ONE GOOD TURNKate Atkinson
Personal Rating: 3/5
Yearly Count: 40
One big disappointment was my feeling as I concluded this chunkster. I loved the cover and title, the author was new-to-me, the plot was intriguing and unfortunately I was let down. An "okay read" ends up as a real literary bummer when you anticipate something great.
The "across the pond" setting produced mixed emotions in me. I like exploring cities that I've never physically been to, but I also like to be familiar with (or made to feel familiar with) the lingo, names of places and buildings, etc. I sometimes felt like I had to read at a slower pace just to make sure I didn't miss an important piece of the puzzle. I was at a disadvantage.
The beginning opens with a road rage scene that really drew me in and then I was flooded with a stream of characters that ultimately held no water. Their personalities did not entice me, yet I thought it was going to happen at any moment. There were plenty of hopefuls and with a very prolific author I was surprised that none of them panned out. I experienced the same with the plot. Great ideas and some really good scenes, but something was missing or maybe it was just too bland for a thriller. I don't know. ???
Making the NYT Most Notable Books of 2006 is interesting. I'm not sure how that whole process works, but this book doesn't qualify in my opinion. Rating this book a 3 seems like a gift, but it's not. I'm just miffed that I spent hours and hours reading it (a chunkster no less) and wasn't satisfied.
I'm sorry you didn't care for this one more, Joy. I enjoyed Case Histories quite a bit, although wasn't as awed by it as so many others were. I do plan to read this one and hope to get to it before the year is out.
ReplyDeleteAh, too bad you didn't like it. I assume by chunkster that it was long. That's even worse.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you and I had similar opinions on this one ... not all notables are truly notable!
ReplyDeleteI had this one on my list and then took it off after so-so reviews. There seem to be better "notables" out there. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteLiterary Feline ~ I hope you enjoy it more than I did. I just always seemed to be waiting for more.
ReplyDeleteDebD ~ I thought it was just okay. As for length, anything over 400 pages I consider a chunkster.
Laura ~ I will stop by for a visit. :)
3M ~ Somewhere out there, someone really liked it to make the list. It doesn't make mine, though.
Sometimes it's the expectations that sink the book. I'd rather be pleasantly surprised by low expectations that dashed by high ones. Hmm, topic? Uh, I checked it out of the library and never did get around to reading it.
ReplyDeleteCarrie K ~ I love when I love a book whether I expected it or not...such a great feeling. :) You are definitely right though, low expectations with high results is the way to go.
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