Second chapter: Mybabysinthegarden's book

[mybabysinthegarden]

Hello!

[mybabysinthegarden]

Mairsey, I know you've already read HOL but I thought I'd get the thread rolling. I read this not long after reading 'Everything is Illuminated' and much of what I loved and what I found infuriating about that book is the same here. Lots of reviewers were rapturous over her prose style, which grated on me at times (And yet what, already!?) But I think it takes a real brass neck to write excerpts of the book within the book, that is supposed to be so brilliant and life-changing to the characters, and I think she pretty much pulls it off.

Clever language also can be a barrier to sympathising with characters, but I didn't find that the case here. When Gursky's neighbour (forgotten the name) suddenly proves to be long-dead it was a true pit-of-the-stomach moment. She draws all the peripheral characters astutely too-- I have just finished a long book which revolves around three characters almost to the exclusion of any other and thinking back to this reminds me of the pleasure of reading about a richly peopled world.

The book sets out from such a heart-breaking point, and descends from there, that I found ending's redemptive quality quite miraculous.

[yogabird]

i really wanted to like it but found it irritating in the extreme and certainly wouldn't have finished it had it not been a 'second chapter' offering! But thank you anyway, it's probably due to an inadequacy on my part and perhaps i should have concentrated harder/gone back and re-reaed parts but I found it hard to engage with the characters, the Poland part was interesting but their lives since then were confusingly related and, for me, uninspiring. I just didn't really care what happened to them and it never seemed to stick with one for long enough to give enough detail to get me interested.
The extracts from the book were the best bit, i particularly liked the 'made of glass' one. Will follow with interest what others have to say

[cyanarasamba]

I couldn't finish it - sorry! Maybe not in the mood for something a little more challenging this month?

[mybabysinthegarden]

Oh dear, I seem to have picked a stinker! I thought as an R&J selection it would be pretty populist! Cynara, I definitely took a while to get into it when I read it but found it rewarding in the end.

[MegBusset]

Oops, just thought I'd post to say I didn't finish it, and see I'm not alone!

This book just didn't grab me at all, I managed 100 pages while waiting for the story to start but got bored. I didn't mind her prose style but just never got going with it. Soz!

[EachPeachPearMum]

Could someone tell me what this was? It never made it to me either!