An amiable, easygoing novel of friendship.
The latest novel from Vassallo (Henry Maxwell’s Gift, 2008, etc.) explores the lives and relationships of nine friends in a close-knit South Carolina book club.
For at least the last 15 years, a group of friends has met regularly for their book club. The only problem is that none of them ever read the same book, and some don’t even read one at all. Instead, the club has endured as a social nucleus—a reason to eat, drink, and be merry, and perhaps share an idea or two along the way. The group’s leader, Jackie Bennett, a lover of literature and gardening, often acts as confessor to the other members, such as Mattie Anthony, who worries that budget cuts may threaten her job as a local middle school teacher. Fellow member Sandy Chapel, a seemingly perfect wife and mother of four, has been skipping meetings altogether, and Lena Green has been so preoccupied with her own issues that she hardly participates at all. However, their problems are quickly overshadowed when member Becka Ariel gets new neighbors—a husband and wife who share their home with a dangerous-looking man. After someone attacks a local elderly woman, the town goes on high alert, but Becka discovers that not all is as it seems. Vassallo successfully conveys the congenial, relaxed atmosphere among the friends and carefully explores her characters’ lives outside the club. However, the large cast adds a level of intricacy that may confound some readers. The story’s topics, such as unfaithfulness, divorce, aging and romance, aren’t simplistic, but none is explored in depth. Many characters lack dimension as well; most are simply, thoroughly good, such as “Jackie, with her nurturing nature and loving heart.” Similarly, the antagonists don’t possess redeeming qualities that might have added more complexity. However, readers seeking a relaxing, uncomplicated respite will certainly be rewarded.
An amiable, easygoing novel of friendship.Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2013
ISBN: 978-1491286821
Page Count: 324
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
Genetically engineered dinosaurs run amok in Crichton's new, vastly entertaining science thriller. From the introduction alone—a classically Crichton-clear discussion of the implications of biotechnological research—it's evident that the Harvard M.D. has bounced back from the science-fantasy silliness of Sphere (1987) for another taut reworking of the Frankenstein theme, as in The Andromeda Strain and The Terminal Man. Here, Dr. Frankenstein is aging billionaire John Hammond, whose monster is a manmade ecosystem based on a Costa Rican island. Designed as the world's ultimate theme park, the ecosystem boasts climate and flora of the Jurassic Age and—most spectacularly—15 varieties of dinosaurs, created by elaborate genetic engineering that Crichton explains in fascinating detail, rich with dino-lore and complete with graphics. Into the park, for a safety check before its opening, comes the novel's band of characters—who, though well drawn, double as symbolic types in this unsubtle morality play. Among them are hero Alan Grant, noble paleontologist; Hammond, venal and obsessed; amoral dino-designer Henry Wu; Hammond's two innocent grandchildren; and mathematician Ian Malcolm, who in long diatribes serves as Crichton's mouthpiece to lament the folly of science. Upon arrival, the visitors tour the park; meanwhile, an industrial spy steals some dino embryos by shutting down the island's power—and its security grid, allowing the beasts to run loose. The bulk of the remaining narrative consists of dinos—ferocious T. Rex's, voracious velociraptors, venom-spitting dilophosaurs—stalking, ripping, and eating the cast in fast, furious, and suspenseful set-pieces as the ecosystem spins apart. And can Grant prevent the dinos from escaping to the mainland to create unchecked havoc? Though intrusive, the moralizing rarely slows this tornado-paced tale, a slick package of info-thrills that's Crichton's most clever since Congo (1980)—and easily the most exciting dinosaur novel ever written. A sure-fire best-seller.
Pub Date: Nov. 7, 1990
ISBN: 0394588169
Page Count: 424
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 21, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1990
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