointment. This is not to say that I did not appreciate the story, I did. However, at just over 180 pages this story flew by so quickly, that I felt as though I were reading a report.
It's perhaps difficult to express my feelings without making it seem as though this book were an utter failure. The mystery itself was of interest to me & I did somewhat appreciate the depth of information that we were given regarding the criminal's backstory but, in the end, we weren't given very much.
A lone man fell in love with a random pretty lady & then decided to go on a murder rampage because the heads of the community, to which he did not belong, took the pretty lady's fate into their own hands. This is, of course, a simplification of the matter. However, reading through the story it felt overtly simple.
There was no point in the story in which I thought that the mystery was not going to be solved or that the scenario posed a complicated set of minuscule clues, that only a highly observant person might make note of. This is most likely due to my living in this century & therefore I do find most of Sherlock's wildly wonderful studies of the obvious a bit tedious.
At this time in life, criminal shows, stories & realities have become so enthralled in the lives of most common people that simply remaking on tire tracks is the basis for the most obvious first remark. The height at which the letters were written on the wall, etc etc. Don't get me wrong, this was cool to read about but it wasn't great. The main characters did work well with each other & I did enjoy the victorian feel of the story. Watson, well, I adored him....more
Socks is an orange Tabby cat who lives in the heart of a European city. Every day starts slowly, with a big long stretch & a thought over the activitiSocks is an orange Tabby cat who lives in the heart of a European city. Every day starts slowly, with a big long stretch & a thought over the activities that await them throughout the day. Today, Socks wants to find their friend, Ash, but in all their searches across the city—in parks, cafes, the seaside & within the markets—Ash is nowhere to be found.
This particular book is strongly marketed toward a very, very, young audience. The repetition of inquiry—guiding the reader to see if they can find Ash within the illustrations—would be tedious & might take away from the experience for older audiences. The story follows Socks as they wander different environments & the author asks the reader for their full attention as Socks tries to locate the black cat, Ash, within a colourful backdrop.
I appreciated the soft strokes of colour that shaped the world of this story. For those readers who cannot follow along, reading the words themselves, it is easy to anticipate participation that surpasses the written word; allowing them their part in the chase.
Overall, this was a quaint story that I’m sure many young readers will appreciate for its straightforwardness & easy plot. The uniting of Socks & Ash at the end of the book as they walk into the setting sun poses nice imagery that will encourage readers to flip through the pages in an attempt to spot Ash once again, before the story’s end.
Thank you to NetGalley, Matador, & Tizzy Cottingham for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!...more
Ah, to enjoy the first half of a book only for the entire plot to toss itself off a steep cliff & for the book to become unbearable to read.
I’m unsurAh, to enjoy the first half of a book only for the entire plot to toss itself off a steep cliff & for the book to become unbearable to read.
I’m unsure what persuaded Colgan to introduce Nina (whose name I forgot & had to go find) with the promise of a coming of age story where a thirty-year-old person finally has the courage to pursue their goals only for said person to turn out to be the dampest sock of a character, of all time.
Had Colgan continued with the initial plot; a woman (Nina) finds herself at a crossroads, she must decide if she wants to pursue the corporate chain that the library business is climbing or if she wants to pursue her dream of owning a library. Ultimately, I would have enjoyed this story. I think there is a lot of good to be had in telling stories regarding older adults who encounter change & then decide to take the plunge & try something they never had the courage (or monetary means) to pursue before.
Instead of introducing the reader to the main character who was a fully grown adult, someone who was living an adult life & pursuing adult survival in the world; we were introduced to a character whom I had to remind myself was 30 & not 12. Nina constantly remarks on how lucky she is because she’s never ever been lucky before. Pardon me but if you’re able to live in a house large enough (shared or not) to house an entire library of books, you’re doing ok. She also owns a vehicle, she buys books all the time (that is not cheap as we all know), & she never seems to worry financially whatsoever until she begins making foolish decisions a 12-year-old would make.
I can sometimes forgive a couple of wild coincidences for the sake of a good story but given the story wasn’t good, it was difficult to look past outer-worldly coincidences & I was left feeling peculiar about every instance.
