Kitty
Entertaining but also slightly disappointing. In the end I lost interest. This is my first book by Vargas so I withold a final judgement ;-)
A pity - after having greatly enjoyed Anne Tyler's Vinegar Girl I was curious to see if the other Classic rewrites in a modern context would be as much fun. But Val McDermid stuck to the Austen setup way too rigidly. This is a rather boring tangle of teenage love stories. And hey, a girl who has never been to school and who has never even left Dorset in 2016? The characters are flat and dull. I quit half way through.
Hilariously funny - for about the first half. The petty competition between therapists is textbook comedy. The latter half is less succesful as entertainment - but probably more realistic. So hey. Smeets can write.
First two of this series were lovely. This third one is a bit drawn out. Am currently reading #4 which is better again. As with the Mma Makutsi series, some installments are better and some are a bit less interesting. That's OK with me, I have had so many happy thoughts and big smiles reading so many of McCall Smiths books, I have to cut him some slack.
This book started out great - great style, good dialogue, beautiful metaphors - yet I lost interest at 1/3. Why? Too much talk, too little action? Unsympathetic characters? Too much indirect telling of the story? I can't really pinpoint it. Maybe the overall gloomy atmosphere, too.
Great read for a summer vacation. Historically it does not feel too artificial, which is quite a feat. I dislike Folletts thrillers, but I love his historical novels.
The Commitments, The Snapper and The Van are possibly the funniest and warmest books I know. I love Nick Hornby, but his work is shallow and artificial compared to Doyle's. Roddie Doyle thinks up people - Irish people - so warm, so real, so alive - so contradictory, so foolish that you have to like them. Also, they are very working class. Interesting.
Above all, his dialogues are incomparable. Beautiful and witty and again: realistic.
Disappointed. this book consists mainly of book introductions and lectures. A random collection, and too much alike - and shallow - in style.
A perfect historical novel/thriller. Well written, lots of suspense, great painting of Amsterdam Jewish community in 17th Century.
Wonderful thriller-y-type of historical novel. Feels totally convincing historically. Great characters, great setting.
Interviews van erg uiteenlopende kwaliteit en lengte. Lee Child zegt als altijd interessante dingen, Donna Leon komt niet uit de verf. Andere auteurs promoten vooral hun laatste boek - zoals Karen Slaughter - of hebben maar een uurtje. Sommige interviews leveren nauwelijks iets op.
A pleasantly composed multi-thread story with two main storylines, ending with a multitude of little subplots that end surprisingly and satisfactorily. Skillfully interwoven. A great set of characters, a lot of humor and a 1970s early feminist stage.
A great read. I can see why Slaughter is a best selling author.
We do get a lot of traumatized detectives nowadays, but may be Slaughter started thectrend?
Heroe in impossible situation - blackmailed by his own police chief - goes undercover in criminal network. And follows his own moral rules and so disentangles himself. Believable plot, well written, nice metaphors. And yet, would I care to read another one?
No.
It was all action, I did not get to like the people in the book much. Had there been any emotional development? No. Any really likeable characters? Nope. Cliché's? Many - the MP, the turned cops etc.
A rating system of stars does not express too much. I like characters that stay with me. I read books for the people, not the action. Suspense - ok but not too much. Enough to drive the story forward, not so much That I can't sleep.
For crafting this book gets 5 stars.
For characters only 3.
Have I read this? Sounds familiar
This book is of little use. It has almost nothing new to say about better communication. I gave up halfway through.
Funny book, this. It did not manage to get me involved, not even till the very end. Complicated construction, little at stake.
Fascinerende historische studie: reconstructie van het leven van een pioniersvrouw in Noord-Amerika, bij Canadese grens, rong 1800. Ontroerend. Lees dit als je je zielig voelt - en je realiseert je dat wij leven als goden.
Fantastisch boekje over rangen en standen in NL rond 1900. Geschiedenis light: toegankelijk, dichtbij, leesbaar. Anecdotisch.
Well written, but I have had it with unnecessary cruelty. Did not finish it. Can't see the fun of meeting yet another Marc Dutroux-type killer or torturer.
Weird story, well written. In the end Kerr got me over to his camp - I DID finally share some strange believe with the FBI-agent-turned-priest-for-the-wrong-reasons. That is quite a feat.