The Perfect Couple

I didn't like this book at all. I found the characters really obnoxious. I was so annoyed by Celeste who is just “not like any other girls” that any man that sees her just can't help falling in love with her instantly. Her POV was really the worst as she never stops mention how “weird” she is and how she's so different from other people. And instalove is so prevalent here. It's like a YA book on steroids.

Maybe I could've at least distracted from all of this by the mystery, but it was really hard to care with so many charecters and their drama.

This final volume of the trilogy tells the story of only one year, from 10 to 11 AE (After the Event), but it's a crowded and bloody year of full-scale war in various parts of Europe and the Middle East. In fact, there's too much war for my taste, although there's room in this long book for much else to happen between battles, including irrelevant digressions.

If you've read the second volume, you won't be surprised by the war in Tartessos or the siege of Troy, but there are some surprises in store.

The Battle of O'Rourke's Ford is a long digression, completely irrelevant to the overall plot, which I think should have been omitted; we have more than enough battles already. The California expedition, which goes on in the background for most of volumes two and three, is an even longer irrelevant digression, although it adds variety and makes use of the American continent.

I remember thinking when I first read this book that it was the best of the three, which is odd; because, after rereading, it now seems somewhat less good overall than the others. I enjoy the interaction between Ian Arnstein and Odikweos (known to us as Odysseus); I enjoy most of the scenes with King Isketerol; I quite like some of the interludes between battles. The land war in Tartessos is OK; but the naval battle and the later land battles are rather a grim slog, and it's not really much fun to read about people slaughtering each other.

However, in the end everything works itself out and a fairly satisfactory ending is achieved.

Main events: the Battle of O'Rourke's Ford (Chapters 3-13), Siege of Troy and capture of Ian Arnstein (Chapters 10-11), storm at sea (Chapter 10), naval battle of Tartessos (Chapters 18-19), loss of the Emancipator (Chapter 22), land war in Tartessos (Chapters 23-28), Raupasha wounded (Chapter 25), liberation of Sicily (Chapter 29), Battle of Armageddon (Chapters 30-31), death of William Walker (Chapter 30), death of Helmut Mittler (Chapter 31), conference in Nantucket and migration of Althea Walker (Chapter 32).

There are a couple of implausible developments towards the end, though they're not really important. Firstly, it was uncharacteristically foolish of the Nantucketers to use their valuable and vulnerable airship (using irreplaceable future technology) for dangerous bombing missions that would have been a mere nuisance to the enemy. Secondly, I don't believe Althea Walker could have persuaded enough people to join her 3000-mile trek eastwards. They had homes, investments, and a good life; they weren't under threat; why throw it all away to become homeless wanderers? If she wanted to retain her position and her life, she needed to earn their loyalty and not to put it to such a heavy test right at the outset.

I comment in passing that Nantucket seems to have an implausibly large stock of useful 20th century gadgets. They have enough binoculars to pass them out as gifts to selected locals; but how many binoculars would there have been on Nantucket at the Event? What proportion of people own binoculars? Likewise, they have enough radio transmitters/receivers to put them on the fragile and vulnerable ultralites; I suppose a fair proportion of people own radio receivers of some kind, but how many own anything capable of transmission?

Stirling left open the possibility of continuing this series into a fourth volume, and there remains some small possibility that this will happen; he has written at least one short story set in the same world, with one of the same characters.

Elin Hilderbrand has been a favorite author of mine since high school. This was a good read because I enjoyed the mystery and the layout of the plot. I did not give five stars because I felt like the character development was a little lacking, but I can acknowledge that is hard to do with so many main characters.

“[b:The Perfect Couple 34840184 The Perfect Couple (Nantucket, #3) Elin Hilderbrand https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1520361784l/34840184.SY75.jpg 56071748]” by [a:Elin Hilderbrand 88301 Elin Hilderbrand https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1365687944p2/88301.jpg] had all the makings of a gripping narrative—a murder mystery combined with romance, set against the picturesque backdrop of Nantucket. The story follows the wedding of Benji and Celeste, a supposedly perfect couple, but things take a darker turn when the maid of honour is found dead on the morning of the wedding. As the “mystery” unfolds, it's clear that Hilderbrand is more interested in exploring the petty dramas and secrets of the wealthy elite than crafting a compelling whodunit. The revelations, when they come, are bog-standard and boring, lacking any real tension or surprises.The romance was basically nonexistent as Celeste and her love interest simply fall in love at first glance. Yes, it happens, but as a story element, it's just lazy.Another problem were the characters themselves: Benji, for instance, emerged as an exceedingly annoying and shallow character. His emotional turmoil following the death on his wedding day only served to accentuate his self-centredness.»Benji is experiencing a host of very confusing emotions. He is upset, shocked, and horrified just like everyone else. And yet also mixed in there are anger and resentment. It's his wedding day! His parents have gone to enormous effort and expense to make this wedding unforgettable and now it's all for naught.«His response to Celeste the murder of Celeste's supposedly-best friend was selfish and shallow, and his treatment of Celeste was appalling.»She was lucky to be here, lucky she had a friend like you, she didn't deserve you, wasn't worthy of you, Celeste. And furthermore, she probably did this to herself! You told me once that she stockpiled pills and considered suicide, so what's to say that's not what this is? She orchestrated this to ruin our big day!«What a champ, right?His fiancée and soon-to-be wife, Celeste, is, to him, like an exotic creature Benji feels compelled to possess. And they first met at the zoo. »Celeste is like a rare butterfly that Benji was somehow able to capture. That comparison is, no doubt, inappropriate on many different levels, but that's how he thinks of her in his private mind where no one can judge him, that she's like an exotic bird or butterfly.«The portrayal of other characters, too, left much to be desired. Tag, the playboy, and Greer, the snobby housewife, were reductionist caricatures that failed to elicit any emotional engagement.Celeste herself is a calculating, opportunistic person who is more concerned with money and security than actual emotions.Merritt, her friend, is little more than a sounding board for Celeste's problems, and even that relationship feels strained and inauthentic.Celeste's inner monologue often revolved around whether a particular luxury item or location would be enough to replace love, and her dialogue was peppered with infantile statements about her own insecurities.»How will it work? Celeste asked Benji. M-M-Money, I m-m-mean. Once we're m-m-married? I'll put your name on my accounts, Benji said. We'll get you an ATM card, a checkbook. Once I turn thirty-five, I'll have access to the trust from my Garrison grandparents, so there will be that money as well. Celeste has wondered since then how much money is in the Garrison trust. A million dollars? Five million? Twenty million? What is the amount that takes the place of love? What about m-my salary? Celeste had asked. Keep it for yourself, Benji said.«One might argue that these character flaws are intentional and serve the broader purpose of Hilderbrand's social commentary. However, even if this were her intent, the execution falls woefully short of crafting a compelling and nuanced narrative. The incessant, somewhat trite observations and paper-thin plot developments were monotonous, testing my patience with each page.As if to punctuate the already dire state of the narrative, the denouement lacked any semblance of satisfaction, providing neither closure nor contemplation. The novel just falls over and silently dies.I'm left feeling like I've wasted precious reading time on a narrative that fails to engage on any level. Reading this novel felt like an exercise in endurance rather than enjoyment.One star out of five.Update Oct. 2024: Surprisingly, the Netflix mini series is a whole damn lot more entertaining. Avoid the book, do watch the series!Blog Facebook Twitter Mastodon Instagram Pinterest Medium Matrix TumblrCeterum censeo Putin esse delendam