Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing.....
Review: I was disapointed by this book. The reviews made it sound more interesting than it turned out to be. The claustrophobic girls' school environment was well drawn, but the dark, cold, indeed very chilly ambience wasn't warmed up by believable characters or a very interesting plot. Also, as has been noted by others, the book seemed derivative of "The Secret History." No fault of the author's, most likely, but she couldn't help but be aware of Tart's novel, which was so commercially successful and should have changed some aspects to differentiate her own work. How could she NOT think the books would be compared? Still, I'd say the writer has talent, and I hope she does better second time around.
Rating: 
Summary: A psychological mystery which didn't deliver
Review: As I sit here typing this review I am sorely disappointed after reading The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman. I will be the first to admit that I really enjoy books and movies which take place at a boarding school, i.e. Daddy Long-Legs by Jean Webster and New Girls by Beth Gutcheon or on a college campus setting as in Red Leaves by Paullina Simons. I also seem to enjoy a good psychological mystery as well. That said, I'm afraid that reading The Lake of Dead Langauages never seemed to interest me as much as when I first opened up the book and read the dust jacket notes. Perhaps it was the comparison to Donna Tartt's well reviewed book, The Secret History, which put my nose out of joint or maybe it was the fact that this book quickly wallowed in murky V.C Andrews territory while all the while this book pretended to be something much grander with its talk about Greek mythology and the high school subject of Latin, often referred to as a dead langauge. Jane Hudson, on the verge of a divorce and the mother of a young child, returns to the boarding shcool she attended as a scholarship student. The very sight of the school Heart Lake and the lake itself, where school activities and private assignations took place, is enough to send Jane reeling back to her senior year when scandal rocked the once very proud and illustrious institutuion. Suddenly Jane begins receiving messages which seem to have been lifted straight from her writing journal which has been missing since that fateful last year. And as if this isn't bad enough, copy cat incidences from that year seem to be happening once again. It is at this point that the book takes off on the most dizzying and wild roller coaster ride which eventually had me scratching my head wondering why I bothered to finish this book. On the plus side I wil agree with the readers who said the writing and descriptions especially about the freezing lake, cold weather and ice storms was most lyrical. But I found I didn't much care for the main characters or some of the other principl players. Try as I might I found these people and the plot so bizarre and much too much of a convoluted tale. Way before the end of the book, I netiher cared what happened to Jane or her students or the school itself. After a while I found myself comparing this book to a maudlin romantic suspense book. And don't get me wrong. If this was the authors intention that would have been fine and I might have expected it but she tried so hard to make this such a serious book. Finally it was the last two pages and coincidences which were simply too much as the author provided her readers with a happily ever after ending which was truly ridiculous. Guess the next time I expect a good read from a boarding school or college campus, I better think twice.
Rating: 
Summary: Dreadful!
Review: This book is, in a word, dreadful. The writing is amateurish, repetitive and boring. You could drive a truck through the plot which is just silly. There is no mystery here. I was really anxious to read this book because the synopis sounded so interesting. My advice if you have any interest whatsoever, is save your money and get this one from the library. After a few chapters you'll be ready to return it ... There are too many good books out there to waste money on this kind of trash.
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: One of those ~ have to read it, give me time to finish it books! On the other hand, I came to care about the characters and didn't want them to "leave" when I finished. Loved it!
Rating:
Summary: The Lake of Dead Languages
Review: While I eagerly read the unfolding plots at Heart Lake, I don't think the novel ever convinced me I was involved or really even worried about the outcome. The symetry of three girls getting into trouble at the same private school twenty years apart is cleaver, but results in lots of repetition and constantly identical lake-scenery descriptions. The book fails to make you forget you're reading it. You never loose yourself, headlong, into the character of Jane, or any of the others. Jane is so busy explaining details, one never worries about her safety, especially at the end.
Rating: 
Summary: Well-Written First Novel
Review: My friends like to point out a particular ability of mine which can be fun or irritating depending on the moment: I am very good at figuring out plots. I can predict where a novel is going very early on and I often have the movie's killer worked out before it's half over. I enjoy having this skill but I've learned it's wise not to whisper the ending to your friend at the seat next to you when you're at the theatre. In any case, nothing makes me happier than coming across a novel that offers me real surprises; unfortunately, I didn't find too many surprises here. This does not mean this is a bad book. On the contrary, I find it to be a very enjoyable first novel. But it is a novel that has more joys in the experience of the prose and the unfolding of its intricacies than in shocking revelations. This book traces the story of two groups of girls at an isolated boarding school. Twenty years earlier there had been the tragic deaths of two girls at the school as well as one of the girl's brother. Now, that tragic history seems to be repeating itself in another group of students when the surviving girl comes back to teach at the school. Ultimately, it's up to Jane Hudson--the student turned teaching linking the two stories--to figure out exactly what is going on and to avert any further deaths, including her own. Though others might find the denouncement more shocking than me, I found the brilliance of this book in the details. In particular, as a former private school teacher myself, I think the early depictions of the teaching life to be right on target. Also, there is a wealth of beautiful description here of both people and places. If you enjoy a well-written mystery/thriller then, all in all, this first novel is well worth a look.
Rating:
Summary: A good book with a Great cover!
Review: I heard this book reviewed on the Today show so I bought it. The story has an excellent plot and the writing is strong. The setting and scenery evoke a wonderfully sinister mood of winter in upstate New York at a private girl's school. The lead character is strong and their are plenty of suspects along the way. As a male, I had hoped it would have been a bit more compelling in terms of the crimes and the lack of male suspects. You never really understand everything that happened but you are told most of the hard facts by the end of the story. I would have expanded the ending and conclusion to a few more chapters rather than profess all details in the final few pages. Don't get me wrong, it was totally enjoyable, however, I think it is geared more towards women and teenage girls. I would definately read another one of her books. And by the way, there are no figures floating on the lake on my book cover. What's up with that?
Rating:
Summary: A gothic novel
Review: This book reminded me of The Secret History by Donna Tartt. It has the same feeling of things, mysteries, hidden beneath the surface. Jane Hudson, an instructor at Heart Lake, teaches at the same school she once attended. While a student there, her two roommates killed themselves. Now, girls in the class she teaches seem to be coming to the same end. Jane has to come to an understanding of what happened in the past in order to help her students now. This is a dark, gothic novel, full of mysterious alliances, secrets kept, and secrets told. This is a really good read on a stormy weekend with a cup of tea at your side. You wind up caring for all the characters, and wondering what will happen to them in the end.
Rating:
Summary: Catholic Boarding School Girls Gone Awry
Review: I loved this book! As a former student of a catholic, all-girl, boarding school in Albany, NY, I could relate to the mood and atmosphere the author created. I found myself up reading late into the night, but not wanting the story to be over. Good twist at the end. (Although I figured it out before the central charactor did.) This book is a good read!
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This is a truely amazing book. As mentioned in a previous review, two time periods are skillfully interwoven, the present and events taking plave about twenty years previous to create a suspenseful mystery. However, there are really three time periods. The third is the stories from ancient classic literature, and their dramatic and lyrical parallel to the present.The writing is superb and seemingly effortless. Then there is the viscerally presented ever-changing nature of the lake itself, which has the force and complexity of a main character. The narrator is fully embodied-likable but not flawless: she has inner problems to solve. Her struggle to remember preconscious events from her past to solve the mystery and dispell her sense of dread is well articulated and presents a state of mind that we have all experienced at one time or another (at least I have).In spite of all these elements the book is not gloomy or depressing and the ending is quite satisfying. I eagerly await her next book
|
