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Bracia
Fragment niezwykłej historii współczesnych Chin.
Wstrząsająca opowieść o przyrodnich braciach, których los zamienił miejscami
Zaskakująca konstrukcja książki - każdy rozdział jest opowieścią innego bohatera.
"Bracia" to przede wszystkim powieść o dojrzewaniu. Jak w bajkach, także tu bohaterowie wyruszają w podróż, by znaleźć skarb, który uzupełni ich życie. Skarbem tym była kobieta o imieniu Sumi. Niestety, obaj bracia mieli tak silne charaktery, że walka musiała skończyć się tragicznie.
Wstrząsająca opowieść o przyrodnich braciach, których los zamienił miejscami
Zaskakująca konstrukcja książki - każdy rozdział jest opowieścią innego bohatera.
"Bracia" to przede wszystkim powieść o dojrzewaniu. Jak w bajkach, także tu bohaterowie wyruszają w podróż, by znaleźć skarb, który uzupełni ich życie. Skarbem tym była kobieta o imieniu Sumi. Niestety, obaj bracia mieli tak silne charaktery, że walka musiała skończyć się tragicznie.
510 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
33 people are currently reading
878 people want to read
About the author
Da Chen
26 books70 followersDa Chen (born in 1962 in Fujian, China) was a Chinese author whose works include Brothers, China's Son, Sounds of the River, Sword, and Colors of the Mountain. A graduate of Beijing Language and Culture University and Columbia Law School, Da Chen lived in the Hudson Valley in New York but then moved to Torrance, California with his wife, the paranormal romance author Sunni, and two children. Brothers has been awarded best book of 2006 by The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald and Publishers Weekly.
Chen passed away on December 17, 2019 at his home in Temecula, California from lung cancer.
(from Wikipedia)
Chen passed away on December 17, 2019 at his home in Temecula, California from lung cancer.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 173 reviews
July 30, 2024
Audiobook para me acompanhar nas caminhadas. Entreteve mas não deslumbrou.
October 29, 2008
I'm almost embarrassed to critique this book, because I felt like I was reading the first noveling effort of a very young author. It had every cliche of both historical fiction and poor storytelling, and about halfway through the book I was reading it only to see how much more ridiculous it would become before the end. All the characters are flat stereotypes, either completely good or fully evil; there's an attempt to explain the Bad Guy's fall, which isn't convincing, and there's an even more improbable suggestion of redemption. The Good Guy, on the other hand, is entirely good - and also rich and intelligent and unbelievably lucky. The woman they both love is also perfect: beautiful, smart, and a bestselling author after her first writing attempt. Everything in the book seems to happen because Da Chen needs it to happen, not because it's the logical outcome of what's gone before, and what were supposed to be plot twists or important revelations felt like weak attempts at surprising the reader.
More inexcusable than weak plot development is the "historical" setting of the book. China in the 1960s through the 1990s is not just the background of the story, oh no - of course, the characters are each intimately involved in pretty much everything that happened during that period. One character is the grandson of Mao's two closest advisors, the other effortlessly becomes "Heng Tu's" right-hand man, and their personal battles are what provoked the Tiananmen Square incident. Okay, sure.
The icing on the cake is Da Chen's frequently peculiar word choices. I don't mind unusual metaphors or creative language, but words like "unforetelling" and "creeked" (a small sample of what I can remember) were odd enough to take me right out of the story while I pondered what they actually meant.
I'm giving this two stars rather than one because I admit it was entertaining. It reminded me of a poorly-written, big-budget Hollywood costume piece, having little to do with history or storytelling but everything to do with its creator's ego and self-indulgent fantasies.
More inexcusable than weak plot development is the "historical" setting of the book. China in the 1960s through the 1990s is not just the background of the story, oh no - of course, the characters are each intimately involved in pretty much everything that happened during that period. One character is the grandson of Mao's two closest advisors, the other effortlessly becomes "Heng Tu's" right-hand man, and their personal battles are what provoked the Tiananmen Square incident. Okay, sure.
The icing on the cake is Da Chen's frequently peculiar word choices. I don't mind unusual metaphors or creative language, but words like "unforetelling" and "creeked" (a small sample of what I can remember) were odd enough to take me right out of the story while I pondered what they actually meant.
I'm giving this two stars rather than one because I admit it was entertaining. It reminded me of a poorly-written, big-budget Hollywood costume piece, having little to do with history or storytelling but everything to do with its creator's ego and self-indulgent fantasies.
