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The Sandcastle Girls
by Chris Bohjalian (Goodreads Author)
by Chris Bohjalian (Goodreads Author)
I can honestly say that this was the ONE book I was DYING to read all summer. I vacillated whether or not to purchase it just so I could get my hands on the thing as soon as it was released. I refrained and waited on the library copy. It was $20 saved.
What I liked:
• Setting/historical significance: I knew nothing of the Armenian genocide. How did I not know that between 1 and 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered at the hands of the Turks during WWI? High School and college history: Fail. Thanks to the author for trying to frame the atrocities within the limitations of a novel.
Also…I love any historical fiction dealing with war – especially WWI & II.
What I didn’t like:
• No maps: This book, in essence, is a geographical novel. The majority of the story focuses on location: the battlefronts, death marches, Egypt, Syria, The Ottoman Empire – seriously – how hard would have been to include a map in the front pages of the book? So many times I wanted to reference where the characters were at any given time – especially Armen and his trek to Syria, then to the front lines and back again. Putting the book down and Googling a map of the Middle East at the turn of the century was a major distraction.
• Alternating narration: This is common in novels – alternating voices of characters, time periods (future v. past), etc. Some are successful, (The Forgotten Garden) some are not (The Sandcastle Girls). In my reading experience, novels generally alternate narration at the end/beginning of chapters. In this novel…it alternated within a chapter – between paragraphs! Oh my gosh! One moment I’m reading about Elizabeth Endicott’s care of the ailing Armenian refugees, the next paragraph, I’m in Boston with her granddaughter at a middle school concert. Did not work. At all.
• Storyline: Now I’m nitpicking – but -- the relationship between Armen and Elizabeth didn’t resonate with me - no chemistry; the “story within a story” about the survival of photographs taken of Armenian refugees did not seem the least bit plausible (and if it is based on historical fact – it would have been nice of the author to include a reference); the ending – I felt totally manipulated.
Sorry 4 & 5 star ratings – for me, this was a huge disappointment.
I hope others enjoy it more than I did.
What I liked:
• Setting/historical significance: I knew nothing of the Armenian genocide. How did I not know that between 1 and 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered at the hands of the Turks during WWI? High School and college history: Fail. Thanks to the author for trying to frame the atrocities within the limitations of a novel.
Also…I love any historical fiction dealing with war – especially WWI & II.
What I didn’t like:
• No maps: This book, in essence, is a geographical novel. The majority of the story focuses on location: the battlefronts, death marches, Egypt, Syria, The Ottoman Empire – seriously – how hard would have been to include a map in the front pages of the book? So many times I wanted to reference where the characters were at any given time – especially Armen and his trek to Syria, then to the front lines and back again. Putting the book down and Googling a map of the Middle East at the turn of the century was a major distraction.
• Alternating narration: This is common in novels – alternating voices of characters, time periods (future v. past), etc. Some are successful, (The Forgotten Garden) some are not (The Sandcastle Girls). In my reading experience, novels generally alternate narration at the end/beginning of chapters. In this novel…it alternated within a chapter – between paragraphs! Oh my gosh! One moment I’m reading about Elizabeth Endicott’s care of the ailing Armenian refugees, the next paragraph, I’m in Boston with her granddaughter at a middle school concert. Did not work. At all.
• Storyline: Now I’m nitpicking – but -- the relationship between Armen and Elizabeth didn’t resonate with me - no chemistry; the “story within a story” about the survival of photographs taken of Armenian refugees did not seem the least bit plausible (and if it is based on historical fact – it would have been nice of the author to include a reference); the ending – I felt totally manipulated.
Sorry 4 & 5 star ratings – for me, this was a huge disappointment.
I hope others enjoy it more than I did.
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Reading Progress
| 08/07/2012 | page 70 |
|
22.0% | "For something I was so eager to read...I'm having a hard time "getting into it" and the alternating narratives are very confusing." |
| 08/13/2012 | page 170 |
|
53.0% | "Seriously...if it wasn't for the fact that I was 170 pgs into this book AND the reviews were all 4 & 5 stars...I would totally abandon this book. Ugh." 1 comment |
| 08/15/2012 | page 320 |
|
100.0% | "Finished. Unimpressed." 2 comments |
Comments (showing 1-10 of 10) (10 new)
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Hannah
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Aug 15, 2012 02:53pm
Great review Melissa. I'm especially with you on nitpick #2 (alternating POVs within a chapter) - arrgghh!
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I disliked the alternating narration, also. Great point about the maps! I used Google Earth to look up locations and studied up a little on the Armenian Genocide because I didn't understand exactly what was happening where. After I'd made sense of where the characters were located and where they came from, I returned to the novel. Maps would have been extremely helpful.
Loved your review. I agree completely. I didn't realize I was missing maps until you mentioned it. Also, didn't like alternating voices. Way too confusing. And I didn't feel very connected to the grand-daughter either.
Thanks for your comments!!! I really appreciate it.I'm still mad about the map(s). Such a huge oversight.
Agree about the maps disagree about almost everything else especially the photographs. The reality is that German photographs were instrumental in war crimes trials after the war.
I've been sitting here trying to figure out how I wanted to review this book and then saw your review. I agree with nearly everything you said, especially the maps and the relationship between Elizabeth and armen. I looked right away for a map and was surprised one wasn't included. It would have been especially helpful given that the boundaries in that area of the world have changed since this happened, I presume. The relationship between the main characters was never fully developed. I didn't really find it plausible, at least not as written. I also didn't care for Elizabeth much, certainly not enough to care whether she actually ends up with Armen, though we know from the beginning that she does.
The only thing that I truly did like about this book is that it exposed me to an atrocity in history that I never knew existed. I came away from this book with a desire to read more about what happened in this area of the world. For that, I thank Bohjalian. I only wish that his story was as engrossing as his other books I've read. Skeletons at the Feast is my favorite.
Maureen -- thanks so much for your thoughts!! I too loved Skeletons at the Feast -- such a rich narration and story. Ultimately, since I wrote this review, this book was forgettable. Haven't given it one look back since I finished. Which is a shame since I had such high hopes.
Happy reading!!
What a great review Melissa. I'm not even going to write my review, you've covered it all, perfectly.
