David
I know I'm in the minority here but this ambitious book bored the crap out of me. Since all the accounts are told by people who survived the zombie apocalypse, except for a handful of stories, there is no tension or suspense. There is no character development, no story arc. All the characters have the same voice even though they are from different parts of the globe. And there is so much military and weaponry jargon that it required 90+ footnotes to explain what it all meant (I gave up reading them halfway through). For me, this was World War Zzzzzzzzzzzz.
While at times a bit clunky, the book felt as if it was hastily put together like a giant jigsaw puzzle. But considering the flow of constant insanity that emanates from the White House on a daily basis, all that is forgivable. That aside, the writing itself was simple enough that even a Trump supporter could understand it.
This is not a complete hit piece on Trump for Woodward does give him credit where credit is due. But in the end, we are left with the portrait of a mercurial, man-child who is proud of what he knows...and what he knows is not much.
Aside from having to suspend my disbelief several times over, I thought I had figured out the “WTF ending”...but boy was I wrong. Once the twist was revealed, the future of one of the minor characters was a bit too sad and bleak for my taste.
Overall, a well written-page turner hampered by a slightly preposterous plot device.
Much like Final Girls, I got caught up in the hype and was slightly disappointed.
The story was slow out of the gate and reminded me of Picnic at Hanging Rock (which, incidentally, the author credits in the acknowledgements as inspiring him to write this novel).
Aside from a red herring and a reveal that left me saying “Who the hell cares!?”, the story was compelling enough that I wanted to find out how it all ended. An ending, I might add, that opens the door for even more unanswered questions.
First published in 1963, this book was considered a “masterpiece” and one of the first modern psychological thrillers. Broken up into 4 chapters, the 2nd chapter (sadly the largest of all 4) is told in diary form and from the perspective of the victim, Miranda, a 20 year old art student. Her account is so unbelievably pretentious and ponderous that I was kind of hoping her story would be interrupted by her sudden death at the hands of her kidnapper...or at the very least she would run out of writing implements. I almost bailed on this book, but I wanted to see it through to the end...which in and of itself was a form of psychological torture.
At first I didn't want to read this because I knew that the author died before completing it. Fortunately, I ignored my initial instinct and decided to give it a go.
Boy, am I glad I did.
This is a horrifying, compelling and edge-of-your-seat page turner.
At the end of the book Michelle writes to the killer:
“One day soon, you'll hear a car pull up to your curb, an engine cut out. You'll hear footsteps coming up your front walk. The doorbell rings. No side gates are left open. You're long past leaping over a fence. Take one of your hyper, gulping breaths. Clench your teeth. Inch timidly toward the insistent bell. This is how it ends for you. ‘You'll be silent forever, and I'll be gone in the dark,' you threatened a victim once. Open the door. Show us your face. Walk into the light.”
If only she had lived to see him get arrested. But it was she who helped shine that light and expose the monster that is now finally in custody.