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Black Out
by
Lisa Unger (Goodreads Author)
When my mother named me Ophelia, she thought she was being literary. She didn’t realize she was being tragic.
On the surface, Annie Powers’s life in a wealthy Floridian suburb is happy and idyllic. Her husband, Gray, loves her fiercely; together, they dote on their beautiful young daughter, Victory. But the bubble surrounding Annie is pricked when she senses that the demons...more
On the surface, Annie Powers’s life in a wealthy Floridian suburb is happy and idyllic. Her husband, Gray, loves her fiercely; together, they dote on their beautiful young daughter, Victory. But the bubble surrounding Annie is pricked when she senses that the demons...more
Hardcover, 368 pages
Published
May 27th 2008
by Shaye Areheart Books
(first published May 1st 2008)
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A lot of unfulfilled potential. Not recommended. Below is a breakdown of my rating:
Enjoyability: 3
Re-Readability: 1
Character Development: 2
Complexity: 3.5
Writing Style: 2
Believability: 2
Overall: 2.25
I picked this book up to read over vacation because I liked the description of the plot. The book started out rather slow; a lot of recounting of past events. In fact, after the first two chapters, I started over and re-read them to try...more
Enjoyability: 3
Re-Readability: 1
Character Development: 2
Complexity: 3.5
Writing Style: 2
Believability: 2
Overall: 2.25
I picked this book up to read over vacation because I liked the description of the plot. The book started out rather slow; a lot of recounting of past events. In fact, after the first two chapters, I started over and re-read them to try...more
This is the first time I've read anything by Unger, but she has now earned a place on my list of "newly-discovered-and-now-in-complete-awe-of" authors! I can't wait to read all of her other works.
For the past three days, I have been completely immersed in this book, only putting it down when it was necessary to deal with certain real-life issues and get some sleep. It grabbed hold of me and refused to let go until I'd finished the very last page. The main character is Anni...more
For the past three days, I have been completely immersed in this book, only putting it down when it was necessary to deal with certain real-life issues and get some sleep. It grabbed hold of me and refused to let go until I'd finished the very last page. The main character is Anni...more
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I think, initially, I wanted to be persnickety about some things like character voice (a trailer trash girl with a GED who uses whom/whomever in speech, for instance -- and how convenient it was they had so much money that they could hire planes, boats, etc.), but then the story sucked me in, and I didn't give a rat's ass if it was written the way I would have, and I gave myself over to the story.
The mystery is like a set of Russian nesting dolls. Every time you think you know what's...more
The mystery is like a set of Russian nesting dolls. Every time you think you know what's...more
I wanted to like this, I really did. But I put it down about 150 pages in and just had no desire to pick it up again, even after renewing it at the library. There was so much potential for a good psychological suspense novel, but I never felt much suspense in the chapters that I read, and when I did, it turned out to be a dream or was written off in some other way.
I do admit that the author is a good writer, and there were some well-crafted passages. And as hesitant I was about th...more
I do admit that the author is a good writer, and there were some well-crafted passages. And as hesitant I was about th...more
Kathy
added it
Recommends it for:
Absolutely NO ONE!!!!
Recommended to Kathy by:
I had read other books by this author.
What was real? What was imaginary? I feel like I need to check into a mental hospital after reading this book. Black Out really messes with your mind and not in a good way. It is very doubtful that I will read any other Lisa Unger books. I was left to wonder....what happened?
Great read! I picked the book up for about $8 at my local Wal-Mart; and devoured it in a weekend. It was interesting to read, great character development, good plot line that moved at a great pace.
I loved how the novel would jump between the far past, the near past, and the present... all creating a cohesive story that was intriguing. This writing technique allowed us to relate to the struggles of Annie as she tried to piece together what she had forgotten long ago; it also was an...more
I loved how the novel would jump between the far past, the near past, and the present... all creating a cohesive story that was intriguing. This writing technique allowed us to relate to the struggles of Annie as she tried to piece together what she had forgotten long ago; it also was an...more
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Jeffrey
rated it
Recommends it for:
Suspense fans of psychologic thrillers.
