resh

What in the world did I just read! What a ride! I honestly would have had heartburn if I had not reached to the ending of the book by the time I did. Suspended life for a day to read this book. I had read “The One” by this same author John Marrs previously and found it good as well. Absolutely crazy story, with only a handful of characters. You will keep changing your opinion on the two main characters after each chapter, deeming each of them the bad guy alternatively. At a point you can indeed guess which version is the truth and which version is warped, and although some of their choices seem too far-fetched, this is one hell of a roller coaster ride. I could not contain the suspense, and I had to cheat and google the ending at about 92%. Ahem. But even knowing the ending, the rest of the story was still wild.

A wonderful reimagining of Circe’s story. Circe, who was tortured as a child for not being beautiful enough, for not being powerful enough. Circe, who was exiled for being kind. Circe, who was naïve and tried to find the best in others. Circe, who used her powers to turn men into pigs when they tried to harm her. Circe, who finally learnt to live with herself. Circe, who is not Goddess enough, and not human enough. I felt compassion for her character, who finally found peace in who she was, even though she had done some cruel and evil acts. A morally grey character, and many many relationships - some bad, some good, some heartbreaking. What else does a story need? (for anyone looking to read a Greek mythology retelling, this might not be your cup of tea - this has little of everything else that goes on in the world of Greek Gods, this is purely Circe’s story).

My friends gave me the perfect book as a birthday gift. A very moving and thought-provoking story about the people we meet in life and the stories we create. A beautiful tale about the narratives we set not just in our lives but in the lives of others who we love but also others who we only have chance encounters with. Emotional towards the end. Easy read, can recommend to anyone. Such simple language, yet such compelling stories.

Magnificently crafted masterpiece! How can Frederick Beckman write about such heavy topics in such a way that we find no fault to any sides? How is he such a master storyteller? Some chapters end in cliffhangers and the story might continue only a few chapters later but still feel seamless. There are many points of view which gets confusing at first, because of the number of characters in this book and it starts out slow because it is trying to set the scene for a town that revolves around its hockey and its hockey players. This book might come to be known as a classic in the future, the author captures complex human emotions and moral grey areas so well. Listened to the audiobook version, and the narrator did an outstanding job!

When in doubt, or in a reading slump, I always pick up one of Christie’s books. It’s a habit of comfort. This book did not disappoint. The reveal came as a bit of a shock. This is not a complaint, as this book was written decades ago and was representative of its time but the repeated mentions of women being catty to each other, and shaming of modern women was a tad bit too frustrating to get my head around (and the reason why I’ve given 3 stars when I really thought the story deserved 4). But Christie is a master of storytelling, and apart from the occasional snobbishness, the plot and the drama was spot on. 🤌🏼