4315: Tell Me Lies
I'll write up other stuff later. For now, I'm x-posting my Amazon review of that shitty book Ruok gave me [to be fair, I guess it's okay IF THAT'S YOUR THING, but it read like a statistics textbook to me]:Tell me a different story
I'm pretty sure I would not have read a word of this book had it not been recommended to me by a co-worker. Granted, she did not know my tastes, and just because she likes "juicy" gossip doesn't mean I will--I prefer stories that bring new, extraordinary ideas to the table a la Mortal Engines or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, bonus points if the story is particularly clever. However, I'm willing to give most things a try, especially from creators I've never read before.
The story is easily summed up as "small town gossip." If that doesn't interest you--and I'm not interested in gossip even about real-life celebrities, much less brand-new characters in a stand-alone (as far as I'm aware) novel--then you may want to look elsewhere. I got about two chapters in before I redubbed the novel "Product Placement: The Book" from the sheer volume of real-life names and products that get dropped (e.g. Oreo and Shania Twain, if I recall correctly, and at least one in every other paragraph), and somehow I managed to get through Chapter Six before getting bored of all the sheer TALK. That's basically all that happens: people TALK. (Oh, and a mostly non-injurious car wreck.)
Then I skipped to somewhere in the middle, after the murder happens, but it was still talk, and still BORING. Finally, I skipped to what I thought was merely near the end, but it ended up being the last chapter before a preview of another book, and all that happens is a confrontation (which at least was sort of interesting but not really new or memorable), then a super-magical fairy-tale sexy happy ending, in that it's completely unbelievable. The kid who caused the aforementioned car wreck was bribed with $100... seriously? Unless he was driving a tank, repairing the car he drove would cost WAY more than that. Em, the daughter, is initially distressed by the idea of her parents divorcing, but a puppy placates her such that when the new guy enters the scene, she warms to him immediately and without question. C.L., the new guy/ex-flame, is so dull that if I hadn't been told that he was supposed to be the sympathetic hero, I would never have thought he would be. Finally, Maddie, the main protagonist, is such a bored housewife that I can't fathom what life she has beyond raising her daughter, being mad at her husband, and tearing herself up over wanting to get laid so badly but fearing the consequences of "the gossip."
I guess it's an accurate portrayal of small-town life, but I sure couldn't care less about it! If that's your thing, maybe this is the book for you, but I feel like I could go back and read what I skipped and not feel like I'd gained anything for it, the benefit of the doubt being the only reason I'm giving two stars instead of one. I guess the draw is it's like a safe way to read porno in public, but that's what Maddie learns herself--safe is boring.
I'm working my way up to the Clive Barker's Clive Barker's Crapheart Canyon by Clive Barker, just because I still don't know what the fuck I read.
I'm pretty sure I would not have read a word of this book had it not been recommended to me by a co-worker. Granted, she did not know my tastes, and just because she likes "juicy" gossip doesn't mean I will--I prefer stories that bring new, extraordinary ideas to the table a la Mortal Engines or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, bonus points if the story is particularly clever. However, I'm willing to give most things a try, especially from creators I've never read before.
The story is easily summed up as "small town gossip." If that doesn't interest you--and I'm not interested in gossip even about real-life celebrities, much less brand-new characters in a stand-alone (as far as I'm aware) novel--then you may want to look elsewhere. I got about two chapters in before I redubbed the novel "Product Placement: The Book" from the sheer volume of real-life names and products that get dropped (e.g. Oreo and Shania Twain, if I recall correctly, and at least one in every other paragraph), and somehow I managed to get through Chapter Six before getting bored of all the sheer TALK. That's basically all that happens: people TALK. (Oh, and a mostly non-injurious car wreck.)
Then I skipped to somewhere in the middle, after the murder happens, but it was still talk, and still BORING. Finally, I skipped to what I thought was merely near the end, but it ended up being the last chapter before a preview of another book, and all that happens is a confrontation (which at least was sort of interesting but not really new or memorable), then a super-magical fairy-tale sexy happy ending, in that it's completely unbelievable. The kid who caused the aforementioned car wreck was bribed with $100... seriously? Unless he was driving a tank, repairing the car he drove would cost WAY more than that. Em, the daughter, is initially distressed by the idea of her parents divorcing, but a puppy placates her such that when the new guy enters the scene, she warms to him immediately and without question. C.L., the new guy/ex-flame, is so dull that if I hadn't been told that he was supposed to be the sympathetic hero, I would never have thought he would be. Finally, Maddie, the main protagonist, is such a bored housewife that I can't fathom what life she has beyond raising her daughter, being mad at her husband, and tearing herself up over wanting to get laid so badly but fearing the consequences of "the gossip."
I guess it's an accurate portrayal of small-town life, but I sure couldn't care less about it! If that's your thing, maybe this is the book for you, but I feel like I could go back and read what I skipped and not feel like I'd gained anything for it, the benefit of the doubt being the only reason I'm giving two stars instead of one. I guess the draw is it's like a safe way to read porno in public, but that's what Maddie learns herself--safe is boring.
I'm working my way up to the Clive Barker's Clive Barker's Crapheart Canyon by Clive Barker, just because I still don't know what the fuck I read.