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Oct/ Nov 2015 Group Read Selection - Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter
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Chris wrote: "❆ Crystal ❆ wrote: "I just finished... I gave it 4 stars. I started with the audiobook but the narration was terrible and by chapter 3 I gave up and switched to the book. Thank goodness my library ..."That's funny that you two are fighting over the book. Audbile.com has great reviews for the performance but it just didn't work for me. I read the book in about 5 hours... the audio is 20 hours... She talks really slow to the point where I was able to bump up the speed 2x and still be okay. But, I had bigger issues as well. You might like it better than I did. Bummer that you have to wait so long with the library.
❆ Crystal ❆ wrote: "Chris wrote: "❆ Crystal ❆ wrote: "I just finished... I gave it 4 stars. I started with the audiobook but the narration was terrible and by chapter 3 I gave up and switched to the book. Thank goodne..."There are good narrators and there are bad narrators. I don't find many in between. There are a couple that could read a terrible book and I'd still listen as if it were a 5 star read. I'll have to listen to the sample on audible and see what it's like.
Some evenings I just want to lean back on the patio without the light and not holding a book. Audible is awesome for that.
Chapter 3... talk about turning quick. The mood just went from somber to brutal.
Chris, I'm interested to hear what you think if you listen to the audio.
Crystal - Well I listened to the sample on audible. It wasn't too bad, but I completely agree about it being slow. The narrator has some very long pauses.I would expect an audio book to be an additional 30-40 percent longer than it would take you to read silently. But 3-4x as long? Seems way to much. Even the unabridged audio for Follett's Fall of Giants is 30 hours and that comes in at roughly 1,000 pages.
Chris wrote: "Crystal - Well I listened to the sample on audible. It wasn't too bad, but I completely agree about it being slow. The narrator has some very long pauses.I would expect an audio book to be an add..."
Agreed. Maybe the long pauses and slow speech is for effect??? But, it's a long audiobook for a medium-sized book.
I'm listening to the audiobook now. Lots going on in this story.
Barbara wrote: "I'm listening to the audiobook now. Lots going on in this story."Enjoy Barbara. I hope you like it.
I'm listening to the audio version and loving every bit of it!! Great pick! Looking forward to reading everyone's reviews after I finish :)
Jasmine wrote: "I'm listening to the audio version and loving every bit of it!! Great pick! Looking forward to reading everyone's reviews after I finish :)"That's awesome Jasmine. I'm glad you're enjoying. Make sure to come back and let us know what you think when you're done.
I just finished the book and found it very disturbing, with images that will probably never get out of my head. That said, the book is well-writtena and well-plotted. I was impressed with Karin Slaughter's deftness in tying up all the elements of the story at the end.I'd recommend the book to fans of thrillers who can stomach extreme violence and cruelty.
I finished this yesterday and am still trying to figure out exactly how I feel about it. It was a good read and the pace of the story keeps you really gripped. It is definitely disturbing, as Barbara said. There are moments where I felt as though the violence was bordering gratuitous but for the most part it went with the story as you would expect. I don't know how else you would tell the story.
I'm back and forth on similarities between the movies 8mm (Nicolas Cage) and another one we watched years ago called The Girl Next Door. The latter is completely gratuitous in its violence and what's worse is it's based on a true story.
At any rate I do hope to flesh out my thoughts a bit more and get a review up in the next day or two.
Thanks Barbara and Chris for your comments and insights. And, I agree with both of you. This was a first book for my by this author. And, where I did enjoy the mystery aspect of it, I took felt that it went too far with the violence and cruelty. I'm with you Barbara, there are images that I may never erase from my mind. I gave it 4 stars as well, but had I had no idea that it would go as far as it did. Like Chris said, it is gripping that is for sure. I got pretty scared a few times.
❆ Crystal ❆ wrote: "Thanks Barbara and Chris for your comments and insights. And, I agree with both of you. This was a first book for my by this author. And, where I did enjoy the mystery aspect of it, I took felt tha..."I'm leaning to 4 stars myself on it. My mixed emotions are purely on the items I brought up. Apart from that, it's a great read and I probably could have done it in one sitting if my wife would've let me get away with it :)
Chris wrote: I'm leaning to 4 stars myself on it. My mixed emotions are purely on the items I brought up. Apart from that, it's a great read and I probably could have done it in one sitting if my wife would've let me get away with it :) "
LOL.... that's great!
Is it crazy that I'm STILL thinking about this book???
Chelsea wrote: "Is it crazy that I'm STILL thinking about this book???"I hope not because it still pops in to my head from time to time :)
Same here... And, I wish I weren't.