How did a train stop just in time not to crush Nina who decided to sit in the van screaming instead of busting her balls out of there? The last time I checked, trains aren’t rolling at 10 mph so it was incredible to me that this train was able to stop in the middle of the tracks. Lest we look past the fact that it was the dead of night & the conductor must have had incredible eyesight to have been able to see the van in the middle of the tracks from miles away to begin engaging the brakes to stop on time.
No way in hell are these two train employees risking their careers to help cargo a load of books for a person dumb enough to park their van on train tracks. This made no sense & even if the story was flowery & wonderful, this part wasn’t necessary. It was so beyond believable that I couldn’t forgive it.
Everyone in the village has infinite disposable income to sustain this book store even though Nina could have made it a library, especially after she was told (numerous times) that the community needed a library, I could go on.
In the end, this wasn’t a good book. It was a cheap story that was riddled with poor writing, a poorly thought-out story & overall boring prose. I wish this book had been what it seemed to originally set out to be; a book about books, a story about finding where you belong regardless of age....more
**spoiler alert** First of all, there were a lot of poorly constructed sentences in this book. I was constantly having to re-read phrases because they**spoiler alert** First of all, there were a lot of poorly constructed sentences in this book. I was constantly having to re-read phrases because they were either grammatically incorrect, had general errors &/or made no sense. This made it very difficult for me to make my way through the book & I was left wondering if perhaps no one took the time to proofread & edit this story before it was released or if I'm missing a giant cultural difference in the way people speak in Scotland which makes general phrasing incomprehensible to me (a Canadian). In any case, errors aside, I didn't like this book.
Laurie was a hugely immature & ignorant character. To start, we spend so much time with her expressing how good she is at reading people while simultaneously not being able to read anyone accurately. Dan is your typical antagonist-boyfriend; a person who spent 18 years with Laurie but began to feel suffocated by her dullness & lack of engagement in her own life & their relationship.
I understand that it sucks when someone tells you that they're tired of the lifestyle you share & all that goes along with it but, it's better to have this person living their best life rather than bringing you down & dousing your life in negative attitudes & moods. Laurie subsequently spends the entirety of this story complaining about the end of the relationship.
I never felt as though I was reading the perspective of a grown adult but rather, one of a young person who hadn't yet been exposed to the tumults of life. The number of times we are proved correct in assuming Laurie didn't really know Dan at all, yet having to read about how witty & observant Laurie is, became nauseating. This is not to say that going through a breakup is easy, it certainly is not. However, when embarking on the reading of a Romance novel, I might hope to encounter a bit of romance.
Jamie was a character for whom I felt bad. He is on the same playing field as Laurie but, again, we spend so much time hearing her unfounded judgemental thoughts regarding Jamie that I felt so annoyed by the time the story started moving forward from the sorrow to the end of Laurie's relationship. Jamie is in his early thirties & Laurie is 36….this is not a huge age gap, you are not dealing with people who have experienced grandiose differences in their lives, you grew up at the same time. Yet, Laurie cannot fathom that a man who is a couple of years younger than her has approached life in a different way.
He hasn't burrowed himself in a loveless relationship, hasn't had kids because that's what society expects of an adult person of a certain age, hasn't spent his time pushing someone else's career path forward while subsequently ignoring his own, etc. Laurie automatically judges Jamie as a gigolo because he enjoys physically-based encounters.
It just doesn't make sense. Her best friend, Emily, enjoys meeting people & experiencing different situations with different people & yet Laurie doesn't spend every waking hour criticizing her decisions. Yet, in every instance in which Jamie & Laurie are in a social setting, Laurie is blabbing on about how sexually driven Jamie is & how she cannot possibly wrap her adult brain around his life or his approach to situations. There were few, if any, redeeming qualities about Laurie.
Overall, this isn't a book I would recommend. There was potential for this to be an intriguing story but many of the instances of the plot fell flat, as though the author was trying to toss in a bit of every which thing to make a great big something. Had we focused on how Laurie mourned the end of her relationship more than just hearing her scream & yell but hearing her tell the reader how suave she is, we might have gotten a better storyline....more
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on child endangerment, violence, parental neglect, psychological distress, & others.