Shelves:
thriller,
read-in-2008
A long time ago I read early Mary Higgens Clark novels in which a woman has to fight off an attacker. Black Out is very reminiscent of those books but its also extemely convoluted. The action takes place both in the past and the present as the author Unger presents both parts of her main character's life. When Ophelia was a teenager, her mother married a convict who was in prison for murder and rape. At the same time, the convict's son -- Marlowe Geary comes to live with Ophelia and her moth...more
An amazing, thrilling, soulsearching book that I couldn't put down. Lisa writes in a profound way, with sentences and choices of words that make me re-read paragraphs without it jarring me one little bit. I cared for the protagonist, the "I" in the story, from the first page, even if I normally shy away from stories written in the first person. This is the only way, IMHO, that Lisa could've written this story, because we needed to be in Annie/Ophelia's head to understand what she was g...more
I can't read Lisa Unger's books fast enough...
Annie Powers is a wealthy homemaker, happily married to Gray and mother to a beautiful four year old daughter, Victory. But all is not what it seems and there are ghosts and demons from her past haunting her apparently perfect and beautiful life.
A lifetime and not very long ago Annie was Ophelia March a young girl living a trouble life on the run with a man she thought she loved.
Now the past has intruded on the ...more
Annie Powers is a wealthy homemaker, happily married to Gray and mother to a beautiful four year old daughter, Victory. But all is not what it seems and there are ghosts and demons from her past haunting her apparently perfect and beautiful life.
A lifetime and not very long ago Annie was Ophelia March a young girl living a trouble life on the run with a man she thought she loved.
Now the past has intruded on the ...more
There were some things about this that were hard to follow, especially the way it kept changing verb tense. Overall, though, it was a good psychological thriller. Lisa Unger always tucks some interesting insights into her novels, which are easy to miss but worth watching for.
"Most of us don't live in the present tense. We dwell in a mental place where our regrets and grudges from our past compete with our fears about the future. Sometimes we barely notice what's going on around...more
"Most of us don't live in the present tense. We dwell in a mental place where our regrets and grudges from our past compete with our fears about the future. Sometimes we barely notice what's going on around...more
Told in alternating chapters of the past and the present, we slowly begin to realize that all is not well with Annie/Ophelia. Given her mental status, the reader begins to wonder how much of what she says is the truth and how much of it is just in her head. The truth is made harder to see given that everyone around her seems to be lying, all for various reasons. Although certain parts of the ending begin to be easily predicted about half-way through, this is an entertaining psychological thrill...more
Muito, muito bom! Esta colecção Minutos Contados tem de facto uma selecção de autores e títulos perfeitos para os apreciadores de suspense e emoção. Livros que realmente prendem até à última página e fazem com que se queira aproveitar todos os momentos "só para ler mais um bocadinho". Foi o que me aconteceu... Cada momentinho livre que tinha, lá ia eu ler mais um capítulo.
Pela voz de Annie somos conduzidos pelos acontecimentos que desestabilizaram a sua vida (semi) serena e t...more
Pela voz de Annie somos conduzidos pelos acontecimentos que desestabilizaram a sua vida (semi) serena e t...more
This book really played with your mind. It was hard to tell what was real, fantasy, or a dream. This was to reflect the turmoil the main character Annie endured as she was trying to live in the present while fighting an unresolved past.
"The truth is that I may never be fully able to discern between the actual events-or people-in my recent life and the dreams created by my psyche to heal itself. Sometimes I'm not so sure it matters."
This book was ok. It had too much...more
"The truth is that I may never be fully able to discern between the actual events-or people-in my recent life and the dreams created by my psyche to heal itself. Sometimes I'm not so sure it matters."
This book was ok. It had too much...more
Twisty and intriguing. Much of the first part of the book consists of fragments and threads of two and sometimes three periods in the main characters life. I really enjoyed keeping up with all the curveballs Unger threw, as well as trying to piece together the clues and noting the parallels between the various relationships I read about and the actions the main character did and did not take. Clever and highly readable.
