Rating: 
Summary: boring story, substanceless protagonist
Review: Out of the Blue's protagonist is stupid, doormatty, and very hard to like. Her husband is bland and also stupid, so they're a great match. And it didn't take long for me to care whether or not they stayed together, got back together, etc. The one interesting & likable bit of this book is the job as a weather announcer, at a studio where politics are out of control. Too bad that wasn't more of the storyline. A lot of people seem to like this book, but if you are looking for a good read, not just taste-free filler for your time, look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: boring story, substanceless protagonist
Review: Out of the Blue's protagonist is stupid, doormatty, and very hard to like. Her husband is bland and also stupid, so they're a great match. And it didn't take long for me to care whether or not they stayed together, got back together, etc. The one interesting & likable bit of this book is the job as a weather announcer, at a studio where politics are out of control. Too bad that wasn't more of the storyline. A lot of people seem to like this book, but if you are looking for a good read, not just taste-free filler for your time, look elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Out of the Blue
Review: The main characters are all shallow, silly, and incredibly insecure, but Hollywood, pay attention: this would make a REALLY fun movie. Peter=Hugh Grant. Andie=Emma Thompson. Katie=the girl who plays Hermione in the Harry Potter movies. Faith= hate to say it, but Renee Zellwegger would be perfect. I'm stuck on Lily - readers, any ideas?
This book has a tiny bit of darkness and depth: leave it OUT of the movie, if you want a hit!
Rating: 
Summary: Would make a great movie
Review: The main characters are all shallow, silly, and incredibly insecure, but Hollywood, pay attention: this would make a REALLY fun movie. Peter=Hugh Grant. Andie=Emma Thompson. Katie=the girl who plays Hermione in the Harry Potter movies. Faith= hate to say it, but Renee Zellwegger would be perfect. I'm stuck on Lily - readers, any ideas?
This book has a tiny bit of darkness and depth: leave it OUT of the movie, if you want a hit!
Rating:
Summary: Boring and infuriating
Review: This book combined two attributes rarely seen together in the same book: it was both boring and infuriating. The boredom inhered in the slow movement of the plot and its utterly predictable contours once it started moving. The infuriating aspect of the book lay in the denseness of its heroine. She was so impervious to hints--hints that caused me to figure out what was really going on hundreds of pages before she did--that it made me want to shake her. The heroine was credulous and shallow, and lacked any of the charm that can redeem novels like this even if the plots are contrived and ridiculous.The plot of this book is thin to transparency, and its characterizations are charicatures gone wrong. Everyone in it is shallow beyond belief. In short, do not waste your time and/or money.
Rating:
Summary: Oddly reminiscent of the movie ?Striptease?..
Review: This book starts off in a nice, lighthearted way, but then, not unlike the awful movie referenced above, it's as if the author decided for reasons unknown to drive it down the farcical/spoof route. For me, the result was a bumpy, confusing book where you don't know whether to laugh at or sympathize with the narrator. And the underlying message that her suspicions of infidelity somewhat *drove* her husband to stray is naive and irritating.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good.
Review: This is a very clever, humorous and engaging novel about the effect that jealousy and suspicion can have on an otherwise strong marriage. I felt the author was showing us that Faith almost *wants* to find out that Peter is cheating on her so that she can try what it's like being a single woman, having fun - like her glamorous and witty friend, Lily, after fifteen years of fidelity and family in the 'burbs. I thought the author showed real insight into the terrible emotional consequences Faith then suffers as the wheels of divorce start turning and she realises what she has actually unleashed. She could predict the weather, but, somehow, not this!! In a book which has many original touches - and considerable depth - I appreciated the way the weather forecasts all reflect something in Faith's own emotional life. I also loved the absurd - and yet somehow right-on-the-button - psychoanalyzing of Faith's teenage daughter, and the really great scenes on the daytime television show. The situations and characters, although slightly exaggerated, felt very real. I also felt that the author had worked everything out very intelligently - the attractive opera artist, Jos, who is as false as the beautiful fresco's he paints; the use of dreams and the subconscious to reveal Faith's turmoil and sexual repression; the very believeable story of Faith and Lily's long friendship and the power balance between them which is now about to shift. I did also think the effect of the marriage crisis on the family dog was very touchingly done. Animals are badly affected by marital stress just as much as adults and kids. The quality of the prose, the references to Shakespear's Othello and 'Madame Butterfly' lift this book very far from being just another cute chick lit read - it is actually quite literary and upscale. But at the same time it's a light, quick, and fun read, which is as unpredictable as it is entertaining. You simply cannot guess the ending - you only *think* you can. This is the first Isabel Wolff novel I have read and I now want to try Making Minty Malone and hope I'll like it as much. I have read about four RDI novels now and OUT OF THE BLUE is an excellent addition to the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Engaging....
Review: This is the story of Faith Smith, a British weather broadcaster on a UK morning show. After celebrating her 15th anniversary, she starts suspecting her husband of infidelity & it consumes her every waking moment, until her husband confesses to having an affair. After that shocking revelation their lives turn upside down, with new lovers & future plans. Finding herself on unfamiliar grounds she agonises over her husband betryal & how on earth is she going to forgive him. Or will she?
The characters are well developed & the story is well written to the point where I got a little depressed & wanted to scream at her husband for what he put her through! Good read.
Rating:
Summary: Sorry....just not my bag!
Review: While I wanted to like this book...i found my mind wandering as i attempted to read it. It just wasn't very interesting and i finally gave up after 60 pages.
Rating:
Summary: A Grown Up Look At "Chick Literature!"
Review: Without a doubt - Isabel Wolff is one of the better authors out there in the "Chick Lit" genre. Her previous work (Trial of Tiffany Trott / The Making of Minty Malone / and Rescuing Rose (out later this year) are among my shelf of favorites and her newest US release "Out Of The Blue" is a wonderfully grown up and smart book about a married woman's fears of an adulterous husband and how she goes about handling/proving/disproving and dealing with all those problems that come with insecurities. I loved the idea of this book and really enjoyed the serious and complex elements of this story. The characters were well developed and really interesting. Some of the more memorable in recent history. Ms. Wolff is a very gifted storyteller and I will continue to look for her work. A wonderful addition to the Red Dress Inc. line of literature.
|