Before rolling into my full review I want to highlight that I am not someone who is personally or professionally in a position to make remarks on the authentic representation of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), regarding it wholeheartedly as the spectrum that it is. Therefore, my comments should be recognized as coming from someone who read through this book without personal or educational weight to back my impressions & opinions.
Eleanor reads like a character who is on the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD); the traits attributed to her reveal themselves as being well-known (i.e. popularized by those with mild/common understandings) markers of a neurodivergent person. I would like to preface this by saying that not every person who has Autism is the same, nor do they experience things the same way, etc. That being said, I did not attribute the worldview Eleanor had nor her actions to those one might simply attribute to a traumatic childhood.
Yes, one might state that her highly formed desire for security & order might be linked to her childhood experiences however, I felt it went a bit deeper than that. Therefore, I cannot say that while reading this book I felt the same level of annoyance that many other people felt because I wasn't just reading about a character who might not have Autism I was reading about one who most probably did. Therefore, it would have been inappropriate of me to feel resentment toward a person who experiences life differently than I do. That being said, there were times when I felt a great deal of second-hand embarrassment for Eleanor.
As other people have stated, there were times when I felt her lack of social awareness was somewhat unbelievable. I understand that she spent her early formative years with her mother, but from the age of 10 until 17 she was with foster families. Never once did they take her to a fast-food place. Her experience eating at a fast-food establishment felt off. Her leaving her tray of trash for the minimum wage employees to clean up was something that left me feeling uncomfortable but, then again, perhaps she lacks the foresight to understand that. Maybe her foster families never taught her manners?
This along with other instances in the book left me feeling as though there was a disconnect between who Eleanor was & who she was written as being. By this I mean, having spent 17 years in a social setting (with foster families) she would have been acclimated to more than she is given credit for. A high-five is a pretty basic childhood interaction; she did go to public school, lest we forget.
As well, she was an adult person in the hub of a very large city. It seems impossible that she would not have been made aware of more of the cultural things that she didn't understand. She took public transportation every day & anyone who has would know that there are ample advertisements on those vehicles, ones that would have enlightened her to things outside her realm of every-day-habits.
I can't say that the plot of this story posed much mystery. However, I did appreciate that Eleanor expressed being on speaking terms with her mother to people who asked. It left me feeling rather sad for her that no one up until the point we are reading about, made any effort to intervene. If a person whose parent attempts to kill them is still playing an active part in their quotidian, would someone not think to maybe help alter that?
The social workers seemed absolutely useless. What's the point of coming to a 30-year-old person's house, seeing it's grimy & uncared-for, hearing that person say they still speak to their abuser (even though that person is deceased) & leave the apartment with a nod of farewell?
I would have to agree with other reviewers who stated that the secondary characters felt underdeveloped. Eleanor's co-workers seemed overly rude & downright malicious. Why would you stand right by someone & incite abusive dialogue? What's the point of that? But then, she wears red lipstick & dyes her hair & voila, everyone is friends. I doubt that, but okay.
My hat's off to Raymond because he had more patience in 300 pages than I've had in all my years of life. He seemed genuinely kind & I was glad that their relationship remained platonic. I think there is a great deal to be said about the importance of friendship.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. There were moments where I could have lived without what was being written & I found the dialogue with the councillor to be elementary at best. However, I felt as though I were really reading Eleanor's thoughts.
I would not say that this is a book that in any way incites humour as the main character is a study in solitude & the experience of going through life hoping that at least one person sees you from who you've hidden so well as being. Should you read this book with that in mind, you might enjoy it....more
I absolutely adored this book. I bought this book while perusing the tables of my local bookstore. There are often stories I haven't heard of stacked I absolutely adored this book. I bought this book while perusing the tables of my local bookstore. There are often stories I haven't heard of stacked with stickers for purchasing deals & seeing as I spend so many hours in the store as it were, I always have extra time to look through discounted items.
