I started out loving this series, but as I continued to read (and I read all 10 books), my disappointment grew to the point where I considered just dropping the whole enterprise. Review #4 Audio The Long Way Home narrated by Ralph Cosham The book before this one was so strong…I guess one person can only write so many excellent novels. I need time to pass so I can try to re-encounter the characters with a fresh mind and not with the taint of this story on my mind. I lost some faith in the author at this point. I am going to wait awhile before reading the next book. As others have said – skip this one and go onto the next. Working it through would have been a story more in keeping with Three Pines as a mostly-idyllic place and perhaps more aligned with the philosophy and spiritual message I thought the author was going for.) But the way he dies is frustratingly dumb. (I personally would have preferred his redemption and maturing. Peter dies…that’s fine…it was probably time for his character to move out of the story. And the whole thing was weighed down by way too much focus on Peter’s paintings and making unreasonable extrapolations of meaning from them. The plot seemed to have some clever parts in retrospect – but was badly executed. The “evil-doers” aren’t fleshed out enough that you care or really understand their motivation. The detectives for the most part tag along – only really taking the lead as professionals at the end. The characters seemed to be not quite themselves. All of that is said to clarify my concern about this novel. But I got that the author was making an important point through him about what it means to be authentic as an artist, and to love another enough to not feel jealousy at their success. I always found the character of Peter somewhat annoying and a bit hard to believe. I got more attached to Three Pines and to the characters – so that I looked forward to engaging with them again. But overall the novels improved from one to the next, her writing getting stronger. I like spirituality and art – but at times the time spent seemed “off” – like the author was trying to use the novel to teach something rather than advancing the story and deepening the characters. I was willing to look past the times when it seemed that the author spent too much time on an analysis of spirituality, art or something else. And please do something with Ruth’s character other than making her a drunk duck woman. ![]() I really really want to love these books, but Ms. What in the heck was all that nonsense about cosmic gardens, stone bunnies, muses, and asbestos? Sounds like an LSD trip to me. Worse than caffeine lady getting electrocuted by a lawn chair. ![]() ![]() Loved the past one with the shoot out at the end. Despite the flaws, I have truly enjoyed some of the books. ![]() Penny will go on rants from time to time, sometimes lasting many pages, about things that leave you wondering, “What does this have to do with anything?” And the repetition! Yes we get that Gamache smells of sandalwood and rosewater. My first yelling event was book 2 or 3 when we were asked to blindly accept that a 12 year old girl gave her Mom excess caffeine so she would have a hot flash, pull off her gloves, touch a metal chair while standing in a puddle and be electrocuted. Sometimes (however) I just yell, “WHAT?” a lot. Sometimes its OK because the overall story line is good. You have to be willing to travel along the road of total ridiculousness and implausibility if you want to successfully navigate to the end of the book. Like others, I wanted to throw my Kindle across the room at the end.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |