Helpful Score: 15
After reading this story, I wanted to read it again just to be sure I'd connected all the dots. 3 stories interwoven by one sad accident involving true love and heart's destiny. I don't usually enjoy reading a book more than once, but this book is an exception. Very enjoyable read. Interesting characters throughout.
Helpful Score: 4
I love Alice Hoffman's books, and this one was no exception. The author presents her characters in a unique way in this book which makes one want to go back over some of the chapters. I really enjoyed this read.
Helpful Score: 4
Haunting and beautiful..., June 27, 2010
By Denise "DC" (Missouri, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Third Angel: A Novel (Paperback)
I've read many of Alice Hoffman's novels and each is a story that lingers long after the last page has been turned and the book closed. This one is particularly haunting and I've found myself doing something I rarely do -- rereading the book from the opening chapter. Skimming to a particular segment and then leafing through pages of one of the parts of this novel. The book is divided into three segments, telling the stories from the viewpoint of three very different women during significant events of their lives. The setting is London, in fact at a hotel called Lion Park -- where people go when they want complete privacy -- and the time periods when these events take place are 1999, 1966, and 1952. The book seems to be in a style such that it can be read forward or backward -- and give the reader a different perspective or reaction to the story because of what the reader discovers when starting "at the beginning" with the oldest character, Lucy Green, first.
The three women at the heart of the story are connected though it's difficult to piece that together during the first read through of this novel. Each experiences something about love that devastates her. Coming to terms with the heartbreak and the loss is the question each seeks to answer: is love simple or is it complicated?
Maddy Heller -- falls in love with the man her sister is to marry.
Frieda Lewis -- falls in love with a heroin-addicted wanna be rock star who is in love with another woman.
Lucy Green -- is unwittingly involved in a love triangle that impairs her ability to believe in anything.
At the heart of these interconnected stories is the concept of The Third Angel. What does this angel represent? Frieda's father, a physician, tells her that there are three angels who ride with him in the back of his car on the way to see patients. The Angel of Life and The Angel of Death are self-explanatory; and then there's the Third Angel that represents humanity, love, suffering, redemption, faith, and hope. It's the angel, in disguise on earth, that helps human beings "embrace the transforming nature of love."
This is not a happy or uplifting book in many ways. It is a little depressing and brought me to tears sometimes while reading. The prose is beautiful and Hoffman can certainly turn a phrase that is, at times, poetic. The book, however, has a lot of depth and the stories that the women tell -- of their encounters with The Third Angel -- will haunt you. I recommend it.
By Denise "DC" (Missouri, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Third Angel: A Novel (Paperback)
I've read many of Alice Hoffman's novels and each is a story that lingers long after the last page has been turned and the book closed. This one is particularly haunting and I've found myself doing something I rarely do -- rereading the book from the opening chapter. Skimming to a particular segment and then leafing through pages of one of the parts of this novel. The book is divided into three segments, telling the stories from the viewpoint of three very different women during significant events of their lives. The setting is London, in fact at a hotel called Lion Park -- where people go when they want complete privacy -- and the time periods when these events take place are 1999, 1966, and 1952. The book seems to be in a style such that it can be read forward or backward -- and give the reader a different perspective or reaction to the story because of what the reader discovers when starting "at the beginning" with the oldest character, Lucy Green, first.
The three women at the heart of the story are connected though it's difficult to piece that together during the first read through of this novel. Each experiences something about love that devastates her. Coming to terms with the heartbreak and the loss is the question each seeks to answer: is love simple or is it complicated?
Maddy Heller -- falls in love with the man her sister is to marry.
Frieda Lewis -- falls in love with a heroin-addicted wanna be rock star who is in love with another woman.
Lucy Green -- is unwittingly involved in a love triangle that impairs her ability to believe in anything.
At the heart of these interconnected stories is the concept of The Third Angel. What does this angel represent? Frieda's father, a physician, tells her that there are three angels who ride with him in the back of his car on the way to see patients. The Angel of Life and The Angel of Death are self-explanatory; and then there's the Third Angel that represents humanity, love, suffering, redemption, faith, and hope. It's the angel, in disguise on earth, that helps human beings "embrace the transforming nature of love."
This is not a happy or uplifting book in many ways. It is a little depressing and brought me to tears sometimes while reading. The prose is beautiful and Hoffman can certainly turn a phrase that is, at times, poetic. The book, however, has a lot of depth and the stories that the women tell -- of their encounters with The Third Angel -- will haunt you. I recommend it.
Helpful Score: 2
Loved it! Three stories are connected by different time periods and Alice Hoffman brings them all together as she always does.
Helpful Score: 1
This book was a little scattered in it's content. Interesting.
Helpful Score: 1
I am a big Alice Hoffman fan. This is not her best writing. One of the most boring books I have ever read. Didn't even finish it.
Rife with coincidence, great imagery, and strong emotion. As another reviewer wrote, the structure of The Third Angel is similar to Blackbird House; however, The Third Angel answers more of its questions than does Blackbird House. Both novels are bittersweet, full of depth and well written. Alice Hoffman has won me over with her novels that ring true and feel surreal at once.
"Love is ancient and mysterious and you can't mess with it. If you do it just backfires and you meet with disaster. That's a fact." This pretty much describes this book. Although the story was interesting, I did not like the arrangement of the book. I think it would make more sense to start from the back and read to the front. It just seemed like it was told from the end to the beginning instead of from the begining to end. Very confusing.
Three stories that share the same place, and the same person or two, but in different decades. A story about life, love, and loss. Good book from Alice Hoffman and a little reminiscent of another one of her books ~ "Blackbird House".
Quick, enjoyable read.
I enjoyed lots and lots. I could picture every scene in my mind and per usual with A. Hoffman needed my box of tissues. This authour has a way that makes me feel that each book was written just for me. When I say I need to keep my box of tissue near by, that is a compliment of high order.
To be concise, if you have ever enjoyed a Hoffman book then do not hesitate to obtain and read this gem!
To be concise, if you have ever enjoyed a Hoffman book then do not hesitate to obtain and read this gem!
