Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
a brilliant, thought- provoking book, 15 Mar 2001
From the first paragaph, this book keeps you mesmerised, both with the story line,and the dexterity with which the author steers you through the emotional minefield and compelling drama as it unfolds. Jane Hamilton tackles difficult subjects like grief, guilt, torment,the nature of love and forgiveness with ease and confidence. Her insights and the beautifully crafted prose are breathtaking. I found people to identify with at every turn and I marvelled at the perception and sheer style of her writing. I can't recommend it highly enough.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Beautifully written but harrowing, 8 Mar 2001
By A Customer
This novel is utterly absorbing, as a portrait of how the world can be turned inside out for a person by the consequences of a random string of meaningless events. I won't go into the details of the plot here, but I will say that this book is beautifully written, with such clarity and vision that it makes the harrowing stuff even harder to stomach. The only duff point is that the way Theresa speaks sounds unrealistic. Can people really articulate their feelings so lucidly when under such stress? Theresa sounded suspiciously like a self-help manual for the recently bereaved, but that is my only complaint. This book made me realise how easy it is for things to go horrifically wrong for seemingly no reason, and it is not an easy read, but I would still recommend it. The ending is ambiguous enough that I put the book down hoping Alice and Howard would make it, but still not sure that they would.
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5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
Well-written but overrated, 13 Aug 2001
By A Customer
I read this book with much promise having heard rave reviews, but I can honestly say that apart from it being well-written, I wouldn't wish to read it again - my tried and tested formula for whether a book is really good. It is a harrowing story, but I found it failed to grip my attention. I couldn't relate to the characters and I struggled to finish the book. I also read the Short History of a Prince to try and prove myself wrong, but didn't like that one either.
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