tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10129853.post111322925071024458..comments2023-10-23T13:01:12.765-05:00Comments on Four Obsessions: perpetually shifting between cooking, reading, knitting and writing: Introducing my book groupKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03113130840039776447noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10129853.post-1113351946961102122005-04-12T19:25:00.000-05:002005-04-12T19:25:00.000-05:00What a relief to hear that someone else hated Red ...What a relief to hear that someone else hated Red Tent! Half the very intelligent women in my book group loved it and I just couldn't stand the book. I'm trying to think of a concise way to describe why Time Traveler's Wife pissed me off; at first I liked the concept and thought it was very clever, but as the book went on, I felt like the story got away from the author. Once they were married Clare struck me as a sop--I think the author too closely identified herself with Clare (fiber artist, red hair) and thus didn't explain why Henry, or I, should care about her. She pissed off a number of women in my book group with her pregnancy issues, particularly her insistence that an adopted child isn't a "real" child. I thought it was gratuitous when Henry's feet were amputated and I also don't buy that their daughter found time travel exhilarating and enjoyable--if there is anything more vulnerable than a man being dropped naked into a different time, it's a girl or woman. All I could think of was how many times she'd be raped. I guess one of the reasons that I disliked the book (rather than just forgot about it) was that there were some scenes that I thought were wonderful--like when Henry visits himself as a child. When I read them, I wished this author had found a better editor who could have helped her take the clever concept and the parts that were well-written and bring the rest of the book up to that level. I guess that my feelings about poor editing also carry over to the Red Tent, though to a more extreme degree—I thought this book wasn’t bad at first, but the four mothers were far more interesting than the character of Dinah and once they were out of the picture, I thought the book had no idea what it was doing; I didn’t give a rat about Dinah in Egypt. Another clever concept, (and I’m a big fan of re-telling bible stories—David Maine’s <I>The Preservationist</I> is a terrific book), but poorly realized.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03113130840039776447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10129853.post-1113273710938675812005-04-11T21:41:00.000-05:002005-04-11T21:41:00.000-05:00What a great collection of books. I can only imag...What a great collection of books. I can only imagine the meals that went with them. I also loved Last Report and hated Red Tent, and must know why YOU hate The Time Traveler's Wife (which I love!).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10129853.post-1113269084739638782005-04-11T20:24:00.000-05:002005-04-11T20:24:00.000-05:00Our rice cooker works well even for brown rice.Our rice cooker works well even for brown rice.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com