What readers think of The Lieutenant, plus links to write your own review.

Ms. Grenville book has some lovely imagery and great writing and the historical theme is very interesting, but overall it seems that not enough time is spent on any of the elements of the story. I was left wishing for a deeper examination of the characters and events. Recommend reading English Passengers by Matthew Kneale, a book with a similar subject but deeper exploration of story and characters.

The Lieutenant was a difficult read.  I found the vocabulary not to be user-friendly, often using terms that are uncommon.  The sentences were often convoluted and hard to understand.  The story is lacking in purpose, there seems to be no theme nor any successful conclusion.  While Lt. Rooke found some thread of humanity in his interactions with Tagaran and some of the natives, the book never really gave the reader any sense of how this had made a difference in his life.  He ended pretty much as he began - alone -  Would not recommend this book to anyone.

So, yeah. This book started off reallllly slow. Then just when you thought, hey something is going to happen... nothing happens. But if you suffer from insomnia this is the book to take to bed. Or if you are locked up for a really long time and have read everything else in the library..give this book a gander. I did not much care for the lead in this story or for that matter his friends. I found the depiction of the "savages" to be average and basically the same old text I have read a million times. Oh how the savages wait for the young soldiers to show them the right way. Oh how relationships are made then thrown away with distrust. Oh how I have read this book and seen the "Very Special Brady" version of it. Even after reading the book, I am not quite sure what the plot was for certain. However, as a fan of WWII books and fast paced fction, I was disappointed. May I recommend Dark Places, Shanghai Girls, or Sarah's Key instead... much better reads as the winter days start on us!