Thursday, August 02, 2007

3 Brief Reviews

First off, prayers this AM for everyone involved in the horrific bridge collapse out in Minneapolis. What a terrible thing.

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I mentioned last week that I made my way through 3 books while on vacation:

Welcome to Temptation by Jenny Crusie - I had wanted to read another Crusie novel, and while this one was definitely a juicy read, I didn't enjoy it as much as Faking It. In this story of a pair of sisters who come to Temptation, Ohio, to film a documentary and get caught up in the manipulations of the local mayor and town board, Crusie does do a terrific job painting the idiosyncracies of a small town, All the characters are quirky and well-drawn. The attraction between Phin (great name!) and Sophie is hotter than hot, too. I really enjoyed the first half and only felt my interest wane after the plot got SO convoluted that I had trouble suspending my disbelief anymore. Still, it was a quick, entertaining read.

Little Children by Tom Perrotta - A interesting dark satire on suburban life that my mom passed along to me. I didn't really care for this one; it's the story of a bunch of dissatisifed spouses who end up having affairs with each other while also banding together against a register sex offender who comes to live in their "perfect" small town. Perrotta definitely lambastes the 30-something couples who live in their nice homes and drive nice cars and couldn't be more unhappy, but after a while I got tired of reading about self-indulgent adults who should know better.

The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason - This one was recommended by one of my students last year, and it's a similar sort of historical thriller as The DaVinci Code. Two Princeton roommates are studying an ancient text, trying to unlock its secrets, and in the meantime get caught up in scandal and murder happening on campus because of others trying to solve the secret as well. I did enjoy this book, though it got a little long in places. The authors are young guys in their 30s, best friends who went to Ivy League schools themselves, and they've done a thorough job in creating this storyline. Good ending, too, with enough of a twist that I had to read it twice.

Have you read anything good lately? Besides One Night in Boston, I mean ? :)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

OK Allie, I felt the same way about
Little Children, but it was recommended in "People" magazine so I thought I'd read it----trying to stay in touch with the younger generation!

Susan Breen said...

I just read Three Junes by Julia Glass and I thought it was beautiful.