Saturday, July 01, 2006

shmime shmaveler's shmife

I am reading The Time Traveler's Wife for a book club. I don't like this book at all.

Some writers have an effortless elegance. Some can make me laugh out loud, and a very few can bring me to tears. Maybe Audrey Niffenegger is one of them, but this book is definitely not the one to showcase any of that talent, if she has it.

The writing is so clumsy. There are actually parts where it says "would of" instead of "would have." The main characters are boring and sometimes are asses. It feels like drudge work getting around to how the love story develops. It's just not a very well-crafted book. And I still have to get through all five hundred plus pages for a book club.

I can't wait to dive more deeply into John Irving's latest, Until I Find You. I've just begun it, and it's already promising in an Irving way. Ever since I first read A Prayer for Owen Meany, I've loved this writer who so masterfully reveals his stories. It's such a pleasure! There are few things better to me than being in the hands of a good storyteller.