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Jul 30, 2011

Lisa rated it:

The Legacy, by Kirsten Tranter, was longlisted for the 2011 Miles Franklin. It’s an accomplished debut novel in many ways, but it failed to engage me in a sustained way. I read about 50 pages of it, put it aside, and forgot about it until I realised it would soon be due back at the library. And then I had to start again because I couldn’t remember what it was about.

Like Henry James’ A Portrait of a Lady, the novel from which the plot is derived, it’s more of a meditation than a pag More...

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Feb 22, 2011

switterbug (Betsey) rated it:

Every now and then, a novel comes along that is addicting. Nothing else gets done. Dinner gets burned, if it is even made, phones aren't answered, and appointments are canceled. This is one of those novels. It is seductive, darkly sexual, haunting, and even frightening. You start waiting for the penny to drop, as the pages keep turning and the clues keep mounting. This is one very hypnotic novel.

After an enigmatic prologue, this noirish book opens in Sydney, Australia. The narrator, Ju More...

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Aug 23, 2010

Carla rated it:

Great novel about the mysteries of friendship and love. Julia and Ralph have been best friends for some time as students in Sydney. When Ralph's cousin Ingrid comes to live with Ralph's family, both Ralph and Julia are meeting her for the first time. Jealous of the bond Ralph and Ingrid form, Julia still can't help being drawn to Ingrid, and the three form a friendship that lasts until Ingrid marries and moves to New York. Although Ingrid disappears in the 9/11 bombing of the World Trade Center, More...

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Oct 02, 2011

Blair rated it:

It's a little disconcerting that the plot summary on the jacket of The Legacy, and even the tagline on the cover ('what has happened to Ingrid?'), give away key points of the book's plot before you've even begun reading. The blurb describes this as a story about a young Australian woman, Ingrid, who goes missing in New York on 9/11, and the search undertaken by her two best friends, Julia (the narrator) and Ralph, to uncover the truth of what really happened to her. While it's true that this for More...

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Feb 24, 2010

Amanda rated it:

Set in Sydney and New York the story revolves around the complicated relationship between three friends and the subsequent disappearance of one of them. Ralph, Julia and later Ralph’s cousin, Ingrid, are pulled romantically in opposing directions; Ralph longs for Ingrid, Julia for Ralph. Nevertheless all three are close friends until Ingrid inherits a fortune, goes on a trip and falls for American art dealer Gil Grey.

Grey’s daughter, Fleur, is a former child prodigy revered by More...

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Oct 17, 2011

Lara rated it:

What happened to Ingrid? Centres around the narrator, Julia, who is adrift in her life and in unrequited love with her friend Ralph, the son of a wealthy Sydney family. Old money and aged leather sofas abound. Ingrid is Ralph's cousin who comes to stay and they form an odd threesome. Ingrid is part Grace Kelly, part Hitchcockian heroine. Blonde, beautiful, above average intelligance yet surreal in a way with an odd naivity. Then Ingrid comes into a large inheritance and goes to New York, meets a More...

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Jul 24, 2010

Carin rated it:

The Legacy by Kirsten Tranter. It has one of the most gorgeous covers I’ve seen. But the content is disappointing. The plot is good- girl goes missing in New York on September 11, 2001- or does she? But it doesn’t seem to execute itself well- jumping back and forth in time, vaguely alluding to events and skipping large chunks of time. After 150 pages, I gave up and read the last chapter. I still can’t tell you exactly if Isabel was killed, disappeared or simply never existed- but I don’t care. T More...

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Jan 29, 2012

Oanh rated it:

I am mostly likely going to fail to do this novel justice, but I also feel that I need to write about it now, rather than in a few days time when it will be driven out of my mind by the myriad distractions life currently presents me with.

This novel was almost meditative, aching with its drawn out story of seeking answers to the mystery of "What happened to Ingrid?" (the tagline on the front cover, although I must say my initial reaction to that was: why do I care?). I rath More...

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Oct 28, 2010

Benni rated it:

Thanks to the publisher and goodreads for the free review copy.

