Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Creates a lasting impression, 13 Jun 2006
I have read other reviews on this book with interest and, to be honest, I can see both sides.
From my own perspective, The People's Act of Love was slow to come together - to see how the various strands inter-related. The first half dragged a little - the second half flew by. It is perhaps true that some of the characters could have been more strongly defined, but only at the expense of the others. The basic premise of four central characters with no one star; no central transaction makes for a complex web of plotlines and more relationships than the typical novel. And this is a story of survival, rather than development.
I don't want to spoil the shocks - although other reviewers have. Mostly they are not delivered as bombshells, but are great crescendoes that have been worked towards over many pages. This may lessen the shock factor, but they add to the authenticity. In any case, the shock elements are really background texture in a novel that is really about human spirit. Ultimately, the book is about non-linear, complex love. It wends contrary patterns, steeped in enormous and graphic detail. The real test, though, is that when the story has ended, the images remain - deeply engrained.
The People's Act of Love is clearly not going to be to everyone's taste. It is not the greatest historical epic ever written. It is not an easy or light read, either. It is a measured and elaborate story, set in an obscure part of history and an obscure part of the world, that slowly works its magic without you realizing. If that is the type of novel that floats your boat (it floats mine) then give it a try. Then perhaps follow it up with This Thing of Darkness by Harry Thompson.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A long trudge, 14 Aug 2007
I bought this book on the recommendation of Amazon after it was suggested as the "Perfect Partner" to Harry Thompson's magnificent "This Thing Of Darkness". Intrigued by the plot summary I decided to give it a go and it has left me with very mixed feelings.
The quality of writing is undoubted as Meek writes with a fine eye for detail and he paints a very vivid picture regarding the most trivial matter. While I applaud authors for taking the time to do this, Meek has taken it to extremes at times much to the cost of the flow of the novel. Furthermore, while he lavishes two paragraphs on the description of an office where very little happens, he tells us virtually nothing that helps gauge the size of the town where the majority of the book takes place so I had no sense of scale regarding the setting.
The characters are varied and well drawn, but with the exception of the sinister Samarin who occasionally raises a smile, nearly all of the rest are a rather po-faced bunch. As such, it's hard to feel anything for them and by the time I reached the end I really didn't care anymore. The ending is, I might add, a massive letdown and holds no surprises.
The plot summary suggests a town in the grip of fear, but I would say apathy is more accurate and that soon spread to me as it lurches along in fits and starts before getting bogged down for long periods and just when things seem to be getting going, it goes off on another tangent so while some parts were quite exciting, I was very bored for a fair chunk of it.
What this book is crying out for is a good editing as I would suggest it is a good 100 pages too long. Some may like the lush descriptions, but after a while you'll probably find yourself longing for something to happen. The cover features glowing testimonials from Irvine Welsh, Philip Pullman and Louis De Bernieres who all rate this book very highly. I only hope that none of them ever write a book as weary as this. Read it if you like detailed descriptive prose. Don't read it you want an exciting yarn about spooky goings on deep in the woods. Holiday reading it isn't.
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A review of the reviewers, 16 Feb 2007
Rarely before have I read such a diverging set of reviews. One reviewer refers to this book as "ridiculous", someone else calls it "stunning", and another "boring". Allow me to try to make some sense of all this.
Most reviewers find the book well-written, although a few found the language to be slow-going. A novel doesn't need to be an easy read in order to be well-written. I agree that the reading was a little slow at times, but I attribute that to the richness of the language.
The plot and setting are definitely original, and the author can only be given credit for that. The story focuses on the arrival in a small Siberian village of an escaped prisoner, who claims he is pursued by a cannibal. As the novel unfolds, we meet a group of stranded Czech soldiers, a community of eunuchs, and are left wondering who the cannibal really is... Most events, like the presence in Siberia of Czech soldiers, are based on historical fact.
The author spends much of his efforts on character development. He devotes large chunks of the first 150 pages to the lives and background of the various characters. This may give the impression at times that the storyline is going off on a tangent, and can explain why some reviewers found the plot boring or confusing.
However, character development is fundamental to the understanding of the book's main theme, which centers on different people's perception of love and the acts of stupidity and folly it can engender.
I will conclude by agreeing with one reviewer who claims that although all the ingredients were there, the author could perhaps have mixed them better. Had he done so, the book would have been a true masterpiece. A good and entertaining read all the same.
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