May 3, 2007
I have been fascinated for a very long time by Asia generally and China specifically. I’ve done a lot of reading about Chinese history, especially Chinese history from the end of the empire to today. Oddly enough, I have learned more about the Chinese people and culture from reading novels by Chinese authors than I have from any work of non-fiction. This book fits into this trend perfectly. Brothers tells the story of two half-brothers, fathered by the favorite son of two of the most powerful families in Maoist China. Each brother has the intelligence and the drive to become great and do great things. However, over the course of the Vietnam war, the Cultural Revolution, the death of Mao, and the opening of communist China to the west, the brother who seemed to be the favorite son finds himself brought low, while the bastard son is elevated to the highest levels. Not only does this story illustrate so much of what is wrong with China and so much of what could be right, it also shows how people with the best motives can find themselves in a position of doing horrible things.
March 17, 2013
The writer/librarian Nancy Pearl suggests that if you are unsure if you like a book you are currently reading, subtract your age from the number 100 and the remaining number is the amount of pages you should slog through before giving up...well, just because it started out in a promising way, i gave Brothers a few more pages than that before I threw in the towel. The set up is good, the development not so. Two brothers, two lives, one love, who cares....
April 14, 2019
Yes, I read the whole thing, and yes, it was very entertaining, but in a junk-food-Hollywood-action-movie kind of way, which was totally not what I was expecting. This is an absolutely ridiculous novel on every level and I figured author Da Chen had made it that way intentionally until I read his nauseatingly earnest and self-congratulating afterword. Give me a break.
December 12, 2008
This book was jam backed with love, tragedy, hatred, revenge and forgiveness. I cried at the end. I gave this book a five but maybe it's just the right time in my life to read something like this where I can really appreciate all the aspects this book offered.
December 12, 2021
It started with a seventeen-year-old becoming a sex god in five sessions and somehow went downhill from there.
June 11, 2020
A estória de 2 irmãos que crescem em condições diferentes e têm seus caminhos cruzados não foge de nenhum clichê que você já imagina: Tan, o filho legítimo de um general chinês, cresce em meio às regalias que a sua posição social proporciona; já Shento, o filho ilegítimo, come o pão que o diabo (comunista) amassou.
Em dado momento, a maré de azar dos dois se inverte, a família de Tan cai em desgraça com o governo e é expulsa da cidade, enquanto Shento entra numa espécie de organização paramilitar que o alçará às esferas mais altas do poder. Acompanhamos assim o crescimento dos irmãos por anos, numa imersão bem interessante na sociedade chinesa dos anos 70 e 80, misturando ficção e realidade, mostrando a transição que ocorre após a morte de Mao.
Tudo enfim caminha como esperado, para um inevitável confronto entre os 2 irmãos, com Tan ressurgindo como um grande empresário e Shento já consagrado como o principal nome da segurança institucional do Governo chinês. Para piorar, os 2 disputam o amor da mesma mulher, que Shento conheceu num reformatório e Tan nos seus dias de exílio.
Apesar de uma narrativa bem conduzida, a visão maniqueísta com que o autor caminha a resolução do conflito foi bem decepcionante, exagerando demais nas características positivas de um e negativas do outro.
Tenho a impressão que teríamos um desfecho muito mais interessante se os 2 irmãos mantivessem suas virtudes inicialmente destacadas, e apresentassem ao longo dos anos um comportamento sem grandes desvios éticos, pavimentando uma eventual “disputa” (nem que seja apenas no campo sentimental, ligado ao amor do pai e de Sumi) muito mais difícil e, sobretudo, polêmica.
Em dado momento, a maré de azar dos dois se inverte, a família de Tan cai em desgraça com o governo e é expulsa da cidade, enquanto Shento entra numa espécie de organização paramilitar que o alçará às esferas mais altas do poder. Acompanhamos assim o crescimento dos irmãos por anos, numa imersão bem interessante na sociedade chinesa dos anos 70 e 80, misturando ficção e realidade, mostrando a transição que ocorre após a morte de Mao.
Tudo enfim caminha como esperado, para um inevitável confronto entre os 2 irmãos, com Tan ressurgindo como um grande empresário e Shento já consagrado como o principal nome da segurança institucional do Governo chinês. Para piorar, os 2 disputam o amor da mesma mulher, que Shento conheceu num reformatório e Tan nos seus dias de exílio.
