Well, let me start with the positives. First, it was nice in the end that she decided to not make the whole book about pissing all over "love". After the first 1-4 chapters, I thought that's where this was heading. In the end, she did show some positive sides to "love". Her plot did get slightly deeper towards the end as well, as she started to integrate more characters into each chapter, rather than the starkness that was, focusing on one character in the earlier chapters. I think that's what I've got for positives for now.
The negatives, well, rather than repeat the quote, I will just reference it in the previous two posts. What a cheesy, and lacking in thought line. Ridiculous! Especially so, for someone who spent the early parts of the books exploring some of the darker sides of "love". I felt like her ending reflected this lack in thought, as she just started throwing people together at the end. Jocelyn and Grigg was very typical, easy to predict, and I didn't particularly have a problem with them getting together. The whole book started with us knowing he would end up with Jocelyn anyway. Daniel coming back? Don't get me wrong, its very feel good and all, and I don't even mind showing progress towards that end. Really though, I wasn't buying the whole scene with him coming back to book club. Jerry Maguire with no emotion. (Which, try to imagine that scene if Cruise had not bothered to put any emotion into it....he would have been murdered). Anyway, I guess to sum up, despite an improvement from beginning to end, I thought this writer showed extreme lack of depth in her plot mostly, but in her characters as well. I agree with Sarah (I think she said something to this effect) that she seems to have relied on us to import a character into each of these, to give them more depth than they deserved based on her writing.
Finally, if ya'll want a laugh, make sure you read through those study questions. Are you kidding me?
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Giggle. I will never be able to picture Daniel as anyone other than Tom Cruise now. I hope he's playing him in the movie (came in the mail today!), but somehow, I don't think so...
I think the study questions were some of the more clever parts of the book and actually gave us quite a bit of insight into the characters as characters themselves.
Some of the questions from the Questions for discussion...
Do you ever like movies based on books? Do you want to see wishbone movies? Do you think we will ever have universal health coverage? Which of the women in Sex in the City is Dean really most like? Can the same be said of Karen Joy Fowler? (I really hope that one was publisher added and not the author writing as Prudie, talking about herself in the 3rd person) Are there more book communities you know of that engage with a like passions? (Plus the strange statement before it that Austen lovers and science fiction readers feel a similar intense connection books...who says?...or follow that up with Many science fiction readers also love Austen, who says?) Do you think many Austen readers love science fiction? Do you assume the author looks nothing like her photo anyway? How many generations back can you go in your own family tree?
Don't get me wrong a few (and I emphasize a few) of these questions might be interesting questions to discuss, however the majority of them have nothing to do with the book we just read. Maybe that's not the point, but I just crack up to know that its not just Christians doing pre-written Bible studies that come up with pointless discussion questions.
I don't think the study questions were serious; I think they were to give us more info about what the characters are interested in and provide comic relief.
LOL...I don't think books like this should have study questions. It's like they are trying to make themselves classics or epics when really, they are just a plain book. Sarah, I want to hear what the movie is like, Chris didn't want to rent it because he didn't like the book.
~Emily~
I agree with you that this did end up showing some more positive sides of love after seeming really negative about it at first, so that was better. And yes, it was awfully convenient that everyone ended up with someone.
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