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Title: A Traitor to Memory by Elizabeth George ISBN: 0-553-58236-4 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 27 August, 2002 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 2.84 (159 reviews)
Rating: 1
Summary: The 1,024 page souffle
Comment: That sounds like an oxymoron, I know, but it's the truth. You wonder how a book this laboriously dense can ultimately amount to so little. I have yet to read the latest George novel, and having read them in order (it was a REAL struggle to continue after "A SUITABLE VENGEANCE" and "MISSING JOSEPH") -- and after the near-contemptuous description of Australians in "I, RICHARD" -- not to mention the stunningly predictable "surprise" endings, I don't know wheter I'll persevere. If this is a trend, well -- there are bettter things to read, really.
I read the British edition of this book, and it should have tipped me off just reading the blurb -- the fact that it gave a lead-in to the Gideon sections of the book, and then the Lynley/Havers section, and neither seemed (from the way the blurb was phrased) remotely related; just, apparently, two separate books in one volume. And in many respects, it is. (And that introductory passage that really never gets chased up -- there's another tip-off.)
I will say this now: if the first two or so Gideon entries don't hold your interest, you really shouldn't bother reading the rest, since the other sections of the book tended to recap the journal entries a lot -- and (fortunately) in a far less whining, irritating manner.
The rest of the book was more like a typical George novel -- endless subplots, the usual quota of hard-core porn (with lesbians this time; ooh-er!), the stilted British dialogue (as I just included), a mocking of Havers which is really going into overkill now -- she dresses dowdy! Stop beating us over the head with it! -- more pregancy-related woes . . . although I should point out that as for subplots, Havers' possibly burgeoning relationship with her Pakistani neighbor (whose name I can't remember right now) isn't really continued, unlike the previous novel ("IN PURSUIT OF THE PROPER SINNER"). At least that was a storyline vaguely comprehendible.
So, the novel could have been about half its present length -- or less, if the Gideon sections had been reduced, or just taken out altogether.
But above all, if the plot had to be so long -- and such an effort to drag yourself through -- it could have been more cohesive. If the book is a mystery, it's supposed to reach a satisfactory ending -- which is, as it stands, the real traitor of the book.
(Oh, and a final note -- the glowing reviews on the covers of George's books constantly draw [unfair, IMO] comparison to P.D. James and Ruth Rendell. Has anyone ever noticed how _their_ detective novels are only 200-300 pages long? But George's . . .)
Rating: 4
Summary: Good, challenging book.
Comment: This is the first book I've read by Elizabeth George. I'm impressed by her ability to write from so many points of view in such an effortless manner. The book is great, very atmospheric, and written with a quiet sense of urgency. The characters are so refreshingly flawed, without being contrived, which seems to me to be more and more of a rareity. I haven't enjoyed a book so much in years.
Rating: 1
Summary: A looonnnng slog - for not much
Comment: Verbose, too many sub-plots, annoying, snivelling characters...So much potential wasted on a tale that didn't seem to have a center holding it together. Disappointing, to say the least. Don't waste your time on this one.
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Title: In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner by Elizabeth George ISBN: 0553575104 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 31 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Deception on His Mind by Elizabeth George ISBN: 0553575090 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 06 October, 1998 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: In the Presence of the Enemy by Elizabeth George ISBN: 0553576089 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 05 May, 1997 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Playing for the Ashes by Elizabeth George ISBN: 0553572512 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 August, 1995 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Suitable Vengeance by Elizabeth George ISBN: 0553295608 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 February, 1992 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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