Apesar de uma narrativa bem conduzida, a visão maniqueísta com que o autor caminha a resolução do conflito foi bem decepcionante, exagerando demais nas características positivas de um e negativas do outro.
Tenho a impressão que teríamos um desfecho muito mais interessante se os 2 irmãos mantivessem suas virtudes inicialmente destacadas, e apresentassem ao longo dos anos um comportamento sem grandes desvios éticos, pavimentando uma eventual “disputa” (nem que seja apenas no campo sentimental, ligado ao amor do pai e de Sumi) muito mais difícil e, sobretudo, polêmica.
October 8, 2016
3.0
Read the author's bio to be sure of his language skills with English; he attended Columbia Law School after emigrating from southern China. His bio is in fact more interesting than the book though the story has parallels with his life in China and here.
Almost gave this title a 2 star due to its flat description, and occasional odd word usage ( noted by another review here). If he were attempting to imitate Hemingway, it did not suit the subject matter. Characters tend to be 2-dimensional when each could easily have more depth. The events occur as a backdrop or an all too convenient plot mechanism; in either case, more details would have added much to the story.
And like many titles from the publishing congloms, this story has been edited and dumbed down to a truly annoying degree. It has little to do with the author's linguistic ability for on occasion he soars. Someone really fluffed doing the edit including the line edit --- at times words are missing and there are glaring examples of misuse/misspelling like " discrete" rather than discreet with reference to a waiter ( ca. page 296 in hardbound). Please, don't EVER diss an indie title again for editing/typos issues. The trad titles are replete with them. Or should we say, repleat ? Hah!
Read the author's bio to be sure of his language skills with English; he attended Columbia Law School after emigrating from southern China. His bio is in fact more interesting than the book though the story has parallels with his life in China and here.
Almost gave this title a 2 star due to its flat description, and occasional odd word usage ( noted by another review here). If he were attempting to imitate Hemingway, it did not suit the subject matter. Characters tend to be 2-dimensional when each could easily have more depth. The events occur as a backdrop or an all too convenient plot mechanism; in either case, more details would have added much to the story.
And like many titles from the publishing congloms, this story has been edited and dumbed down to a truly annoying degree. It has little to do with the author's linguistic ability for on occasion he soars. Someone really fluffed doing the edit including the line edit --- at times words are missing and there are glaring examples of misuse/misspelling like " discrete" rather than discreet with reference to a waiter ( ca. page 296 in hardbound). Please, don't EVER diss an indie title again for editing/typos issues. The trad titles are replete with them. Or should we say, repleat ? Hah!
March 29, 2010
This one caught me by surprise. Originally assigned for an eastern literature class, this one caught my attention because of the use of poetic description, as well as its grand scope, taking place from China's Cultural Revolution to modern times, and covering an entire family's struggle. Nothing too deep or thought provoking, but certainly worth picking up.
November 14, 2008
Interesting historical/family drama seen through the lens of three generations of Chinese men - two brothers, one growing up as a revered son, the other a bastard. Their lives continue to intersect through time and relationships.
June 26, 2008
Some revealing glimpses into Modern Day China and the monumental issues the country still faces. A most fascinating novel. I found it to be a page-turner.
April 18, 2020
The first 75% of the book was a strong 4 star - classic dickensian structure of two brothers separated at birth and following their different and intersecting paths through maoist and post maoist china. But the last 25% tried to turn it into a confrontation between them that didn't work and by the end got downright silly.
October 22, 2017
Truly wonderful read. Heart wrenching at times, but beautiful at the same time.
April 7, 2021
Não recordo quando fiz a leitura, talvez há mais de dez anos, mas até hoje lembro da intensidade da história. Vou reler para reencontrar os personagens :)
April 2, 2026
One of the worst books I’ve read ! To tie in the deaths of real people as the ending of the book (and pretend that it was to do with these made up characters) is ridiculous
September 19, 2022
This books has a great plot but suffers from extremely bad execution. The pase is awful, everything has the same weight, the author misses every chance of making an impact with twists and reveals, and the whole 500 pages have the same tone. Awful.