I guess I am the only person who hates this book... Yes it is a well written book... But the violence and the descriptions about the torture done to the girl was too much...
For understanding the anxiety and the mental condition of the missed girl's family, there was no need of this much description of the torture.
I think everyone can understand the family's situation when their daughter/sister goes missing.
This much description of violence just disturbed my mind and mood.
And it was not about one or two or two dozens of girls who had gone through the same situation.
Even the girl's who were not kidnapped had to face so much torture in the novel from the culprit.
I feel it's too much.
I couldn't keep the book down... But I was not able to enjoy the book.
This will be my first and last novel by Karin Slaughter.
Manju wrote: "I guess I am the only person who hates this book... Yes it is a well written book... But the violence and the descriptions about the torture done to the girl was too much...
For understanding th..."
I'm so sorry Manju, and I can totally understand what you're saying. You're not alone for sure in not liking the book... that it was too much. And, I'm happy that you feel comfortable to come and share your opinion.
This book didn't contain warnings like other books do that say it is a dark book, torture, rape and violence toward women. I mean, I knew that there may possibly be that as a hint to what happened, but not in the detail it is described in. Had there been a warning, I could have been better prepared for what was coming. With your review of the book, you can let people know that it is a dark book and that it may not sit well with everyone.
Chelsea wrote: "Crystal- you said it perfectly!":-)
❆ Crystal ❆ wrote: "Manju wrote: "I guess I am the only person who hates this book... Yes it is a well written book... But the violence and the descriptions about the torture done to the girl was too much...
For un..."
:)
Manju wrote: "I guess I am the only person who hates this book... Yes it is a well written book... But the violence and the descriptions about the torture done to the girl was too much...
For understanding th..."
Thanks for the heads up on this novel. I have read one of Slaughters novels 'Blindsighted' it was good but also graphic the author certainly tell things as their are and does not tone it down.
I have just started the novel and am reading it with a bit of trepidation. I thought the alley scene was quite scary but I do like to be scared in a novel occasionally. I like Lydia she is funny and sarcastic and am not sure how she fits in with Claire. I am wondering if we are going to be introduce to many characters and am I going to be able to hold them in my head.
Sue wrote: "I am wondering if we are going to be introduce to many characters and am I going to be able to hold them in my head. "It really isn't very many by the time it's all said and done.
I do wonder if all of Karin Slaughter's books are similar in style. Is this typical of her writing? I'm not just speaking to the violence but the length of a book, the intensity and complexity of the story and the style of writing. Is this what you'd expect from her?
Chris- yes that is all typical of Karin Slaughter
Just started Pretty Girls, about 144 pages in. Read the short story about Julia's disappearance on my Kindle first, then started the physical book. It is very intense, and it goes fast when I can just sit and read. Physical therapy and such keep pulling me away, or I would be much further along. I have Rebecca sitting here also, this will be my fourth read, I think. Last time I read it before we drove to Du Maurier country and had a holiday in Cornwall. Much walking along cliffs high above the crashing waves of the sea, it was perfection.
Kim wrote: "Just started Pretty Girls, about 144 pages in. Read the short story about Julia's disappearance on my Kindle first, then started the physical book. It is very intense, and it goes fast when I can j..."The two books are so drastically different from each other :)
That may be a good thing. Think I will need a break from the increasing darkness of the excellent Pretty Girls. Rebecca is dark in a more psychological way, no overt physical descriptions, more mental cat-and-mouse.
I hope you enjoy them both Kim. :-)
Thanks, Crystal! I am enjoying Pretty Girls, and as this will be at least my fourth time through on Rebecca, I am reasonably sure I will enjoy it all over again. ;-). It was a pick of 2 of my book groups this month, am planning on reading the biography of Daphne Du Maurier by Margaret Forster along with it to mix things up a little.
LOL... It sounds like a great mix. I love reading different things at the same time. I'm reading a biography right now along with a crime/mystery. It's great!
I had a teacher who asked about hobbies, and one of mine was reading. (Avocation is more like it, really...or raison d'etre). Anyway, he looked at me quizzically & said, "You mean, you are always at the beginning, middle, or end of a book?" And I replied, "Yes, usually more than one", and he looked at me like I was a creature with several heads.
Kim wrote: "I had a teacher who asked about hobbies, and one of mine was reading. (Avocation is more like it, really...or raison d'etre). Anyway, he looked at me quizzically & said, "You mean, you are always a..."Interesting that would be foreign to someone. I figured most of us who read are reading more than 1 item at a time. I have several short story collections on my night stand along w/ the two novels I'm going through. Usually like to keep a biography going at all times as well.
