Fairy Tale Gone Wrong
The beginning of this book is like something out a fairy tale for middle-aged women. A husband, Ben, engages in strange and destructive behavior. The wife, Helen, finds unexpected talents which lead to lucrative employment. Unfortunately, in the second half of the book, I found Helen's behavior bizarrely unreasonable and out of character. I wasn't willing to buy into the parallels in the couple's choices that Dee seemed to be suggesting. I ended up feeling rather disappointed by the book.
Rated of 5
by Jinny K. (Fremont, CA)
A Thousand Yawns
Although I'd never read anything by Jonathan Dee, I was looking forward to this book based on his having been a Pulitzer finalist as well as this book's synopsis. The beginning of the book was very engaging, but as it went on the characters seemed shallow and unsympathetic and I felt only glimmers of caring what happened to them. The unlikely scenario toward the end of the book involving Karen and the celebrity she'd known as a child was really puzzling and seemed to lack resolution, although it seemed to be trying for enlightenment.
When the book was over, it still seemed somewhat unfinished; I was disappointed in this novel.
Rated of 5
by Michelle N. (Hillsdale, NJ)
This one didn't grab me...
I really don't find many books that I just don't care to finish reading, but unfortunately this was one of them. It wasn't bad, it wasn't good - it was just...there. The writing didn't hold my interest, the characters weren't adequately portrayed in order to make me care what happened to them, and there seemed to be a lot written about one of the main character, Helen's, job. I read most of the book and then just didn't care enough to finish it. Unfortunately I would say to just give this one a pass.
Rated of 5
by Mary Ellen B. (Hebron, CT)
Modern Angst
The book starts off as a meltdown of a suburban family when Ben, an attorney decides that he needs more excitement in his life. His bad judgement creates a mess resulting in divorce, estrangement with his young daughter, and legal trouble. His wife on the other hand, reinvents herself as a talented publicist. The plot bogs down when a former childhood friend, now a famous actor crosses path with the wife, and the book takes off as a thriller that doesn't quite materialize.
Rated of 5
by Nancy F. (Carmel, IN)
Not sure.....
This is a hard review to write because I am confused by the reading experience. The prose and style are engaging as it did keep me turning the pages, however, I must take issue with both the plot and the ending. The plot often appeared to be too contrived based on the suspense that was attempted by the author. I must admit that I am not a fan of predictable ending, but on the other hand, some closure as a reader would,have been nice!
Rated of 5
by Sally H. (Geneva, Ohio)
I apologize for not liking this book
This is the first of Jonathan Dee's books I've read, and I was looking forward to it. Initially the book caught my interest, but somewhere around the middle it seemed to start wandering. It is superbly written, but the plot doesn't rise to the level of the writing and the characters didn't make me love them, hate them or care what happened to them. Some of the events are so unlikely as to be ludicrous, and the book ends without resolution of the major issues. I feel as though I've read a book about nothing.
Rated of 5
by Marcia F. (Batavia, IL)
A Thousand Pardons
A Thousand Pardons is the first book I have ever read by Jonathan Dee. I thoroughly enjoyed his style of writing as well as his excellent descriptions of his characters. They are all people we know. However,I did not enjoy the story line as much - I felt that the storyline was weak and trite and that the ending was totally predictable before I was even halfway through the book. This is not a book that I could reccommend for my book club.
Stranger than fiction, blending tragedy and farce, How to Create the Perfect Wife is an engrossing tale of the radicalism, and deep contradictions, at the heart of the Enlightenment.
Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on...
read more
Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read...
read more
Can an wiser, older narrator view the past with more wisdom than he might have possessed forty years earlier in the summer he was thirteen? Ordinary...
read more
U.S. ebook sales up in 2012, but rate of growth is slowing(May 16 2013) In 2012, trade book sales (i.e. non academic book sales) rose 6.9%, to $15.049 billion, and e-book sales continued to grow, although the rate of growth...
Full Story
of 5
by Eileen P. (Pittsford, NY)
