To think "The Island" is a shit book

[Nevertooearlyforcake]

I've just been reading a review of another Victoria Hislop book, raving about it, 5 stars. However, the reviews I read of "The Island" were the same and I was so disappointed. I thought I'd really like it but I found the prose schoolgirl standard "and then this happened and then this happened" drivel with no emotional depth. Cannot understand why anyone would have given it a good review - AIBU?

YANBU. I thought it was terrible. If I hadn't been reading it for book group I would never have finished it. None of us liked it. I have no problem with books that aren't high literature. I like lean well-crafted page-turners. (Just raced through The Ghost by Robert Harris) I like original, descriptive prose too (the kind of books that make you hungry). This was neither and I kept being tripped up by the prose (just strings of adjectives with no originality! 'She poured the coffee: it was dark and thick as syrup. The kitchen was filled with a rich, strong odour' sort of thing... What really irritated me was that it pretended to be something it wasn't. (Not sure what it was pretending to be, come to think of it). A waste of a really good idea and no, I will not be reading her stuff again.

Hurrah! Another hater here. Read it a while back for bookgroup and can't recall much of it tbf, but do remember being v irritated. I think I could almost see the time line of post-it notes stuck up in her study.

YADNBU - was given this book by a friend who knew I liked books with a bit of history in them. It is without doubt the most boring and badly written book I have read. The characters are just so predictable... as is the plot.

YANBU. I was so looking forward to reading it and it was such a disappointment. It seemed as though she had done loads of research, but it was let down by bad writing. Perhaps she should write factual books in future?

It was utterly horrid.
Suffered through it because of a book club.
left shortly afterwards.

LeQueen that is genius - "***"

I'm been a subscriber to Private Eye for about a million years and I did wonder what the magazine's "Literary Review" section would have made of a book like it by another author!

I barely read nowadays since I started pissing the evenings away on Mumsnet so recommending a contemporary author may be a bit of a problem MidnightHag... Am just scanning the bookshelves... I love some of Margaret Atwood's books, not all - some I just can't get into, but "The Handsmaid's Tale" is one of my favourite books, just great. I recently read "The Year of the Flood" which is a parallel tale to "Oryx and Crake". I don't think every element of the (sci-fi) vision she's creating in the books works but enjoyed them overall.

I read "Movern Callar" recently and would love to hear some options as I don't know anyone else who has read and would love to discuss, I don't know what I made of it - though should probably start new thread elsewhere!

Not contemporary but I loved the Balkan and Levant trilogies by Olivia Manning, basically the Fortunes of War books and just fantastic, was totally swept up by them.

I don't think chick lit is trashy - some, yes, but but authors like Lisa Jewell are great (except that bit at the end of the one of her books where the guy sells his massive London house and moves to the SW with a comment on how ripped off London house owners are - yeah, and go and push up house prices for the locals of Devon with London-house-price cash, why don't you). Marian Keyes has written some great books.

And you cannot go wrong with a bit of Rebus...

I get enraged whenever I think about The Island for the same reasons as everyone else - exceptionally bad writing destroying what should have been an interesting story. Also, I HATE being tricked into reading books by rave reviews that turn out to be WRONG.

your Writing-By-Numbers, 'tis marvellous

I know, remove the leposy and you're left with Mills and Boon