The Mermaid Chair: A Novel
Registered by bartonz of Bellevue, Washington USA on 12/8/2005
This book is in a Controlled Release!
3 journalers for this copy...
My favorite read of the year! You can read my review on Epinions at:
http://www.epinions.com/content_189279735428
http://www.epinions.com/content_189279735428
Sent as an RABCK to another Bookcrosser
Another wonderful surprise from Bartonz, my neighbor to the north. I had read from numerous people that this book just didn't have the appeal for them (and some of these people are people I respect) that "The Secret Lives of Bees" had. But how could you follow up those Daughters of Mary and, my personal favorite, the drive thru funeral home? After reading Sue's review at Eopinions and also a journal entry from another bookcrosser, I am thinking this book is very well suited to me personally. Thank you, BartonZ for thinking about me AGAIN. As usual, eternal thanks to cliff1976 who has enhanced my life a hundred fold.
Ok...let me start by saying that I love the way Sue Monk Kidd writes. This can be proven by looking at the reader's journal I keep by my bed to write down passages (or sometimes just sentences) that jump out at me...that cause me to stop and wonder. This book produced six new entries into my journal.
That being said I will wander into the things about the book that bothered me. I feel like Ms. Kidd assumes an audience of very "average" intellectual ability and is prone to spell out EVERYTHING rather than risk that the reader might miss something. I actually find that I prefer the opposite and actually LOVE when I miss something and have to go back and explore how I have missed it.
I also HATED (yes, I can't say it strong enough...both the last sentence in the book proper and the last sentence in the epilogue. I felt that both of them rendered her whole journey fruitless and I wanted to scream at her, "Didn't you learn anything!" I can't decide if the author wanted a happy ending or KNEW she was giving people exactly the opposite.
Ok...ALL that being shared...I would still recommend the book because she is a wonderfully gifted writer who obviously has a way of expressing emotional angst that is vivid and spellbinding. I did cry during the last 50 pages...cried for loss...it turned out the loss was different than I was being led to believe. The loss, to me, was that she went in a complete circle and just because she now (warning:spoiler) exhibited in a gallery did not mean she wasn't at the same place in which she started. What gave her peace was what she ran from in the first place. (Ok, I'm a feminist...so sue me)
Is it a romance? Absolutely...I am in love with the friends that her mother had on the island. What a treasure. And...for Dog lovers everywhere...there is Max.
Thanks, BartonZ for sharing. I will pass it on to someone else who wishes for it.
That being said I will wander into the things about the book that bothered me. I feel like Ms. Kidd assumes an audience of very "average" intellectual ability and is prone to spell out EVERYTHING rather than risk that the reader might miss something. I actually find that I prefer the opposite and actually LOVE when I miss something and have to go back and explore how I have missed it.
I also HATED (yes, I can't say it strong enough...both the last sentence in the book proper and the last sentence in the epilogue. I felt that both of them rendered her whole journey fruitless and I wanted to scream at her, "Didn't you learn anything!" I can't decide if the author wanted a happy ending or KNEW she was giving people exactly the opposite.
Ok...ALL that being shared...I would still recommend the book because she is a wonderfully gifted writer who obviously has a way of expressing emotional angst that is vivid and spellbinding. I did cry during the last 50 pages...cried for loss...it turned out the loss was different than I was being led to believe. The loss, to me, was that she went in a complete circle and just because she now (warning:spoiler) exhibited in a gallery did not mean she wasn't at the same place in which she started. What gave her peace was what she ran from in the first place. (Ok, I'm a feminist...so sue me)
Is it a romance? Absolutely...I am in love with the friends that her mother had on the island. What a treasure. And...for Dog lovers everywhere...there is Max.
Thanks, BartonZ for sharing. I will pass it on to someone else who wishes for it.
I forgot to change the status to "available".
This book is off as a RABCK to Beckerbuns in California.
Oops!!! My apologies to Diana... This book arrived shortly before my third child arrived, and therefore I've been a bit too busy to journal it. I'm remedying that now! Thank you!!! I am really looking forward to reading it!
Journal Entry 8 by beckerbuns at PaperBackSwap.com, A book trading site -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Released 14 yrs ago (11/10/2009 UTC) at PaperBackSwap.com, A book trading site -- Controlled Releases
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Mailed per Paperbackswap request.
Mailed per Paperbackswap request.