secret scripture - fantabulous

[MrsWilburton]

and i might even reread it - i never re read books

[ClaraDeLaNoche]

What did you think of the ending?

[MrsWilburton]

Well, i didnt see it coming( bet everyone else did) till about 2 chapters before. I think its a really deep complax novel and i got a bit confused over the tower/graveyard incident.
If oyu say " oh its about a mad woman in an Irish mental hospital" it sounds crap doesnt it?

i can totally see why it won.

[brimfull]

never heard of it
will look out for it

[ClaraDeLaNoche]

No I didn't see it coming either. I think I might re read as well at some point, I raced through it for the story. Need to slow down and savour more.

[MrsWilburton]

I raced too ( SO glad you said that) the prose needed to be savoured.

[ClaraDeLaNoche]

Yes sounds like we are racers. I was reading an article by a judge of the Costa and he said until he was asked to judge, he always rushed through a book, and it wasn't until he took things slowly that he really appreciated the book. So it wasn't an original thought I'm afraid I don't tend to have any.

[FlossieT]

"oh its about a mad woman in an Irish mental hospital": that was why I avoided it like the plague after reviews. God it sounded so depressing.

But actually it's "about" the nature of history and of truth and SO much more.

The ending made me vvvvvv cross though. Totally inconsistent with the rest of the book.

[NotQuiteCockney]

I totally hated the ending. I saw it coming, and was thinking 'fucking hell, they're not going to do it. Please don't let them do it.'

I mean, if I wanted to read Dickens, I'd go read Dickens.

I really liked the inconsistency of memory stuff, realising the woman was wrong about some things, I thought he had a light touch with the narrative and the details, and left some things just ... unknown.

But then the ending. Yuck.

[troutpout]

oh i agree about the ending..i was very disappointed. Saw it coming a mile away...and thought 'nah ...it won't ...it's far too obvious'...and then was really deflated when i realised that was exactly where it was going.
Parts of it were so beautifully written too.

[troutpout]

Actually i've had the same feeling with a lot of books lately.
It's almost like some books are going along beautifully and then the writer bricks it and goes for a cinematic ending.

[NotQuiteCockney]

Ah, see, I didn't like it that much at the beginning, but then when it became clear that Roseanne's memories were flawed, I got more into it. I saw the ending miles off, and was cringing about it, and saying to DH 'oh god, I hope they don't do this'.

[CDMforever]

Just started reading this book, a Valentines pressie from dh (inspired for him!) and it is beautifully written. Loving it already. Just finished The Road Home by Rose Tremain, also fab.

[ItsAllaBitNoisy]

I loved it. I didn't know anything about it beforehand, but was amazed because I live beside the graveyard in Sligo! It made it very interesting.