The Legacy focuses on Julia, Ralph, and Ingrid, three (sometimes) close friends. When Ingrid disappears in New York after the events of 9/11, Julia heads to the Big Apple to investigate.

This book is an homage to The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James; Ingrid's situation mirrors in part Isabel's in Portrait. It's quite a high order for one's first novel to be inspired by a classic work, but the author's literary More...

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Sep 24, 2011

Me rated it:

I was mostly happy with this book.Despite the inconsistently paced plot,it was addicting.I liked the writing.It fitted with the feel of the story.The characters were genuinely interesting.I particularly liked Fleur.
That being said,I wasn't happy with the time it took or the plot to pick up.I could only enjoy the last part of the book,even if the ending fell a little flat for me.The plot was sometimes speeding forward or dragging sluggishly.I think that,even though the writing wa More...

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Nov 19, 2010

Christy rated it:

I didn't read all of this, but enough to conclude that it's not for me. I found the writing a bit on the dull side and the characters profoundly uninteresting. I had great intentions of finishing it in time for book club, but after reading the first 30 to 50 pages, I found myself choosing to do just about anything other than read this book. I made a strong push the day before and slogged through to the beginning of Julia's New York investigation (where the book *finally* seemed to be picking More...

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Oct 13, 2010

Elizabeth rated it:

Kirsten Tranter’s takes us back and forth from Australia to New York City in the lives of three close friends. Friends that at times aren’t really sure how they feel about each other and have trouble expressing themselves to each other. She shows the differences between people that have money and don’t have to work and ones that sometimes struggle with paying the bills. How people take advantage of their circumstances in life and how they don’t really see that money isn’t always the answer. It a More...

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Oct 17, 2010

Karen rated it:

I liked this book despite its flaws. I liked the main character and I liked the story. I was very curious about the ending and was mostly satisfied with it. I agree with others who wrote about feeling frustrated: why did Julia take months to ask questions that were so obvious to the reader? It seemed to be a plot device to add suspense, but just ended up being frustrating to read. Some of the writing was beautiful, but it often felt the author was trying too hard to be intense and deep. The More...

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Sep 06, 2010

Dawn rated it:

Oh I don't know, maybe a 2, yet I had to finish it. So maybe a 3. I broke my own rule about giving up if I still wasn't hooked by page 100.

This is a story told by Julia featuring Ingrid who moves from Australia to NYC to marry a man, then disappears on 9/11/01. Julie works to figure out what happened. It took to page 160 to even get to 9/11/01...and it was after page 400 (of a 417 page book) that it became clear what really happened. So I guess it's a mystery novel.

More...

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Mar 13, 2011

Amy rated it:

I stayed up too late semi-finishing this book,,,,I should have know when I was a few chapters in to put it aside! It had an interesting premise-3 old friends, one missing after 9/11, and the one goes to NYC to search for clues about her life since they had lost touch. But the writing was a bit confusing, sometimes I had to reread to see when something was happening or even what was happening. I never really connected with the characters, either. I ended up skimming the end to see what happen More...

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Nov 18, 2010

Jenny rated it:

Derivative.
Do yourself a favor and read Henry James' Portrait of a Lady (the author's source idea) rather than this book.
This book is also quite similar to the movie Sleeping With the Enemy.
I found the aunt's house to be the most interesting character in this book.
The cover is boring and uninspired.
Skip the discussion questions at the end of the book- everything is already spelled out in the book itself. I do not agree with the author's choice regarding her ne More...

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Sep 21, 2011

Shannon rated it:

Julia is a student at the University of Sydney; to help pay her way, she works part-time at a video shop in Kings Cross, which is where she meets Ralph, another student, who becomes her best friend. Julia's love for Ralph is almost instant and unrequited - Ralph, bisexual at the best of times, sees her only as his friend and confidante. The two are close until the arrival of Ingrid, Ralph's cousin from Perth. She and her model sister, Victoria, are recently orphaned and Ingrid has come to live w More...