Wow, this book has a lot of bizarre narrative. It's my first Unger book and I'm not sure if I'm going to delve into any more. I like a mystery. I like a good thriller. But when the character has to warn us in the beginning that things aren't good it just seems too much protestation and sometimes the books can't live up to the claims and suspense.
Black Out wasn't bad, it was just long. And not good Harry Potter long, more long winded, repeating some of the same story lines over and o...more
Black Out wasn't bad, it was just long. And not good Harry Potter long, more long winded, repeating some of the same story lines over and o...more
I'm pretty torn on this one. The story was great, as all of the stories I've read by Lisa Unger are. I really, really dislike first-person present-tense, though, so even though I understood why she chose it for this book, it really pulled me out of the story more than I would have liked. There were three different time streams going on, all of the in first-person present-tense, and usually no indication that we were switching other than maybe a page break. I eventually got used to the time-hoppi...more
There is the possibility I will go back and finish this but I needed to start the Pillars of the earth for a book club and I was just not into this book enough to keep going as I was only half done.
I applaud the writer of this book for a very well-planned out plot and all the thought she must have put into this. It is good as a psychological thriller. For pure entertainment, it is pretty disturbing, and possibly could have stopped with like 5 less plot twists but still a good book.
Complicated, engaging, intriguing. The main character has breaks with reality so the reader isn't always sure what is present/past, real/imaginary. Comes together nicely in the end with enough loose ends to be consistent with the established psychological state.
Unger is a master. I wish I had more time to read everything she's written. She's sort of dark, but can really weave a good one.
After sticking this book out through its confusing state, Im feeling let down with the ending. I wonder if the author was just tired of writing it by that time, and the last two chapters could have been left out completely.
I thought it was so/so. Sometimes a convoluted plot is a good thing with a thriller, but here - not so much. Plot twists were predictable, and overall I found it underwhelming.
When i brought this book, I knew it wasn't the type that I would usuall get, but decided to give it a go anyway. I found myself drifting from interested to bored of this book, easily back and forth. I felt that some subjects didn't need to be lingered on for so long. At multiple times i nearly just gave up on it and was about to stop reading and found that i had to actually push myself to continue till the end. I do admit the last few chapters help my attention but was probably due to the fact I...more
After I finished this in one day. I went out and bought 2 more of her books. I would have bought 3 but Borders was out of Sliver of Truth.
I'll get it, though.
I'll get it, though.
I got hooked on this author after reading her two previous books. I love her writing style. The suspense was so intense it had me looking over my shoulder when I went outside. I love twists in a story, and this one has plenty. At times, however, it was a little too complex. I had to stop and really think many times to try to figure out what just happened. There are so many loose ends, though, that I feel like there might be a sequel coming. Her first book, "Beautiful Lies" ended...more
This book kept me on the edge of my seat! The author writes in the present time but also recalls her past at the same time. Great writing.
Well this was my first Lisa Unger and I am not sure if I will try another one anytime soon. It was a very confusing read, bouncing between the past, the present and the confused recollections of a very confused principal character. In the present Annie Powers is a mother with a young daughter and a loving husband and in-laws living in a posh development in Florida. In the past Ophelia March is the daughter of a poor mother who has fixated on getting a new trial for a convicted murderer. The ...more
This book had a lot of interesting twists and turns. After finishing it, I found myself thinking about it a lot.
A woman's past catches up to her and threatens to destroy her. One of the most suspensful books I've ever read.
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Lisa Unger is an award-winning New York Times and international bestselling author. Her novels have sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. and have been translated into 26 different languages.
Her writing has been hailed as “masterful” (St. Petersburg Times), “sensational” (Publishers Weekly) and “sophisticated” (New York Daily News) with “gripping narrative and evocative, muscular pros...more
More about Lisa Unger...
Her writing has been hailed as “masterful” (St. Petersburg Times), “sensational” (Publishers Weekly) and “sophisticated” (New York Daily News) with “gripping narrative and evocative, muscular pros...more
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