raconteur reviewed on 8/29/2010 + 168 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

I had a few problems with this book. One was with the believability of some events. I know it's fiction, but even there one should have continuity. So, a rent free lease in Manhattan ... it was so unrealistic as to be absurd. Also, I thought the author used the American version of "deus ex machina" a lot. If there was a problem or crisis ... it was always resolved by someone just swooping in, out of nowhere, with connections. I found that to be totally unrealistic. Darwin bothered me a lot too. It's like no one can ever portray a non-stereotyped feminist in books. Or they can't portray the ideas of feminism without this undercurrent of disbelief, or amusement. Lastly, I didn't like the way the author handled the biracial child part of the book. I think, for me, that was the single most unrealistic bit in the book. Especially the part where they took her to a small town in Scotland. Makes me think the author has never been in Europe. I don't know what experience this author has with race. She's white ... so I can't imagine she had a whole lot of personal knowledge about being black in America. This showed in the novel.

Personally, I didn't like the ending either. So melodramatic and just out of the blue. It served no purpose whatsoever. In general, the whole book didn't have a unifying concept. It was all over the place.

Based on the other reviews, and the success of this book, I suppose a lot of people did like it. So, don't let my review deter you. However, I won't be reading any more in this series (if there is more).

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