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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 12, 2012
I read the back, I liked the cover, so I gave it a chance. Like most books.
The one thing I can say for certain about this book is it's rareness, it's oddness. It is strange. May's style of writing is not one that I have seen before, and while it is not for me personally, I think that it could definitely be for some.
I find that the story jumps about too much and that the characters are undeveloped and sloppy. In the beginning, right up to the half way point almost, I was confused between all the characters, not knowing who was who, who was related, who lived where, who didn't like who, and such. Nearing the end, I found that conflicts and characters, which should have been resolved, were left and forgotten, or even left completely undeveloped, such as the relationship between Richard and Raymond. . The way the story is told also makes me feel confused, and more often than not disorientated, feeling that I have missed something important only to re-read and discover I have not.
The way the storyline focuses on some parts and skips through others also messes with my head - I feel that it dragged on the boring bits - waiting at home, meaningless conversations, whilst in the more exciting bits it was over too fast with too little detail.
Overall, I was disappointed by this book and I feel that the attention I have seen it given is undeserved. 2 stars.
The one thing I can say for certain about this book is it's rareness, it's oddness. It is strange. May's style of writing is not one that I have seen before, and while it is not for me personally, I think that it could definitely be for some.
I find that the story jumps about too much and that the characters are undeveloped and sloppy. In the beginning, right up to the half way point almost, I was confused between all the characters, not knowing who was who, who was related, who lived where, who didn't like who, and such. Nearing the end, I found that conflicts and characters, which should have been resolved, were left and forgotten, or even left completely undeveloped, such as the relationship between Richard and Raymond. . The way the story is told also makes me feel confused, and more often than not disorientated, feeling that I have missed something important only to re-read and discover I have not.
The way the storyline focuses on some parts and skips through others also messes with my head - I feel that it dragged on the boring bits - waiting at home, meaningless conversations, whilst in the more exciting bits it was over too fast with too little detail.
Overall, I was disappointed by this book and I feel that the attention I have seen it given is undeserved. 2 stars.
February 3, 2020
Very strange, no real plot, no real ending it just... Stops. Definitely donating to a charity shop
June 24, 2011
I only picked up this book because, after 1984, I was in the mood for something much lighter and much easier to read. One Chance is a children's book, which we have had for quite a few years, but which I had not read when I was younger.
What I got was not what I expected. This is a book that is definitely targeted to a much, much younger audience than my 21-year-old self. The good thing about this book is that, instead of focusing on the war itself, it focused on the relationships between the members of two families, when Jaq, a 15 year old thief, appears and steals a chicken from one of them. All of these events happen having the war as a background and it only seems more real as the reader reaches the end of the book. It doesn't lessen the effect of the war, as it is mentioned throughout the book; it's just that it is more real near the end. The characters are ok. I didn't feel as if I could relate to any one of them, except maybe Yvette, Lise's mother. She was a wonderful maternal figure, not afraid to stand up for her beliefs.
The one thing I really did not like about this book was the writing. I hadn't liked it even after a few pages, but it got more tiring as the book progressed. As a result, it took me 2 days to finish a 250-pages-long children's book with a relatively large font. To give you an example, this is what you can find on the back cover of the book (but it is in the same tone as most of the book):
This is France, 1940. War is approaching and Jaq is running scared. Branded as a thief. Hunted. He has nowhere to hide. No one to turn to. And then he meets Lise.
Most of the time, it felt as if I was reading a telegram or something of the sort. Though I did not enjoy it very much, I am pretty positive that a younger child would probably enjoy the book. (It is the intended audience, after all!)
Originally posted at: http://funny-wool.blogspot.com/2011/0...
What I got was not what I expected. This is a book that is definitely targeted to a much, much younger audience than my 21-year-old self. The good thing about this book is that, instead of focusing on the war itself, it focused on the relationships between the members of two families, when Jaq, a 15 year old thief, appears and steals a chicken from one of them. All of these events happen having the war as a background and it only seems more real as the reader reaches the end of the book. It doesn't lessen the effect of the war, as it is mentioned throughout the book; it's just that it is more real near the end. The characters are ok. I didn't feel as if I could relate to any one of them, except maybe Yvette, Lise's mother. She was a wonderful maternal figure, not afraid to stand up for her beliefs.
The one thing I really did not like about this book was the writing. I hadn't liked it even after a few pages, but it got more tiring as the book progressed. As a result, it took me 2 days to finish a 250-pages-long children's book with a relatively large font. To give you an example, this is what you can find on the back cover of the book (but it is in the same tone as most of the book):
This is France, 1940. War is approaching and Jaq is running scared. Branded as a thief. Hunted. He has nowhere to hide. No one to turn to. And then he meets Lise.
Most of the time, it felt as if I was reading a telegram or something of the sort. Though I did not enjoy it very much, I am pretty positive that a younger child would probably enjoy the book. (It is the intended audience, after all!)
Originally posted at: http://funny-wool.blogspot.com/2011/0...
May 10, 2013
I had to read this book and do a presentation on it, but I was really disapointed. I normaly love sharing my love for a book, but doing this presentation on One Chance quickly became something I had to do but didn't want to.
The characters and the story, I thought, were really "loose".
I don't recommand this book.
The characters and the story, I thought, were really "loose".
I don't recommand this book.
February 2, 2016
I'm a tad disappointed with this book. I was hoping for something... more, but it didn't exactly reach my expectation.
It was interestingly written (the way the sentences were phrased, etc.) The characters were okay, though a bit too many. As for the plot... there was sense but it wasn't overly amazing.
It was interestingly written (the way the sentences were phrased, etc.) The characters were okay, though a bit too many. As for the plot... there was sense but it wasn't overly amazing.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews