I am so happy to see a review for this book. I have been eying it for a long time, but never picked it up. I only had one friend who read it and didn't finish it because she said it got "boring." I shouldn't have let her influence my decision to read this, but unfortunately, I did. After reading your review, I definitely want to pick it up!
I still plan on reading The Adoration of Jenna Fox for Jan. :)
I'm not familiar with the Irish myth and folklore, but I can see what you mean. :)
And I understand your fear about the voice. My copy has a sample of the sequel in the back, but I've reached a point where I hate reading the samples, because I end up reading those pages twice when I get the book.
I love this book, too. I had very much the same response to the ending: I know people like strings tied up, but this wasn't a case of accidental, shoddily unfinished workbut of intentional unsolved mystery. It's unsettling, but that's the point. Also I think that a concrete answer to Ryan's backstory would have dampened things a bit. The book has a wonderful atmosphere, very high-tension and sometimes terrifying; to maintain that, something had to remain unstable and mysterious.
The Likeness is awesome too. It's a different voice, a different atmosphere (I refer to it as romantic, not in the lovey-dovey sense but in the traditional, quiet, thoughtful, idyllic sense), but still enrapturing and entirely convincingwhich I think is French's trademark: strong, convincing, distinctive voices and atmosphere, no matter what they are.
I read both of these ages ago but just received copies of my own for the holidays, so if I seem overly enthusiastic it's because I'm already running on the high of rereads to come. ^_^
I read this recently and really liked it. I tried to read it in one day because I was so desperate to find out what happened, but then I cheated and read ahead. It is one of my pet peeves when a mystery writer doesn't reveal who the murderer is. I know that is more realistic, but I feel like this is a book, not real life, so tell me what happened even if the characters don't find out. That would ruin most mysteries for me but this one is so well-written that I would still recommend it.
And when you think about it, this book was about the mystery that got solved as well as the one that haunted the hero. It makes sense the latter doesn't get solved, especially since the current mystery had no bearing on the old one. I, too, was hoping for answers, but this book breaks away from formula, and by staying maddeningly realistic, it worked wonders for me.
I've got the sequel, THE LIKENESS, sitting on my shelf. I hear it's even better!
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I still plan on reading The Adoration of Jenna Fox for Jan. :)
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Hope you enjoy both!
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And I understand your fear about the voice. My copy has a sample of the sequel in the back, but I've reached a point where I hate reading the samples, because I end up reading those pages twice when I get the book.
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The Likeness is awesome too. It's a different voice, a different atmosphere (I refer to it as romantic, not in the lovey-dovey sense but in the traditional, quiet, thoughtful, idyllic sense), but still enrapturing and entirely convincingwhich I think is French's trademark: strong, convincing, distinctive voices and atmosphere, no matter what they are.
I read both of these ages ago but just received copies of my own for the holidays, so if I seem overly enthusiastic it's because I'm already running on the high of rereads to come. ^_^
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I've got the sequel, THE LIKENESS, sitting on my shelf. I hear it's even better!
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