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Title: The River King by Alice Hoffman, Laural Merlington ISBN: 1-56740-745-5 Publisher: Brilliance Audio Pub. Date: July, 2000 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 7 List Price(USD): $73.25 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.6 (82 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Not up to her usual standard
Comment: That said, this is still a worthwhile book, and for anyone not familiar with Alice Hoffman's work, it wouldn't be a bad introduction. But for those who are familiar with her work, I agree with those reviewers who found something missing.
I've always loved the way Hoffman entertwines the unreal with the realistic, and imbues the ordinary with extraordinary qualities that seem perfectly accurate at the time you're reading her words. Her writing is lyrical and evocative, yet it never seems overdone or precious or self-conscious. She's the type of author I consider a natural-born writer.
And all of the above does hold true for "The River King" -- it's just that the people whose stories she tells in these books seem to exist to serve the plot rather than the other way around.
For example, one of the main characters, Carlin Leander (well, maybe that name IS a bit precious...), is 14-year-old girl...14-going-on-25. Maybe if Carlin had been born to Bohemian parents and raised in, say, Greenhich Village, her behavior and personality would have made sense. But she's a poor girl from Florida. Of course that doesn't mean she couldn't be as world-weary and sophisticated as Carlin comes across, but given Carlin's background, it seems unlikely.
Then there is Betsy Chase, the photographer/photography teacher at the Haddon School (the snooty private establishment where Carlin's a swimming scholarship student), another main character. She doesn't quite make sense to me either. I can't somehow fathom a school like Haddon (which doesn't seem to have that many students) being flush with enough tuition payments to be able to hire a teacher just to teach photography. Even if such were the case, it seems just a bit too convenient that Betsy is hired as a *teacher* simply because she's a professional photographer who was previously hired to take class pictures. In addition, Betsy is made a junior house parent. Again, to me, this makes no sense; what are her qualifications other than being able to take pictures? Teaching/being responsible for teenagers requires much more than that.
Then there's Abel Grey, the cop who was formerly a juvenile delinquent. He's yet another character whose function seems to be multi-purpose. It's never explained how he makes the unlikely transition from being a law-breaker to a law-enforcer; we're just supposed to take the author's word for it.
At the climax of the book, Abel sets up Harry McKenna, the book's bad guy and Carlin's one-time boyfriend, who has helped cruely kill a student misfit named Gus Pierce, for cheating. This is because the town of Haddon is supposedly so much in the grip of the school that Abel's investigation of the murder has gotten him fired, since it threatens the school. So, Abel is reduced to breaking into the school and planting the answers to a test in Harry's room. This evidence of Harry's cheating gets Harry, always the fair-haired boy up until now, expelled virtually instanteously.
So here we come to one more thing that doesn't make sense. Why is Harry kicked out so quickly, with no due process at all? It's not a satisfying conclusion, for one thing; Harry still gets away with murder. And it's hard to buy that Haddon School would treat a student like Harry, whom it was willing to protect from any suspicion of harming Gus Pierce to the point of resorting to bribing the local police department, would then turn around and expel him "simply" for cheating. Cheating on a test = entirely unacceptable!; killing fellow student = our little secret?
If anyone is still with me, tell me -- DOES that make sense? Because it didn't to me.
As I finished the book, I almost felt as if I'd read the equivalent of a Lifetime TV movie. The only reason I didn't feel that way entirely is because of Alice Hoffman's talent as a writer. But in those book she just doesn't appear to sweat the details, and it shows.
Rating: 5
Summary: A deeply moving novel that has a sorrowful tone
Comment: I bought this book on instinct after reading the plot summary and I was not dissapointed. I have read other books by Alice Hoffman and I thought this was probably one of her best.
Actually, this books is quite sad and the mood throughout is very melancholy. In most cases a sad book is not always enjoyable, however, I was deeply moved and at times I was on the verge of tears.
I must say that I found similarities between The River King and the novel "The Secret History" by Donna Tarrt. Both are based around a small elite college campus that have beautiful houses and mysterious going-ons. I highly reccomend reading Donna Tarrt's novel as well if you enjoy The River King.
Overall I found the book to be enjoyable and magical even with its sad plot and melancholy characters. I finished reading this book in one evening because I simply could not put it down.
Rating: 2
Summary: Disappointing
Comment: This book missed the mark for me. I did read it, but I did not find it necessarily engaging. I think that this may have been targeted for a younger audience. It was dark in an odd way - not like Practical Magic, however. I felt a little cheated when I finished the book - I did not have that 'good' feeling that comes after having read a 'good' book.
I do appreciate Alice Hoffman's talent, but I did not feel this book showcased it as well as others have. I much preferred A Probable Future.
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Title: Fortune's Daughter by Alice Hoffman ISBN: 0425168700 Publisher: Berkley Pub Group Pub. Date: 13 December, 1999 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Local Girls by Alice Hoffman ISBN: 0425174344 Publisher: Berkley Pub Group Pub. Date: May, 2000 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Second Nature by Alice Hoffman ISBN: 0425146812 Publisher: Berkley Pub Group Pub. Date: April, 1995 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Blue Diary by Alice Hoffman ISBN: 0425184943 Publisher: Berkley Pub Group Pub. Date: 06 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Turtle Moon by Alice Hoffman ISBN: 042513699X Publisher: Berkley Pub Group Pub. Date: June, 1993 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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