February 24, 2013
Gute Brüder kann niemand trennen
Shento und Tan sind die (Halb-)Brüder, deren Biografie diesen Roman ausmachen. Immer abwechselnd wird pro Kapitel die Lebensgeschichte der beiden sich so ähnlichen Charaktere vorangetrieben. Der eine wächst in einem Umfeld einer hochdekorierten Familie von Generälen und Bankern auf, der andere, ein "Unfall" des Vaters des erstgenannten, durchlebt als Waise die Armut und Grausamkeit des kulturrevolutionären Mao-Chinas. Der Autor Da Chen schildert in einer sehr spannenden Art und Weise, wie sich die Biografien der beiden Brüder in Wellenbewegungen voneinander weg und wieder aufeinander zu bewegen. Durch Nebenpersonen sind die beiden immer verbunden, ohne sich selbst zu kennen.
Gerade in der Schilderung der Grausamkeiten des Mao- und Postmao-Chinas glänzt Da Chen: Die Darstellung der brutalen Umerziehungsschule, die letztlich nichts anderes als eine Sklavenfarm ist, in der das Gesetz des Stärkeren regiert, oder der Unwägbarkeiten des Deng-Regimes, in dem nichts mehr verlässlich war und jeder innerhalb von Momenten von einem Günstling zu einem Staatsfeind und umgekehrt werden konnte. Folterungen und Mord sind an der Tagesordnung, das Lebensglück eines Einzelnen ist nichts wert. Eine sehr harte Welt; es täte gut, dass wir uns im Westen mit unserem gemütlichen Lebensstil ihr immer wieder gewahr werden, und uns klarmachen, dass wir um jeden Preis verhindern müssen, in so ein Stadium, in dem gerade wir in Deutschland uns auch einmal befanden, zurückzufallen. Solche Romane wie "Brothers" sind daher neben der Unterhaltung ein mächtiges Erziehungswerkzeug.
Was mir aber den ganzen Genuss extrem verdirbt, sind die offensichtlichen Fehler, die überall im Roman auftauchen. Da wird die Tang-Dynastie auf 840 vor Christus statt nach Christus verortet (S.20), ein chinesisches "li" als das Äquivalent einer Meile dargestellt statt eines halben Kilometers (S. 105), "Dream of Red Mansions" als "erotica" bezeichnet (S. 123), bis hin zur hanebüchenen Andeutung, Zhuge Liang (von dem der Autor annimmt, sein Familienname sei "Zhu") wäre eine Figur, die in Sunzis "Kunst des Krieges" auftauche (S. 117f) - das lässt mir die Haare zu Berge stehen. Solche Fehler werfen mich regelmäßig aus dem Lesefluss, vor allem, weil gerade ein Autor mit chinesischen Wurzeln wie Da Chen, der einen Großteil seines Lebens sogar in China verbracht hat, für solche Dinge ein besseres Gefühl haben müsste. Die Transskription der chinesischen Bezeichnungen und Eigennamen ist ähnlich chaotisch: völlig ohne Konzept verwendet der Autor Pinyin, Wade-Giles und eine eigene seltsame Transskription wild durcheinander. Das alles führt dazu, dass der Roman nicht authentisch wirkt.
Auch unabhängig von solchen faktischen Fehlern, findet man immer wieder knirschende, sehr für den westlichen Leser konstruierte Dialoge, in denen chinesische Eigenheiten im Gespräch erklärt werden, die für jeden Chinesen klar sind, und daher solche Dialoge nie stattfinden würden (z.B. wenn der chinesische Junge den Namen "Hei Gou" erst versteht, wenn er als "Black Dog" übersetzt wird, oder er in der Diskussion um Xinjiang die völlig konstruierte Nachfrage "The Chinese Siberia?" stellen muss (S.111), ähnlich später "The Chinese KGB" usw.). Insgesamt scheint mir, dass die meisten Dialoge irgendwie fremdartig wirken, kein Mensch, auch nicht in China, spricht so. Dazu hat der Autor oft einen unsäglichen Hauptsatz-für-Hauptsatz-Stil, der äußerst abgehackt und wenig literarisch herüberkommt. Meine ganzen Kritikpunkte bessern sich mit der zweiten Hälfte des Romans etwas; ab da scheint der Autor seinen Fluss gefunden zu haben (und vielleicht hat der Lektor dann auch mal Tacheles geredet).
Auf der materiellen Seite sieht das ganze anders aus: Ein sehr schön gestaltetes Hardcover mit ansprechendem Schutzumschlag, einem angenehmen Druckbild und viel Weißraum bietet dem Auge einiges, dazu ein gelungener Rough Cut; das Papier ist sehr dick.
