Two underwhelming reads
Sep. 2nd, 2008 10:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
If there's one thing I like better than free food at work, it's free books. Every now and then a co-workers will bring in a bunch. I picked up The Girls' Guide To Hunting And Fishing by Melissa Bank. It's a book of related short stories, which actually worked to her advantage. It would have been painful if written in novel form. The first three stories were the best, but the other four were kind of so-so. Except for one, all the stories revolve around Jane Rosenal and her relationships with lovers and family. There were some funny moments to the book, but I found Jane immature, cold and aloof as a character. The writing was very flat and really lacking in substance. The dialogue is pretty stilted in parts and paragraphs are used for dramatic effect. It's a likable book, but just not that great.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is another book I got for free from a friend who thought I would like it. It is an extremely likable and interesting book up until halfway through, where the story takes some amazingly unbelievable turns and tries to be some sort of suspense thriller as the narrator, Amir, tries to redeem himself for something he let happen as a child. It probably would have been more satisfying if the ending was more realistic or not as contrived. Again, likable, but not really satisfying in the end.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is another book I got for free from a friend who thought I would like it. It is an extremely likable and interesting book up until halfway through, where the story takes some amazingly unbelievable turns and tries to be some sort of suspense thriller as the narrator, Amir, tries to redeem himself for something he let happen as a child. It probably would have been more satisfying if the ending was more realistic or not as contrived. Again, likable, but not really satisfying in the end.
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Date: 2008-09-03 03:16 pm (UTC)A book I found a wonderful read (again a little poetically contrived though!) was A fine Balance. The author is indian I cant remember his name but it was a damned good book.
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Date: 2008-09-03 05:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-03 08:18 pm (UTC)