My book reviews of sorts

Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult


The gist of the story:
An Amish, Katie girl give birth to an illegitimate child. The child died afterwards. The girl then held for infanticide and an attorney from the city, Ellie tried to help this girl.

Summary:
This is my first book for Jodi Picoult. I thought it would be too depressing because most of the stories I seen of Picoult seems to be dead depressing.

Well.. apart from the infanticide issue, it is not that bad. I guess why I picked up the book is because I am curious how they portrayed the Amish community here. A community who shunned technology is very fascinating. That keep me going. I like the book best when it is about the community.

The plot itself kinda flounders. Most of the characters are a bit one note. The main females character I don't really identified with. The only one I like are the secondary characters. Katie is weak willed in my opinion, while Ellie is a predictable hard ass city attorney. Sometimes I just feel like shaking them by the shoulder and yelled "get it together for pete sake!"

The story is exactly as the one I stated above, except some so called development character progress for Ellie which to me is no progress at all and predictable. I hated the ending. HATE. I feel it was unnecessary, as it is spoilerish I won't say it here, but really, it was a weak ending as I think it meant to shock but in turn kinda spoil the book to me.

Apart from my complaint, it was an OK read. Predictable, nothing spectacular, ok enough for a holiday read. Except for the ending.

David Golder by Irène Némirovsky
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

David Golder is the story about a self made millionaire who is now in his late life, living an opulent life with a greedy wife and far more greedier and giddier daughter. It deals with how at the late stage of his life and in the brink of ruins he is questioning everything that he hold dear or thinks he hold dear.

I bought this book because I enjoyed Suite Francaisse. This book is not for me. It is different from the unfinished Suite Francaisse. It deals of a man bitter disappointment and therefore it is a hard book to swallow.

However depressing I found it, and how one-note everyone is.. there is nothing wrong with the writing. Only the on the bleakness of it. If this is rich, I don't want to be rich. But even he saw it towards the end, it does not matter.



Area 7 by Matthew Reilly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gist? Shane Schofield is back again! This time he deals with adventure/shenanigans that happened in Area 7 ( US most secret base) while he was protecting the POTUS.

Because I can only think Matthew Reilly books in point form. I will write in point/short paragraph form.

Same as the other, very exciting. Action packed. Highly unbelievable yet entertaining.

I especially like all the genetically altered creatures lying around the area 7.

As somewhat mentioned by other reviewer, he likes to disjoint his action sequence. I have to turn back to the pages because I can't remember what had happened because he had cut with another action sequence experienced by other characters. I don't have time to read in one sitting Matthew Reilly!

I think it is cute that Matthew Reilly try to tack in some character development to the story, because while he called it development, I called it continuation. But.. I do like Mother background information. I imagined Mother is kinda like Sigourney Weaver in Alien 2. But more buff.

It is all shoot, wham, boom! But hey, I go in there totally expecting it. A light thriller book, with simple story and the only purpose for the plot is to move forward.

The Du Mauriers by Daphne du Maurier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A novelization based on Daphne Du Maurier, great grandmother, grandmother and father.

It is more on her grand mother and her father as her great grandmother already have a standalone book on her own. Her great grandmother, Mary Anne Clarke was a mistress to the Duke of York. Her grandfather Louis Mathurin married Mary daughter, Ellen. Louis Mathurin was a dreamer and good for nothing kinda person while Ellen is a person long disillusioned by life due to the exposure she got from her mother world.

She painted a critical look of her ancestors. I like it. I know of many Louis Mathurin and Ellen of the worlds and understand their struggle, and seeing it written it is almost she is only critical of Ellen harshness and not Louis Mathurin irresponsibility. However I must say she must held both of them in great respect because in that age, there is only so little a woman could do. Not everyone could be Mary Anne.

Her writing of his father is almost sympathetic and apologetic to all his failings. It was said she adored his father exceedingly and it showed.

It was a good read and a nice novelization based on a real life of bourgeois French and English people. Enjoyed it immensely and I always felt sorry for Ellen and Louis. Sometimes, women do have all the ill luck and all the responsibility.



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