Summer at the Lake (Bookcassette(r) Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Just a darn good temporarily life-escaping read..
Review: What's the true test of whether it's a good book or not? When you can't bear to put it down and you don't want it to end, it's a good book! Greeley has characters with whom you can identify, a plot that keeps you going and a setting that makes you long for those big old houses by a pristine lake on summer days uncomplicated by bumper to bumper traffic and air pollution. I read the other reviews and wonder if everybody is so uptight these days that they can't imagine just laying back under an oak tree and reading a good book - not a great book, not a great work of literature. Just a good book. Lighten up, get a life, smell the flowers and learn to love just a "good" book.

Rating:
Summary: A true waste of time, a horrid bore
Review: When I read the reviews for Summer at the Lake, I expected a good mystery wrapped in a story of lost childhood love. I had never read Andrew Greeley before therefore did not realize he was a Catholic priest. I discovered this at the start of my read and it really did not matter at that time. However, as the pages turned, painfully I might add, I found it almost impossible to move forward through this story for these reasons... 1) It sickened me to know that a Catholic priest was writing of love, sex, and passion. I simply could not overcome this aweful feeling I had knowing that. But, if you were not raised Catholic as I was, you may not have this stigma imprinted on your mind about priests. 2) With the priest/sex thing aside, this story simply did not flow. Greeley wrote this book in a way that every two or so pages we had a new chapter, new year, and a new voice (ie Patrick then Leo then Jane then 1978 with Leo then 1948 with Leo then 1978 with Leo then Jane then Leo again all within the FIRST 40 PAGES!). I have no problem with books that skip around in time or have flashbacks, but this was simply ridiculous and distracting to the plot. 3) There was so much religion and preaching done throughout these pages, I really resented it. I was uncomfortable with the was religion was handled. 4) It was obvious this was written by a priest because the words he put in these characters mouths, especially during love scenes, was so stupid the just are not realistic. All that aside (HA!) this book was just plain terrible! I could have cared less about the "mysterious plot" after all that! God, please stop this man from writing love stories! -Angela Bernardoni-