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<![CDATA[new comment from Mark]]>
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/241342-november-discussion-the-poisonwood-bible
Mark made a comment in the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die group:
I've finally finished the book and just read everyone's comments. I loved the book (FrankH comes closest to describing my feelings), and for the first 2/3rds thought it would be one of my favorite books of all time. I even didn't mind Rachel; I thought she seemed lifted right out of Faulkner (think Jason in the Sound and the Fury), and certainly the multiple narrator method was Faulknerian. I especially loved the details of African life, and being able to speculate about the meaning of the numerous symbols in the story (e.g.,"mother may I", Methuselah's liberation).
My love for the book was mitigated in the last third. As the characters go on with their lives and try to figure out the meaning of their time as missionaries and of Ruth May's death, Kingsolver uses that as an excuse to explain to us what it all meant. This is the first book I've ever read where the epilogue takes up 150 pages. She should have left well enough alone, but so much of this novel is so brilliant that I can easily forigve her.
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<![CDATA[Mark added 'The Poisonwood Bible']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80422250
to: The Poisonwood Bible (Paperback)byBarbara Kingsolver
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<![CDATA[Mark
is on page 500 of The Poisonwood Bible
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http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80422250
Mark
is on page 500 of 576 of
The Poisonwood Bible
Although I enjoyed this book, I have to wonder if it would be on the 1001 list if it hadn't been made into such a great movie. Since I actually put the book down for a week, one thing that was helpful was the book's wikipedia page, which helped me track the characters and episodes. I highly recommend it as a refresher course after having read the entire book.
I do like the style of linked short stories, and I have to put in a plug for the great Vietnam War novel, The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, which pulls it off even better than Trainspotting.
My main gripe with Trainspotting is that while most of the stories were interesting, I never felt like the characters were fully realized. Also, although many of the characters, especially Rent Boy, were highly intelligent people, I could in no way identify with them. Because their way of thinking was so alien to me, I always felt safe and never felt that I could sink as low as these characters. Other chronicles of addiction have made me feel less comfortable, because I could imagine it happening to me.
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<![CDATA[Mark added 'A Quiet Flame']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72246989
to: A Quiet Flame (Bernie Gunther, #5)byPhilip Kerr
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<![CDATA[new comment from Mark]]>
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/210230-september-discussion-middlemarch
Mark made a comment in the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die group:
I thought that Dorothea perceives Ladislaw as a flake when she first meets him, although there are hints of physical attraction. She clearly doesn't see him as husband material.
The main reason I'm posting is that I'm curious as to how many people are reading these books. I count comments by 10 unique goodreads members. Are there any lurkers out there? If so, I think most of us would like to hear that you're reading with us even if you don't want to contribute to the general discussion. So give us a quick comment on this thread if you're out there.