BOOKWORM REVIEW TWO

Four worms is top rating. Five is perfection but that is rarely attained.

“Oyster: History on the Half Shell” four worms, written by Mark Kurlansky; gets a bit histrionic in the middle (aka bland) otherwise quite interesting
“Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” three and a half worms, authored by Lisa See; a few logic issues but well written
“The Eight” three worms, authored by Katherine Neville; the last third of the book should have been expanded into a second novel. Understanding the game of chess helps the reader.
“Shutter Island” three worms, by Dennis Lehane; not quite accurate regarding mental illness. Learn the facts at www.nami.org
“Nemesis” three worms, by Philip Roth; Cantor character starts well and then stalls
“Absent a Miracle” two and a half worms, by Christine Lehrer; too many tangents that did not intersect
“Venetia Kelly’s Traveling Show” two and a half worms; by Frank Delaney; too many digressions and the main character would have hired a private detective regardless of cost
“Hero of Our Time” two worms, by Mikhail Lermontov; the scenery descriptions are excellent. Maybe something was lost in translation to English
NOTE: Four Worms is the highest rating for this group.

One of my peeves is when an author hurries an ending of the book. I am sure it is at the request of the editor but it ruins the tempo of the novel. The descriptions are cut short and the character development ends. I’d rather have a book divided into two or three volumes rather than rush the end. “The Eight” which was published in 1988 is a perfect example; either edit out the extraneous stuff in the first part of the book or else expand the final chapters.

Read another review of books from the posting Bookworm Review on September 14, 2010. Please leave suggestions of books that I should reveiw, plus, join as an official "follower" of this blog.

Happy Reading!
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