Wrack

Rating:
Summary: Less a mystery than a soap opera
Review: Billed as a mystery-within-a-mystery, this book has a moderately interesting historical premise with some tantalizing bits from relatively ancient sources. The angst of academics pursuing a probably hopeless cause is overdone, I think. The unraveling of that tale is way too slow, little suspense actually builds, and the ending is a disappointment. The soap opera within a soap opera love story(-ies) just seemed pointless, a lame attempt at titillation, with an ambigous resolution. The gratuitous four-letter words were an annoyance.

Rating:
Summary: A very effectively descibed story of love and history
Review: Bradley engages our attention right from the beginning of the novel to the end. The mysterious opening leads us to read on. Also with the Portguese ship, that David is trying to discover, does not only help to 'open up' the love story of Kurt but also acts as a 'bait' to maintain our interest in reading. The Wrack is a very interesting book to read apart from being a HSC book for 1999.

Rating:
Summary: just bad...
Review: I don't know what's up with the state (or politics) of Australian letters that a book this bad would receive such critical acclaim, but there must be some serious mojo afoot somewhere. Like others, I was waiting to be bowled over. The premise certainly seemed interesting. But nothing here is quite right and most of it is just god-awful. The historical backdrop is confusing and largely unnecessary filler, the twinned relational plotlines are right out of soap opera, the language is portentous when it isn't simply purple- and, then, there are all those homilies- you know, the ones about love and the sands of time drifting thru the hourglass of life, etcetc. It's hard for me to imagine a reader actually consenting to this effort, but there you go. Say "pass" and save yourself some time.

Rating:
Summary: The worst book I have ever read.
Review: I feel obligated to give Wrack a good review - it was well written, completely engaging, functioned on a few different levels and was well thought out. Wrack is a love story, a mystery and a history (although the author admits he did flub a few things) of the discovery of Australia. On each of these levels, Bradley succeeds. He's able to create characters readers can both relate to and care about and involve them in an irresistible archeological mystery. And since it functions so well on these levels, it's a very rich and engrossing read. Pick up a copy and enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Wrack - It's not as simple as you think
Review: I read 'Wrack' for my final year at High School in Australia and upon first reading it found it to be uninteresting and dreaded spending a year studing 'Wrack'. After re-reading it and discussing it with my teacher and classmates I discoved the many layers of this very deep and suprising novel. Bradley explores so many issues in this book and examines the characters relationships on many levels that I finished my school days feeling that I had read a great novel by a very talented writer.

So give 'Wrack' a chance - it's a great book!

Rating:
Summary: Shades of English Patient
Review: One cannot help but notice the similarity between THE WRACK and the ENGLISH PATIENT. I made two attempts before I could finish EP and as I began this work, I made up my mind I would hang in no matter what. About 20 pages into the book I began to really try to dislike the author for jumping around so much just as in EP. I also found the absence of quotation marks irritating, butI thought, that's my hang-up. Hard as I tried to dislike Bradley for confusing me, I have to admit the book intrigued me. He is a very knowledgable chap supplying much history, most of which I will never remember. I liked Claire but thought David pretty shallow. I felt Bradley wove such a tale he was at a loss on how to finish it...very banal ending. Surely Bradley could have written a much more fascinating ending,but perhaps he was exhausted after having come so far.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating mystery with a historical twist...
Review: This book was a surprise to me...I thought it was merely a mystery from all the reviews I had read, and even from the cover of the book itself. Yet the mystery turned out not to be as compelling as the historical story and the story of dual obsessions. The intelligent narration of the story within a story proved to be confusing sometimes, yet overall the writing was spectacular. This young author has a definite way with words and descriptions of the possible discovery of Australia by the Portuguese proved to be one of the most compelling historical fiction I have read in years. The research and incorporation of the cartographic science involved, and also the tale of scientific obsession which leads to jealousy, bitterness, and rivalry is all too credible. I personally am not crazy about the use of objectional language, especially if it serves no purpose to move the story along (which I felt was the case here). However, Bradley's impressive language use and insights into the links between the past, present, and future made for an exquisite book.

This book is a definite must for readers who enjoy mysteries with plausible historical context and for those who enjoy writers who are masterful practitioners of the English language. Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh

Rating:
Summary: Good Author - Disappointing Novel
Review: This was the first novel by James Bradley I have read, and I was disappointed in it -- but I will read another.

I picked up "Wrack" because of the idea of mapmaking. I anticipated a riveting novel and the unraveling of a puzzle, along the lines of Sobel's Longitude [yes, I realize it is not a novel]. The plot was predictable, and the ultimate denouement was an anticlimax.

That said, I think Bradley is a gifted writer. Two quotes: "Although he ... believes in the coded and ordered knowledge of science, the structured discourse of academic debate, he feels the pull of other places, other times." And: "We know so little. And it's only when we come to try and understand why something might have happened that we realize how poor and cheap our tools of understanding are. Forensics, memories, the law; but in the end they're all just matches we're striking in the darkness." Bradley is able to do what few contemporary writers even attempt: he expresses, and expresses well, our unuttered fears and limitations. A writer with that talent deserves a second reading.

Rating:
Summary: Good Author - Disappointing Novel
Review: This was the first novel by James Bradley I have read, and I was disappointed in it -- but I will read another.

I picked up "Wrack" because of the idea of mapmaking. I anticipated a riveting novel and the unraveling of a puzzle, along the lines of Sobel's Longitude [yes, I realize it is not a novel]. The plot was predictable, and the ultimate denouement was an anticlimax.

That said, I think Bradley is a gifted writer. Two quotes: "Although he ... believes in the coded and ordered knowledge of science, the structured discourse of academic debate, he feels the pull of other places, other times." And: "We know so little. And it's only when we come to try and understand why something might have happened that we realize how poor and cheap our tools of understanding are. Forensics, memories, the law; but in the end they're all just matches we're striking in the darkness." Bradley is able to do what few contemporary writers even attempt: he expresses, and expresses well, our unuttered fears and limitations. A writer with that talent deserves a second reading.

Rating:
Summary: A fine read!!
Review: You'll learn more about early Australian history, and the history of map making, than you'd ever imagine. But don't let that keep you from a very interesting story that combines history, academic politics, and (oh but the way) murder.

Who really discovered the continent? and when did it happen?

More interestingly, what happens when an academic disagrees with the prevailing thought about that, and says so, and thinks he can prove it? As it turns out, there are two different people, about fifty years apart, who come up with the same 'alternative explanation.'

All it takes to complete the story is the discovery of a body of too recent vintage during an archeological dig, the delay caused by the police, and an old bum living in a shack in the area who may or ma not have the answer to both mysteries.

If you like history, or if you like mysteries, you'll like this book.