There was a time I could just read 1 book at a time... I'd like to think that my brain capacity is growing and therefore I can now read more than 1 at a time. :-)
❆ Crystal ❆ wrote: "There was a time I could just read 1 book at a time... I'd like to think that my brain capacity is growing and therefore I can now read more than 1 at a time. :-)"That's a good way to think of it Crystal :)
Finally finished!! Really liked it ... Especially Sam's letters! Very well-written!
I enjoyed the book. it was well written, had well crafted characters, some characters showed growth from the time we fist meet them to the end of the book. I did think this was the most gruesome Karen Slaughter's book, and one of the longest.
I'm glad you liked it Jasmine and Paris. Sam's letters were great. And, yep, I thought it was pretty gruesome as well. I'm glad you read it and came back to let us know your thought. :-)
Saying this is her most gruesome book is saying something, as I recall her first book as being pretty gruesome. However, she did pull out all the stops on this one. A freight train of a read, I was grateful for Sam's letters as they provided a respite from Paul and his awful games, albeit a sad one. Passed it on to my husband, he read it nonstop over the weekend. Now my daughter will get it.
I gave the novel 3 star - I liked it but I did not love it. The gruesome parts were gruesome but I felt less revulsion and more anger that there are people out there (hopefully only a few) that think it is acceptable to kidnap girls/anyone and treat them however they wish.I loved Sam's letter although they probably should have been diary entries. In fact I would rather have more letter entries and than information about the present. I felt sorry for Sam for losing Julia but more sorry that his family started to fall apart.
Paul was devious you almost can't believe there was no inkling to Claire about the person that he is/was and his upbringing was horrendous.
I am not sure Claire experienced personal growth just that the story enabled her to stop pretending to be someone else to others.
Yes, Claire was not the most sympathetic of characters, she seemed cold and although I was rooting for her to succeed, it was less because I felt positive about her than I felt so negative about Paul. He had to be stopped.
After thinking about it, I settled on 4 stars because I think it highly unlikely I would read it again. Something about the characters is too flat for me. It is not the gruesomeness, it may that I just could not connect. I've read and reread Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs, I find Will Graham and Clarisse Starling to be well-drawn and sympathetic foils to Hannibal Lecter. I am less likely to reread the later books as Harris became more brutal and gruesome (which seemed barely possible) and had less sympathetic characters. When I feel emotional distance from characters, it feels like the author is just maneuvering dolls and it makes me lose interest in suffering through all the mayhem. Lecter is fascinating, but he cannot carry the whole book for me. Similarly, Paul may be a fascinating monster, but he is not enough, and Claire does not command enough empathy to make me care. Lydia is more sympathetic, but in a cliched way, and spends too much time as lure for Claire. All the pieces may be on the board, but the way the game is played just missed the mark for that extra star.
That bothered me as well, Sue. At the end, she is leaving the work to a still recovering Lydia. She has reverted to being the indulged youngest, she feels selfish still. Lydia, the working class stereotype, picks up the slack, as always, even while still handicapped by the injuries inflicted by Claire's husband. Emotional growth and compassion seem foreign concepts to her, and that feels inauthentic to me. Unless Claire is a psychopath, all of this should have had some impact on her.
Kim wrote: "After thinking about it, I settled on 4 stars because I think it highly unlikely I would read it again. Something about the characters is too flat for me. It is not the gruesomeness, it may that I ..."Thank you for that Kim. I think you articulated what I have struggled with in this book and that's why I asked whether this is a typical Slaughter book or not.
So many of the reviews point to the family reuniting in the midst of all the loss and the sisters re-establishing their relationship after 18 years. I found the actual treatment of that in the book very shallow. The whole thing takes place over the course of a week and a half or so and while yes the sisters reunite and grow, it's not delved into at all. Claire sees she was wrong and Julia needs to forgive. You don't see much of what that looks like because there is no time.
The letters from Julia's father were the most interesting. It seems like the other characters should have had at least half the character development he did.
At the same time, it was an action packed book with few lulls and if that's what you want in a book, you definitely got it. I can see Karin is a talented writer. It was hard to put down. But like you said, it's not anything I'd pick back up to read again later because I didn't love the story in the sense that I want to revisit it and the characters aren't any that I'll miss much and want to meet again.
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Good to know about the audio. I almost bought it myself because I will often switch between the two when I have both formats. I did keep the hold for it with my library but I'm still waitlisted pretty far back. Probably won't get it until I've already finished the book.
Although, my wife saw the book and started reading it. Now she's hooked and we're fighting over it. So maybe it will be available before I finish at this rate.