Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Only slightly sinister, 7 Mar 2003
Linda and Scott Gardner have hired an instructer from a tutoring service, Julian Sawyer, to privately tutor their son, Brandon, and help him improve his SAT scores. Brandon is all set to dislike Julian right from the get-go but never gets the chance. Hey, this guy is cool! Linda and Scott fall for the tutor's charm next, relying on him for car rides, business and financial advice, and tennis tips. Brandon's little sister, Ruby, age eleven, an outgoing little Sherlock fan, shares Brandon's feelings as well. But she's also brighter than her brother (or parents) and soon deduces that Julian is not everything he appears. While the rest of her family is cuddled in Julian's palm like a sparrow in the hand of the neighborhood bully, Ruby is sniffing along for clues in a manner even Sherlock Holmes couldn't knock.THE TUTOR starts out strong. The pace is fast, the details interesting, the characters memorable. The middle isn't so bad either. But the ending bombs inexcusably -- perhaps because as the story progresses it becomes more and more out of this world. Peter Abrahams has created here a portfolio of surreal characters, more caricatures than flesh and blood people. Each one represents a certain weakness which Julian exploits to the hilt, although Julian himself has weaknesses, as every good villain must. There's a blurb on this book's jacket from Stephen King praising the author, and while Abrahams's style may briefly remind you of King's in the way it comes across as not quite on the level, Abrahams doesn't hold a candle to King's way with words. THE TUTOR is reasonably well written and contains some excellent descriptions, but most books are reasonably well written. Little here stands out. Horror fans, be warned. You may not be horrified (unless snakes deeply upset you). But THE TUTOR is a stylishly crafted if skewed nailbiter tale, and as such should have a case with suspense fans.
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1.0 out of 5 stars
Avoid, 20 Aug 2005
If you're looking for a slow-paced, plodding and actionless read packed with indecipherable americanisms (apologies - I'm english) you've found the perfect read. Abrahams does away with conventional character development and just throws in a few stereotypes - the stressed mother, the wayward son, the observant daughter - so that the reader isnt unduly taxed with such irritations as believable character motivations and original, encapsulating situations and events. It is difficult to take the subject of the book (itself predictable and tired) seriously - it often feels as if the author wrote it just to fill the time between dinner and bed. Or, more likely, the time between dinner and dessert. On the other hand, the last few pages are quite good, and there is a certain desire to read on, if only to find out what ridiculous situation the author will engineer next. And the character of Julian, the tutor himself, is absolutely laughable. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a story that can be covered up accurately and in its entirety in the blurb on the back cover.
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2.0 out of 5 stars
Not so good, 8 Dec 2004
By A Customer
I usually like Abrahams' books, but this one is not as good.
I mean the story is interesting but the plot is not and the characters are really superficial.
The end of the book could be better as well
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