I finished Wreckage and found many of the novel's components to be problematic. The book had a promising premise of people being placed in an impossible situation doing the very best they could under the circumstances. This could have been a real character study into the resilience of the human spirit, or the way people with a second chance seize the day and reprioritize their lives in all the right ways. The novel's characters were shadowy caricatures of what they could have been. Some plot points were overly dramatized while others were neglected. I found the end of a story that was messy in nature was wrapped up a little too neatly in terms of character interaction. Ultimately I found it impossible to believe that Jerry would have been fine with Lillian's compounding lies, lack of communication, and refusal to allow him to participate in major life decisions that affected both of them.
I read the The Altar Girl: A Prequel and found it fairly entertaining. Most of the characters reminded me of those found in graphic novels. The main character Nadia reminded me of a novice investigator pulled right out of film noir. Flashbacks into Nadia's past were my favorite parts of the story. I liked catching a glimpse into Ukrainian-American life with and added bonus of history thrown in for reference. I thought the book had a strong ending. I most definitely did not guess the plot terminus in advance.
I read the The Altar Girl: A Prequel and found it fairly entertaining. Most of the characters reminded me of those found in graphic novels. The main character Nadia reminded me of a novice investigator pulled right out of film noir. Flashbacks into Nadia's past were my favorite parts of the story. I liked catching a glimpse into Ukrainian-American life with and added bonus of history thrown in for reference. I thought the book had a strong ending. I most definitely did not guess the plot terminus in advance.