Fazit: Zuviele handwerkliche Mängel des Autors verderben dem Leser also den Spaß an einem Roman, der ansonsten durchaus großes Potenzial gehabt hätte.
Shento und Tan sind die (Halb-)Brüder, deren Biografie diesen Roman ausmachen. Immer abwechselnd wird pro Kapitel die Lebensgeschichte der beiden sich so ähnlichen Charaktere vorangetrieben. Der eine wächst in einem Umfeld einer hochdekorierten Familie von Generälen und Bankern auf, der andere, ein "Unfall" des Vaters des erstgenannten, durchlebt als Waise die Armut und Grausamkeit des kulturrevolutionären Mao-Chinas. Der Autor Da Chen schildert in einer sehr spannenden Art und Weise, wie sich die Biografien der beiden Brüder in Wellenbewegungen voneinander weg und wieder aufeinander zu bewegen. Durch Nebenpersonen sind die beiden immer verbunden, ohne sich selbst zu kennen.
Gerade in der Schilderung der Grausamkeiten des Mao- und Postmao-Chinas glänzt Da Chen: Die Darstellung der brutalen Umerziehungsschule, die letztlich nichts anderes als eine Sklavenfarm ist, in der das Gesetz des Stärkeren regiert, oder der Unwägbarkeiten des Deng-Regimes, in dem nichts mehr verlässlich war und jeder innerhalb von Momenten von einem Günstling zu einem Staatsfeind und umgekehrt werden konnte. Folterungen und Mord sind an der Tagesordnung, das Lebensglück eines Einzelnen ist nichts wert. Eine sehr harte Welt; es täte gut, dass wir uns im Westen mit unserem gemütlichen Lebensstil ihr immer wieder gewahr werden, und uns klarmachen, dass wir um jeden Preis verhindern müssen, in so ein Stadium, in dem gerade wir in Deutschland uns auch einmal befanden, zurückzufallen. Solche Romane wie "Brothers" sind daher neben der Unterhaltung ein mächtiges Erziehungswerkzeug.
Was mir aber den ganzen Genuss extrem verdirbt, sind die offensichtlichen Fehler, die überall im Roman auftauchen. Da wird die Tang-Dynastie auf 840 vor Christus statt nach Christus verortet (S.20), ein chinesisches "li" als das Äquivalent einer Meile dargestellt statt eines halben Kilometers (S. 105), "Dream of Red Mansions" als "erotica" bezeichnet (S. 123), bis hin zur hanebüchenen Andeutung, Zhuge Liang (von dem der Autor annimmt, sein Familienname sei "Zhu") wäre eine Figur, die in Sunzis "Kunst des Krieges" auftauche (S. 117f) - das lässt mir die Haare zu Berge stehen. Solche Fehler werfen mich regelmäßig aus dem Lesefluss, vor allem, weil gerade ein Autor mit chinesischen Wurzeln wie Da Chen, der einen Großteil seines Lebens sogar in China verbracht hat, für solche Dinge ein besseres Gefühl haben müsste. Die Transskription der chinesischen Bezeichnungen und Eigennamen ist ähnlich chaotisch: völlig ohne Konzept verwendet der Autor Pinyin, Wade-Giles und eine eigene seltsame Transskription wild durcheinander. Das alles führt dazu, dass der Roman nicht authentisch wirkt.
Auch unabhängig von solchen faktischen Fehlern, findet man immer wieder knirschende, sehr für den westlichen Leser konstruierte Dialoge, in denen chinesische Eigenheiten im Gespräch erklärt werden, die für jeden Chinesen klar sind, und daher solche Dialoge nie stattfinden würden (z.B. wenn der chinesische Junge den Namen "Hei Gou" erst versteht, wenn er als "Black Dog" übersetzt wird, oder er in der Diskussion um Xinjiang die völlig konstruierte Nachfrage "The Chinese Siberia?" stellen muss (S.111), ähnlich später "The Chinese KGB" usw.). Insgesamt scheint mir, dass die meisten Dialoge irgendwie fremdartig wirken, kein Mensch, auch nicht in China, spricht so. Dazu hat der Autor oft einen unsäglichen Hauptsatz-für-Hauptsatz-Stil, der äußerst abgehackt und wenig literarisch herüberkommt. Meine ganzen Kritikpunkte bessern sich mit der zweiten Hälfte des Romans etwas; ab da scheint der Autor seinen Fluss gefunden zu haben (und vielleicht hat der Lektor dann auch mal Tacheles geredet).
