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Most Helpful Reviews
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Liked It “Intimate, sexy, fascinating-- affairs and dialogues between a filmmaker and family and friends. Delicious!” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “This novel is full of characters shallower than mud puddles in July. Not one thinks about anything other than their pathetic goals and problems. Hopefully this is not what Hollywood people are really like.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
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“Rather long at 449 pages. The ten or so characters are well developed but they are so verbose and self-absorbed I wouldn't want to spend ten days with them even if I could stay in the Amber Room! ”
Pat T wrote this review Saturday, August 22 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Intimate, sexy, fascinating-- affairs and dialogues between a filmmaker and family and friends. Delicious! ”
Syllable wrote this review Friday, July 31 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“This novel is full of characters shallower than mud puddles in July. Not one thinks about anything other than their pathetic goals and problems. Hopefully this is not what Hollywood people are really like.”
Mac D wrote this review Friday, May 22 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“What can I say, I'm at the beach. What do you expect me to read?”
Karen K wrote this review Saturday, April 4 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Modeled after Decamron or Gilligan's Island, Smiley's 10 characters talk and eat and have sex over ten days. It is a slow mover in that there is little action - just interior thought and conversation. However, Smiley's writing is delicious, her political points are sharp and prescient.”
Carol B wrote this review Monday, November 10 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Ten days in the hills of south L.A. with a group of friends, lovers, family members. I gave it two chapters and then put it down. I didn't find any of the characters interesting or particularly compelling and felt the book was boring overall. (There were two long sex scenes that were incredibly tedious.) ”
Book Dreams wrote this review Wednesday, September 10 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“It has a slow beginning, but I really enjoyed the end. ”
Nicole P wrote this review Friday, August 1 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This book was a disappointment! I like many of Smiley's books, but this book was too boring. It's the second book (with Horse Heaven) by Smiley that I have not been able to finish.
JudithAnn wrote this review Saturday, July 5 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
This story dealt with a group of family and friends, that spent 10 days at the house of one of them. Nothing happens (at least not the first 3 days, which is all I read), but they talk, talk, think, have sex, talk some more, eat, sleep. And that's it.
Maybe I have to re-adjust my belief that Jane Smiley is one of my favorite authors....”
1 of 1 members found this review helpful“Hmm, surprised by the vicious Amazon reviews. It was definitely too long, and yes, kinda pointless. And yet....I don't know. I saw the whole thing in my head, I stayed interested, I wanted to finish....it is (in fact) the only book of Jane Smiley's I have ever made it all the way through. So two stars for that. Towards the end, she wrote one absolutely stunningly perfect sentence that was one of the best I have ever read. Extra star.”
Sarah A wrote this review Friday, May 9 2008. ( reply | view 1 replies | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
