The Mushroom Man

Rating:
Summary: PERHAPS I'M MISSING SOMETHING...
Review: ...but I don't think so. I've read most of the reviews below, and the only one I can really agree with is the one that only gave the book one star - I wouldn't slag it quite that much, but I was very disappointed. I saw this novel in a local bookstore a few weeks ago, and it looked interesting - after picking it up and reading it, I felt let down. I found the voice the author chose a bit too child-like for the things that went on in the story (and I won't give away any more of the plot that the jacket blurb does, don't worry) - it was fine for the storyline concerning Lily (the young girl who goes missing in the woods in search of the Mushroom Man), but it grated badly in the more 'adult' areas of the story. I also felt that the characterizations were extremely shallow - again, more like what I would expect in a children's book, or at least in a book for adults that deals with its storyline from a child's point of view. The ending tied everything up much too neatly, and left me with the impression that the writer had either (a) run out of steam or ideas, or (b) simply got tired of trying to see the book through to a proper end.

If you're looking for intelligent writing that employs a child's viewpoint without insulting the intelligence of the adult reader, there are many, many options out there more satisfying than this novel: Alison McGhee's amazing SHADOW BABY; Erri de Luca's luminous GOD'S MOUNTAIN; N. M. Kelby's IN THE COMPANY OF ANGELS; Polly Whitney's stunning THIS IS GRACEANNE'S BOOK; Ben Rice's POBBY & DINGAN; Sharon Wyse's THE BOX CHILDREN; Gaetan Soucy's THE LITTLE GIRL WHO WAS TOO FOND OF MATCHES; Eliza Minot's THE TINY ONE; Elizabeth Graver's THE HONEY THIEF; Kathy Hepinstall's THE ABSENCE OF NECTAR; Brian Hall's THE SASKIAD...the list goes on and on. Some of these novels feature very young characters - some of them are more 'coming-of-age' novels - but they're all superb.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed with the ending
Review: Here's a writer who really builds you up so you're tense in your chair and whipping the pages over quickly. The writing style just engulfs you. Serioiusly, it engulfs you like one of those kamikazi sharks, and then the characters get in your head with their idiosyncractic and neurotic chatter. The story immediately is happening, and the gears are clicking. I was so built up to whatever the ending was going to be, and then, I was like, It ends here? Without giving away the plot, or the ending, I'll just say that the plot gives a reader everything a reader wants, but the ending is one of those endings where people either really love it or really hate it. Well, I didn't hate the ending. I just thought the ending was a couple more pages away, but a couple more pages aren't written, so I was disappointed. But the journey to that last page was thrilling, and I would have to say that despite how it ends, I really enjoyed this book. It's a writer's first book, so all the patches can't be covered the first time around, and she covers a lot more than a lot of people out there with their first books. I recommend this book and give it four stars for good writing, great character development, a solid plot--but the lacking I felt to be in the ending is what made me take one star out to make it four instead of five.

Rating:
Summary: a light, quick, read
Review: I suppose a story involving estranged sisters, extra marital affairs with nannies & missing children, would not normally be a breezy read, but in the case of The Mushroom Man- it is.

The novel switches back and forth so quickly across the minds of its' myriad characters, that the reader doesn't stay in any of the heavy spots long enough to become weighed down by their troubledness. This could be a bad thing depending on your expectations, and would have made for a very different read had Powell decided to stretch out the more adult issues, but she didn't- and it keeps the tale as soft as the dreams of the children within the pages.

Overall, the book is a sweet read, but I think the darkness that shadows the minds of most of most of the adults in the book could have been explored a bit more deeply- it could have added another layer that would have made the bright & the dark, so often found in fairytales, (which this book emulates in many ways) a more interesting, multi-faceted contrast.

Powell seems to have a nack for storytelling, and I look forward to her next endeavor- I think she may have the ability to go deeper, which would make her writing less forgettable.

A good, quick, escape novel, but not something I'd pass on to friends unless they were looking for a super light read.

Rating:
Summary: This book is written with a lot of fearless edge
Review: When reading the mushroom man, I often stopped and enjoyed the reading buzz the writing style was giving me. Sophie Powell is extremely good at making friends with the reader. Her descriptions of the people in the story were so playful and dreamlike, and her sense of Welsh countryside antics were off the charts with laughs. It's filled with extremely witty humor and charm. I was smitten after the first chapter, and I wish Amazon did that "Look Inside" thing with this book so online buyers could see for themselves. her words sort of reminded me of the tactile precision of poetry, and her story was like a very dreamlike film with a very Quenten Tarrintino rapid pace, only Sophie Powell's world is much more delightful than Tarrintino.

Rating:
Summary: An unexpected delight!
Review: Wow. Once again: wow! Her prose is like a roller coaster ride, extremely fun, making scenes and life spin so fast, it's like nothing you've ever experienced before. I was impressed with how tight this whole thing is--this being a first novel and all. After I read this book, I did a little research on the author and found out that she was only 22 when she published this book!

It's an extremely well-written story full of innocent candor and dark sexual irony. It does not unnecessarily dwell on things. Sophie Powell avoids every single pretentious mistake so commonly seen in other writers' first books.

I am sure even greater works will most defiantely be penned by Powell. This work is also great. It's absolutely great! I'm not very good at reviews, and usually don't write them, but after reading this book, I just had to write one. This is one of those books that makes you grab someone and tell them that they ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK!