Q discussion: Week 7/8 11/07/15: Pages 485 - end Part Three, Chapter 19 - end

[Teanka]

I've decided to discuss the remaining two sections of the book together, I hope that's fine with you :)

So when you already know how the novel ended, do you think the title is justified? Was Q indeed such a central character to the story?

Were you satisfied with the ending of the book?

As the ending drew near, it was becoming ever more obvious that Gert and Q constituted two sides of the same coin. They even lost their faith in the same time. Did you think it was believable?

Personally, I liked how everything fit together in the end. The last part was certainly the most interesting one for me, mostly because we have additional Q's perspective. I think his POV should have been introduced already in the first part. Also, he adds more information on the events from the first two parts. Presumably, this is why they felt unfinished in a way. Above all, his recounting of the last year in Muster was valuable. Just as we suspected, he was the mercenary there. Just as you pointed out, Kaycie, there simply was no one else.

I liked how Gert survived in the end and how he moved to Stamboul. I was very sure he would be dead by the end of the book, and I'm happy to have been mistaken.

Overall, the book was very uneven to me, with some very interesting moments (especially the beginnings of each part) but ultimately, a slight disappointment. I gave it 3 stars.

[Kaycie]

WEll, my comments are rather late! Thanks for keeping this going.

Overall, I was not satisfied with the end of this book. Or, really, any part of it. I felt rather disappointed at almost every stage, so the ending wasn't a shock, though. And no, I also do not believe that Q was a very essential part to the story at all. Maybe he moved it along a bit, but I think this could have been a much better "discover and punish the mole" or a much better "historical fiction" if it picked either one of those, and dropped the other part. I do agree that I liked the parts that included Qs perspective the most, but it was also too little too late for me for much of the filler we got from this.

The historical part was also quite overwhelming. There was so much included in this book, but so little really sank in for me. I like to live my historical fiction, not feel like I am studying a textbook.

By the end, I didn't particularly care if Gert lived or died. I was surprised by how much I lost interest in the story by the final two sections.

Overall, this was too much of a disappointment and wasn't able to hold my interest enough for me to rank it 3 stars, so I gave it 2.

[Teanka]

I'm glad you made it, Kaycie. Thanks for reading along. I have to say that looking back, 3 stars might have been a bit too high a rating for me, too. More like 2.5, really. I certainly liked it better than Where Tigers Are at Home, though, and I rated that one 2 stars.

Personally, I think that this novel is probably a kind of an experiment in that it has so many authors. We don't know how they divided the sections between themselves, but I think it shows that there was no one to guard the integrity of the story. And you're right that in many parts, it read as a textbook. I had high hopes for this book but as you say, it was a disappointment.

[Kaycie]

Hmm...I already forgot "Where Tigers are at Home" haha. But at least for that one, I remembered being engaged for more of the story that I was for this one.

But yes, you are probably right that it was more of an experiment than a perfect, polished story. But, alas, that doesn't make it less of a disappointment!

Glad to read a long with you, and I will see you in another group read sometime!