Auf der materiellen Seite sieht das ganze anders aus: Ein sehr schön gestaltetes Hardcover mit ansprechendem Schutzumschlag, einem angenehmen Druckbild und viel Weißraum bietet dem Auge einiges, dazu ein gelungener Rough Cut; das Papier ist sehr dick.
Fazit: Zuviele handwerkliche Mängel des Autors verderben dem Leser also den Spaß an einem Roman, der ansonsten durchaus großes Potenzial gehabt hätte.
Read
June 10, 2010This is an historical fiction book about the China’s Cultural Revolution about a general and his two sons. In Brothers by Dan Chen, Shento one of the narrators ask Budda and Sumi, the one he loves for forgiveness. Similar to Leonka’s situation in The Kitchen Boy, he hid the note, however, it was lost. Shento ask Sumi for forgiveness for harming her and cutting off her tongue because she was an anti-Communist. “Forgive me that I have sinned. Spare me a chance so that I can redeem, act by act, the wrongs, the sins, countless that they might be. I am ripe for new beginning; it can only be granted by your grace” (Chen 408). Both narrators ask forgiveness for their guilt because of the effect of war. War not only is the conflict for many historical fictions but also is a conflict for their romance. Both are dealing not only with man vs. self conflict but also with man vs. man and man vs. society because of the time period the protagonist grew up living in shape how they view society politically. Although, the narrators do not share the same political viewpoints, how can they set aside differences and share a common noble goal instead of complete with assassinations, love affairs and desires.
February 14, 2018
A male fantasy. That’s how I would summarize this book. It does start off well but quickly becomes a fantastical tale of two brothers of superheroic proportions. The overly perfect protagonists make the story unrelatable. The author writes beautifully at times but overuses flowery language and melodramatic romance to the point it becomes another annoyance. As other reviewers have noticed, his word choice can be distracting, if not jarring, at times. The worst example of this to me is his continual use of the word « soiled » to describe a man reaching climax and, at the end, to describe Shento’s fallen state in an otherwise moving last letter from Shento to Sumi. Cringed every time.
June 14, 2008
I really liked this book. Da Chen was such an amazing writer, with his discriptions of what was going on in the two brother's lives, I really felt what they were going through and was cheering them both on.
The thing that kept this book from being a five-star is the ending. You end up wanting both brothers to find happiness - but in the end neither of them do. Not that I think a happy ending could have necessarily fit in with the rest of the book, I just felt empty after finishing the book. In my mind nothing was really solved, the book just kind of left you there wishing for more.
The thing that kept this book from being a five-star is the ending. You end up wanting both brothers to find happiness - but in the end neither of them do. Not that I think a happy ending could have necessarily fit in with the rest of the book, I just felt empty after finishing the book. In my mind nothing was really solved, the book just kind of left you there wishing for more.
August 4, 2009
Yet another powerful novel of intense personal drama set in the context of the turbulent politics of Communist China. Told primarily in the voices of two sons (one legitimate & one illegitimate, orphaned, & unacknowledged) of a powerful Chinese general, later discredited, and of the woman they both love, it's like a 19th-century Russian novel--or one of Dickens, whom a couple of the characters in the book admire--in ambition, scope, and unlikely coincidences, on the verge of melodrama, but with a story so moving you don't really care.
February 21, 2008
The story of two brothers, growing up in different families not know the other exhists, and how fate brings them together. Both brothers are good and evil. I fell in love with Shento and hated Tao in the the beginning. Then my feelings turned mid-book only to determine that fate was cruel and that I loved both brothers by the end of the book.
September 11, 2015
Ugh! Avoid, avoid, avoid. I couldn't even finish it. Life's too short--though this book will make it seem infinitely longer! I do not understand all the fours and fives! This is the most hackneyed, melodramatic, shallowly written piece of drivel it's been my misfortune to read.
February 19, 2008
An intriquing plot poorly executed. After the upteenth cringe-worthy passage, I put it down half read.
January 23, 2008
this was also a book club recommendation, but I just couldn't get into it. I only read 75 pages and took it back to the library, boring to me.
February 17, 2008
Thought it would give me some cultural and historical insight. The flow of the read was not smooth at all. I was bewildered most of the time.
December 3, 2017
Not the type of book that I'll remember in the future...
August 14, 2012
This is one of my all-time favorite books, ever, across all genres.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 173 reviews