B Hughes

Disappointed

Revisado: 11-12-20

I love Grisham’s work and even those books that were poorly reviewed I always found interesting. This is the first Grisham I have ever struggled to finish. The first chapter is fantastic about the heist, but from there the story slogs along slowly. The characters are not compelling and it feels like everything between chapter 1 and the last 45 minutes is just random filler that wanders along aimlessly. It’s as though he had a beginning and ending and just needed packing material for the middle because it’s about as interesting as styrofoam.

At one point I almost wondered if the book was an ironic prank Grisham was playing on his readers, because at one point two characters discuss how the cannot understand how readers slog through pages of boring books just to get to the end even though they know 50 pages in that they hate it. That is exactly what happened to me with Camino Island

I never expected to give feedback like this about a Grisham book, but it felt like a complete waste of my time

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Description was misleading

Revisado: 06-14-20

I purchased this book because based on the description provided, I expected it to be a light, somewhat humorous science fiction tale. IT WAS NOT. While the story is not dark, it is very violent and there is very little humor.

That being said, it is a good story and well narrated. The author created a very different but believable universe that was incredibly interesting. While the book was not what I expected, I truly enjoyed it and was glad I made the purchase

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An interesting story that is somehow made boring

Revisado: 06-24-19

I am a huge Grisham fan and was excited for this novel, but ultimately was incredibly disappointed. The story drags at many points and feels like it is twice as long as it should be. I think the narration is a big part of the problem as it feels flat throughout even the most compelling parts of the story.

As much as I likeGrisham, I could not recommend this book.

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Ok but lacked compelling characters

Revisado: 06-24-19

This novel was just ok, both from the story and the narration angle. I enjoyed it, but not as much as I usually enjoy Grisham’s work.

To me, the main issue was that the lead character simply was not compelling. There were secondary characters that I cared about much more and wished they had Ben central to the story

Also, the narrator was acceptable, but, especially early in the book, was way too high pitched when voicing characters. There was on point where it was so bad that I thought about it finishing, but she was better as the story progressed, or perhaps I just go used to it

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Enthralling

Revisado: 06-24-19

I am a Grisham fan already and I thought this was one of his best. It strays from his traditional courthouse drama into more of a heist novel and it works exceptionally well

Just as importantly, I cannot day enough god things about the narrator. He could not have been better.

I highly recommend this very entertaining work

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Important

Revisado: 04-23-19

There are many great books, but few as important as this one. Solzhenitsyn does an amazing job of allowing the reader to truly understand the life in the camp. The fears, the exhaustion, the hunger, and the small victories. Especially now, when more around the globe seem to embracing racism and the idea of punishing their enemies; the us vs. them mentality, this book is a reminder of where that ultimately ends. It’s hard to believe it was Solzhenitsyn’s first story and clear why he later earned the Nobel prize. Even if you don’t read it for it’s importance, just read it because it is a truly compelling story.

Muller, as always, is fantastic in his narration. There is no one better, and his deep tones are perfect for this work

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Unbelievable

Revisado: 04-22-19

I read a number of other reviews that used the term unbelievable for this book, but I am using it differently. To me, i found many of the details of the book impossible to believe. First, she provides detailed accounts of thing that happened when she was 4 years old, including her reactions to those things, which seem well beyond her years. Also, all of the Masonic Templar references read more like a conspiracy out of the 1800s than the reality of the latter 20th century. Then there are clear contradictions in details - for example how she was always given food with no flavor, then later she details the pony enjoying her favorite food, spaghetti with tomato sauce. It also seems odd that she could rebel as openly as she did at times and no one even spanked her, if the atmosphere was truly as horrible as outlined at other times.

Clearly it was a terrible childhood. It certainly appears her father had mental issues and the mother enabled him, but the issue is in the details, and since the entire book is all of these stories, I see little value in it

I would have like to have heard more about her later life, her family and how she did things the same/differently than her parents, how she dealt with the challenges of her upbringing, but there is virtually none of this .

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Outstanding

Revisado: 04-20-19

Graham Greene has always been one of my favorite authors, since reading The Power and The Glory in high school over 30 years ago. The End of the Affair certainly does not disappoint, with Greene’s trademark ability to eloquently record the human conflicts and frailties that all of us feel, but tend to believe we are alone in feeling.

Colin Firth does an outstanding job as Narrator, making it easy to listen to this highly introspective story.

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I must be wrong

Revisado: 04-19-19

The reviews of this performance are fantastic, but I must be missing something. I found the story shallow and undeveloped. The performance that so many reviewers loved, seemed overly melodramatic. Like watching bad overacting.

There is much time wasted where nothing happens, like the dog getting out into the library....nothing happened. There are other stories that might have been interesting, like her attendance at a wealthy school, that are completely underdeveloped.

The worst thing is that she goes into an issue her father had, which would have an immense impact on any child, but she really fails to deal with the emotional impact on her, the way her mother would have struggled with it and why she stayed, etc. I feel like everything just skims the surface and lacks depth.

There are several reviews that mention the sound level being inconsistent, but it really isn’t. As part of her over acting, the author/narrator gets extremely loud at points, but you can tell it’s done purposely.

This was just a complete waste of time from my perspective, but again, you probably don’t want to base a decision on my review as so many seemed to love this

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Changes your perspective

Revisado: 04-19-19

Truly a great work and worthy of the awards it has earned. Take time to listen to the epilogue, because it gives great insight on the massive amount of research undertaken to create this work.

The only thing I disliked was the way it jumped between characters. There are so many and the narrator voices them similarly, so I got confused at different times

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