I was so in at first - the Devil and his retinue (including a huge black cat!) appear in Moscow and wreak havoc and cause all sorts of wild things. ThI was so in at first - the Devil and his retinue (including a huge black cat!) appear in Moscow and wreak havoc and cause all sorts of wild things. There are bizarre dreams, trips to the psychiatric ward, women running around barely clothed, flying, and again, a huge black cat that's an accomplice to Satan. I'm not especially drawn to magical realism but was compelled for the first half of the book. But the twists and turns don't seem to add up to much (that I could discern anyway), it's way overlong, and I found it to be emotionally cold, despite the compelling interactions between Pontius Pilate and a Christ figure and the two titular characters. Also as many different Russian names and nicknames as what you'd find in Dostoevsky; not a bad thing per se but added to the unnecessary complexity....more
I found the first two-thirds of this book pretty compelling. O'Farrell did a good job taking me into Shakespeare's world, and I cared about Agnes a loI found the first two-thirds of this book pretty compelling. O'Farrell did a good job taking me into Shakespeare's world, and I cared about Agnes a lot. So it was disappointing that the final third of the book, after the pivotal event, kind of petered out for me. The big reveal wasn't that big, and man, the writing is overwrought....more
This book seemed to want to be many different things -- part nature writing, part illness memoir, part traAbandoned! (Please clap as I never do this.)
This book seemed to want to be many different things -- part nature writing, part illness memoir, part travelogue -- and so it felt underbaked. To mix metaphors, it included the seeds of some truly good ideas that needed more time in the ground. (Some reviewers have blasted this for reeking of privilege, which -- yeah, of course, she has time to write a book, and a memoir no less. What did you expect?) Once I realized it was going to be a frustrating read I returned to the library....more
"The Mom of Bold Action" and "Mother's Day" are alone worth the price of admission."The Mom of Bold Action" and "Mother's Day" are alone worth the price of admission....more
Mercy, this was good. There is a great harmony here between form and content; each is simple and straightforward, but simple certainly doesn't mean shMercy, this was good. There is a great harmony here between form and content; each is simple and straightforward, but simple certainly doesn't mean shallow. It's amazing how engaging this is given how little plot there is.
I just couldn't get into all the horsey stuff and cowboy drama in 'All the Pretty Horses.' Less plot, more existential ire, please. (Maybe 'No Country for Old Men' should be next.)...more