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Jan 14, 2011

James rated it:

A literary novel that borrows elements from Portrait of a Lady and The Big Sleep sounds a bit too literary and not very novel. But The Legacy isn’t all gong and no dinner. At the heart of the story is Ingrid, a luminescent lovely from Western Australia. Ingrid charms everyone on the Sydney scene, from her bisexual cousin Ralph and family friend Julia right down to Racer, the grumpy greyhound.

But when a high-flying art collector suddenly whisks the pretty heiress off to New York, Ral More...

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Dec 06, 2010

Jan rated it:

Two friends in Australia add a third when one's cousin, Ingrid comes to Sydney. Every one loves Ingrid, Ralph is obsessed with her. She meets and marries an older man and moves to New York, then goes missing after 9/11. Ralph is sickly so he sends Julia to find out what happened to Ingrid.
This is a good story that was way too long but somewhat satisfying in the end. Not a true thriller but some nice plot twists and a surprise ending.

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Oct 31, 2010

Melanie rated it:

I won this book in the goodreads giveaway. Thank you for such a good book. The story started off a bit slow, there was quite of bit of background information given on how the 3 main characters met and their relationship to each other. But I thought the writing was very beautiful. You find out right away that Ingrid goes missing and Julia begins to discover that her death/disappearance may not be as it first seems. I couldn't wait to finish this novel and the ending did not disappoint me. A More...

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Oct 08, 2010

Elizabeth added it

Kirsten Tranter’s takes us back and forth from Australia to New York City in the lives of three close friends. Friends that at times aren’t really sure how they feel about each other and have trouble expressing themselves to each other. She shows the differences between people that have money and don’t have to work and ones that sometimes struggle with paying the bills. How people take advantage of their circumstances in life and how they don’t really see that money isn’t always the answer. It a More...

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Mar 13, 2010

Sue rated it:

Don't know how this novel got so many rave reviews - I found it very long winded and couldn't engage with any of the characters at all - I put it down after a hundred pages as I really didn't care what happened. I don't like bagging Australian authors but it was just boring.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

May 05, 2010

Teena rated it:

This is an introspective look at relationships and how friendships can be ruined when sex is involved. Not a huge story but a very intense one. It turns into a mystery and I won't spoil it by telling you the result.
I really enjoyed it.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 21, 2010

Robin rated it:

Reasonably absorbing but ultimately frustrating. There was much to like about the writing but some of the character interraction stretched belief. Why did she take months to ask questions that were obvious from the start?

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Dec 20, 2010

Marybeth rated it:

I enjoyed reading it but felt a little unsatisfied at the end. A wee bit too much mystery and not enough understanding of these somewhat larger than life young people and their motivations. It was a great story and I would recommend it as such, but not mind-blowing.

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Dec 28, 2010

Sally rated it:

Vacation-type book. Wasn't particularly gripping. I'm tired of the pale sickly homosexual character that women can't resist. Do they want to have sex with him or provide nursing care?!?!?

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Aug 04, 2011

Jenny rated it:

Read for Bookclub in 2010. All agreed, it was an interesting idea for a thriller/mystery but it became bogged down. Ordinary plot with pretty dull characters.

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Jan 02, 2011

Kelly rated it:

I won the opportunity to read this book in a goodreads book giveaway! Yay!

Well, because I won this book, I felt the need to stay with it to the end, but it was tough. It took more than half the book to get to the real story about Ingrid's death or disappearance, whichever it was. Then, Julia's investigation was half-hearted at best. I never felt a connection to the characters, nor did I get a sense of their connection to each other. For me, the story just dragged on and on to a disapp More...

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Feb 22, 2011

Linda rated it:

Really liked it..didnt really see the end coming till the last 20 pages.
A little different take on the tragedy of 9/11

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Oct 11, 2011

Erica rated it:

There was a lot that bothered me about this book. First and foremost was the fact that the blurb on the cover basically gives away the "mystery" in the book, making it much less mysterious. The author also seemed to go into great detail about certain things and characters that were not integral to the story, while I feel she could have given much more attention to other details and characters that were important. This was one of those books where I kept thinking it had to get better as More...

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