There's so much that I want to praise when it comes to this story. Tey truly blew me away with the number of details placed within the plot, which I'm sure takes a significant amount of time to research. This is an aspect of stories that I deeply appreciate; when I read a book & I can tell the amount of effort that the author put forth into creating the story.
When it comes to this book I would advise you to go into it not expecting a riveting crime novel. The main character is bed-bound throughout the entire book & so the reader only receives information or movement in the story when an outside character comes to visit the detective. Though this may appear to complicate any forward movement in the plot, Tey found a way to write about a character who goes nowhere physically all while filling the dialogue with pertinent information & valuable secondary characters.
If you enjoy history & crime & reading a story in which both of these genres are explored, I would recommend you this book. Though I will admit that some of the historical aspects flew over my head—I was never very invested in English history—I remained enthralled in the detailing which lead to the climax & plot reveal. Overall, I just really loved this book....more
The tale older than time, pacts with devils, is explored in a linear timeline as the purchase of a bottle containing an imp capable of granting any wiThe tale older than time, pacts with devils, is explored in a linear timeline as the purchase of a bottle containing an imp capable of granting any wish. The accursed remains tightly linked to its purchaser until such a time as said person might sell the bottle for less than they purchased it. One can gauge the level of anxiety this might induce should you be seeking to rid yourself of a demon.
Though this is a short story it felt interminably long. The premise was intriguing & I did want to know what would happen to each person & subsequently to the devil inside the unbreakable bottle. However, the ending left much to be desired.
The conclusion felt too convenient. Having spent so much time reading about the despair of the couple, it would have been interesting to see them actually have to deal with it for an elongated period of time.
Regardless of that, I still think it is worth the short time it took, to read this little piece of dreadful joy in written form....more
Influenced by the Burke and Hare murders which took place in 1828, Stevenson explores the cruel world of developing science, penance for greed & a hauInfluenced by the Burke and Hare murders which took place in 1828, Stevenson explores the cruel world of developing science, penance for greed & a haunting most gothic.
This short story is the perfect length; granting the author ample time to cover all important details; to covet a scene that oozes with bizarre fogs; to introduce characters who make up in gall what they lack in class. All this, without risking the addition of too many details which might render the interest of the reader to be lost.
I am particularly fond of the opening scene; a causal collection of friends & a developing madness.
Reading this filled me with a deep appreciation of contemporary horror, much of which I have taken for granted. This is particularly due to the conclusion of the story which was not so shocking due to the time period in which I read it but that, I acknowledge, would have carried a horrific weight in its time.
This book was wonderful, concise, enticing & ludicrous. I would have wanted a bit more exploration into Fettes’ state of consciousness after he suspected foul play but, regardless of that, I adored this read....more
The masterful novella follows John Gabriel as he investigates the bizarre occurrences surrounding Henry Jekyll & Edward Hyde.
The progression of this sThe masterful novella follows John Gabriel as he investigates the bizarre occurrences surrounding Henry Jekyll & Edward Hyde.
The progression of this story is hauntingly slow & leads the reader to form their own conclusions with the riddling of small clues. I adore old horror because nothing is explicitly horrifying beyond the essence of the story itself.
I appreciate having followed the story from the point of view of Mr. Utterson, who very slowly becomes aware of strange happenings. I think it worked very much in the story’s favour to have this character be privy to the events which shape Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde throughout the story, while not having first-hand experience of the atrocities & unfortunate situations, such as his friends did. He didn’t know who lived in the house that had such a remarkably strange door or who was the man that Dr. Jekyll named in his will. I appreciated getting to know Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde through the stories that Mr. Utterson’s friends told him & through the letters that he read near the end.
I wanted to take up this book because it’s a classic piece of literature that is often referenced in a variety of projects. Special shoutout to the cartoon “Arthur” for leaving me with a delightful song to have stuck in my head for decades since the episode aired.
I think if you’re reading this story with the knowledge of the ending, it’s still very much worth the while. Simply knowing the premise of the story does not ruin the intensity of the tale nor does it take away from the excitement one might feel by reading through the story of a doctor’s discovery of the essence of human consciousness....more
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