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UNKNOWN!!!!!
(05/17/07)
Snow falling on cedars my opinion
I found this book extremely boring!!!! Although I can give it props because it described everything in the book in a very detailed manner. I had to read it for a project and the beginning of the book is drastically boring. The love story within the book is the only part that I found very interesting . It was a beautiful and emotional part. Guterson did not have to describe the the intercourse parts so vividly though I do recommend this book if you are interested in the court room setting I do not recommend if you don't like long books and books that aren't interesting from the beginning.
reader j
(01/08/07)
Brilliant
I had to read this book in English class and once I started reading I couldn't stop anymore. I find that the novel is written brilliantly- calm, but not boring. Every character is so lively!
(02/28/05)
it needs to get more to the point instead of telling who everyone is, it is kind of boring to read also and they should have introduced the people and what is happening before the trial so it would be more easier to understand and more intresting.
Jo
(01/16/05)
I found this book dire, I have read it more than three times now and contrary to some others I found the weight of detail has not drawn me in to the complexity of his prose. Some critics have had the audacity to state Gutterson has a clipped and concise prose style. I feel that this long winded story of half-hearted deceit and prejudiced law suits is approaching unreadable. Gutterson presents frailty as something to respect and the submission of women into unfulfilled lives, (Hatsue's submission to Kabou to gain the strawberry farm she wants and does not gain for example, her life is also reflected in her mothers situation; travelling to America to find she had married a pauper) as second to the slight and past prejudice against Japanese culture.
The enclosed island community is a poor attempt to create a cross section of community and to explore prejudice and human nature in a confined area. Unfortunately i feel Gutterson fails in this and creates a confined novel which cannot expand to find any sort of parallel with actual society.
Responding to Stephanie's comment, "This story is a murder mystery/love story/war story/everything story", I believe that had Gutterson persisted in one vein and focused highly in Ishmael's struggle or the court scenes alone the book would have been more succesful. There are some astonishing comments made which show potential in his work, but, this novel is far to confused and indeed long-winded.
Brittany
(11/12/04)
I thought that Snow Falling on Cedars was an amazing book. I originally read it for my english project because i knew that it was a movie i could watch instead of reading the whole thing, but once i started it, i had to keep going.
David Guterson is a fantastic writer, who's ability to make characters come to life realling shines in this novel.
I really enjoyed this book and i recommend it to anyone who likes a courtroom drama.
Mya Bell
(06/21/04)
I read this book after having seen the movie. The intimate, personal nature of the community in which the events occurred drew me in and I appreciated the author's descriptive passages. I learned quite a bit from the author's personalization of events that had happened before my time. It made them seem more vivid and real to me.
The suspenseful nature of the plot also helped keep me interested. It's not easy for an author to balance the different perspectives of the characters in a story without portraying people as 'good guys' and 'bad guys' but the author made me feel that his characters were human, fallible, and emotionally vulnerable by revealing their inner thoughts without revealing too much about the eventual outcome.
In public school, I didn't enjoy history because I had teachers who never went beyond making us memorize names and dates. I would have enjoyed the subject much more if I had been encouraged to read books like this story of the human heart wrapped within the framework of historical events.
Preule Ten Toesscher
(11/17/03)
Hello,
I've read this book after it was recommended by my wonderful teacher Geert ten Tusscher who really needs a big compliment because he's so very good. He's so very good speaking about the triangle of love, which is the most important element of the english literatur and actually all literature!!!
The triangle of love, what shows off very often in this book, is this: Love has three compenents: commitment, passion and intimicy. On this last part, Geert ten tusscher has expierenced a lot!
goodbye!
boaty
(09/23/03)
its an ok book however i wouldnt read it again as i found it a bit boring at time !!!