Posts Tagged ‘books’
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Brilliant, fast-paced, and highly suspenseful, Tenderwire tells the story of a reckless young musician and her obsession with a very old violin. Eva Tyne leaves her home in Ireland for New York to play in the New Amsterdam Chamber Orchestra. She collapses after her solo debut, checks herself out of the hospital prematurely, and embarks on a chaotic and dangerous odyssey. She falls in love with a mysterious man and becomes obsessed with a rare violin of dubious provenance, for which she must pay in cash. But consumed by obsession, her pursuit of the violin becomes a nightmare of paranoia: Haunted by the ghost of her father, racked with jealousy, and unsure whom she can trust, Eva is pitched into a desperate psychological conundrum as her desires threaten to destroy her. Narrated in Eva's unforgettable and unreliable voice, Tenderwire is a guessing game and a whodunit that surprises at every turn. Author: Claire Kilroy |
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The synopsis grabs you and leads you to believe that the story is great. When in fact, the elements of a good story are all there; but, the author doesn't take advantage and create a cohesive tale. There are so many parts that if she had focused on making even one or two story lines INCREDIBLE; the book would have been manageable. As it stands the book is a series of events with little holding it together. |
| Rating | [Rating:2.5/5 |
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The brutal murder of the Russian Imperial family on the night of July 16–17, 1918 has long been a defining moment in world history. This book gives a riveting day-by-day account of the last fourteen days of their lives, as the conspiracy to kill them unfolded.
In the vivid style of a TV documentary, Helen Rappaport reveals both the atmosphere inside the family’s claustrophobic prison and the political maneuverings of those who wished to save—or destroy—them. With the watching world and European monarchies proving incapable of saving the Romanovs, the narrative brings this tragic story to life in a compellingly new and dramatic way, culminating in a bloody night of horror in a cramped basement room. |
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This book is atrociously BORING! NOTHING happens in the house NOTHING. Further, the idea that something is happening outside the house on all fronts is there. But, the history, people, events, etc are SO condensed and told in such a throw away manner; that it is simply IMPOSSIBLE to care. Mostly, I just wanted the book to end; which didn't happen soon enough! |
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The story is set in the early 1900s in Korea. A female child is born to a calligrapher and his wife. The child, names herself Najin. She forges her own destiny, balancing Confucian tradition of her father and the Christianity of her mother. To escape an arranged marriage, Najin goes to the emperor's palace to be a companion to the princess' which she ends up losing due to the collapse of the Dynasty. She continues to pursue her own desires to work and become educated. She meets a man and gets married . . . but sadly, never gets to spend any time with him and eventually gives him up as lost. They end up reunited and Japan surrendering. The story is OK; not gripping . . . but interesting none the less.
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The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova is a book that I have been avoiding for years. I keep looking at it; but, deciding against it. Turns out I thought it was a book that I tried to read years ago . . . guess what it is NOT that book! Read the rest of this entry »
