Easter Island

Rating:
Summary: The Island Experience
Review: A nice debut for Vanderbes who writes with a strong and pointed way that captures each character, especially her main ones (Elsa and Greer). The choice of Easter Island is also another way the author isolates her characters so they can come to terms with their own haunted past. Vanderbes becomes somewhat mired in the plant taxonomy of the island and the novel does stretch a bit toward the end when it tries to dovetail many situations into a nicely tied package that just doesn't cover. Overall I felt that Vanderbes does capture the passion of both women trapped by situation and the moral obligations they feel they must uphold.

Rating:
Summary: Easter Island masterpiece
Review: A phenomenal read, brilliantly and sensitively written!

Rating:
Summary: a.s. byatt wannabe
Review: anyone who has actually read a.s. byatt or michael cunningham's the hours will see how verrry familiar this plot is. mostly ho-hum with only a dash of sparkle. a hopeful start, but it turns into predictable sitcommery by novel's end. I do like the unique island setting though.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful story, and educational, too.
Review: As a fan of anthropology, history, and tales of "exotic" places, I found this to be a great read, with enough suspense and complexity to keep me turning pages, as well as an abundance of fascinating scientific and historical information. I was in constant thrall of Vanderbese's storytelling ability and the amount of research she obviously did for this project.

I only wish I'd been as captivated by the two main characters themselves, Elsa and Greer. Vanderbese works very hard in her prose to try to help us know who they are -- lots of careful psychological explanations for why they act and feel certain ways -- and yet they still don't quite feel like real, fleshed out people to me.

But this wouldn't keep me from recommending the book highly to anyone -- it's a transporting, cinematic, engrossing story, elegantly told.

Rating:
Summary: A good story, well told.
Review: As a writer, I flag examples of writing I admire and can learn from. My copy of this book is full of flags. The author does a wonderful job of weaving two stories and kept me absorbed in the fictional dream from start to finish.

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Rating:
Summary: pack this book with your carry-on luggage
Review: Browsing at the library, picked this book for it's cover, and was surprisingly carried away from the start. Really fun, smart, engaging novel. The story is imaginative, the characters interesting and likable, and the narrative absorbing. Definitely a vacation read especially if you're going somewhere new.

Rating:
Summary: pack this book with your carry-on luggage
Review: Browsing at the library, picked this book for it's cover, and was surprisingly carried away from the start. Really fun, smart, engaging novel. The story is imaginative, the characters interesting and likable, and the narrative absorbing. Definitely a vacation read especially if you're going somewhere new.

Rating:
Summary: a bore-filled trip to a fantastical island
Review: Could not get involved with any of the characters. Ultimately, I just didn't care about whether or not these people get off the island. A little to melodramatic and over-written for my taste.

Rating:
Summary: ho-hum, little sparkle
Review: High expectations due to the buzz but this book was a real let down. the ending is highly implausible and the dialogue was just plain old unbelieveable throughout. The prose was lovely but characters were left half-drawn. A mega disappointment. Go to the real island and see for yourself.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Squander Your Reading Time
Review: I borrowed this book from the library and I'm glad I didn't buy it in addition to wasting the time I spent reading it. It's rare when I feel I've been had by an author, and this is one of those times. I should have known better; when I see a cover like this one, red flags should pop up to keep looking for something with better content.