Rating: 
Summary: WHAT DID I JUST READ?
Review: I loved the fact that the author used so many character traits to make the story interesting. Other than that though, I found this book to have no real plot. Hazel moves back in with Jonathan, and then.... nada! For hundreds of pages, useless events keep occurring. The end was ridiculous, too. I couldn't tell if Livesey was trying to end things on a positive note or on a crazy note. If anyone knows, feel free to email me with the answer. Berryjess@hotmail.com
Rating: 
Summary: Very good, not great
Review: I loved the premise of this book and I thought it was very well carried out. I also loved the way Livesey shifted point of view between the characters, gradually revealing more of each person as they were seen through others' eyes. The characters were extremely real and well drawn and Livesey writes very well. Although I found the plot interesting and compelling, it wasn't quite enough of a page-turner or sufficiently thought-provoking to merit 5 stars from me. Nonetheless, I consider it a book well worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: A Great, Entertaining Read
Review: I read this book practically in one sitting--it's fast, entertaining read. Well written, interesting characters, a plot that keeps you guessing. Take it along on the beach this summer!
Rating:
Summary: Enthralling
Review: Margot Livesey paints these character portraits in such a deft manner, their inevitable intertwining seems not only natural, but outlined by Fate. Something of each reader surfaces in all these characters: Jonathon, Freddie, Hazel, Maud, Charlotte, and on and on. Each one is human. Livesey has done a superb job with them and with the explorations of memory. Hazel and those whose lives touch hers each discover what memory-and forgetfulness-mean to their lives. I couldn't put this one down.
Rating: 
Summary: A great novel.
Review: Margot Livesey's The Missing World provides the aftermath of an accident which robs Hazel of three years of memory, and the efforts of a former lover to re-enter her world thanks to amnesia. Hazel struggles with rebuilding her life only to find changed relationships all around.Diane C. Donovan Reviewer
Rating:
Summary: Second Chances Gone Awry
Review: The brilliant idea behind this novel is the idea of "second chances" to right the wrongs one has committed, and who doesn't want to get a second chance tossed his or her way once in a while? So I began this book somehow pulling for Jonathan who is hoping to make ammends after the disasterous breakup with his girlfriend Hazel - who P.S. - has amnesia after an accident and can't remember that they are finished. Then Margot Livesey so deftly and eerily twists the story, and the character of Jonathan is gradually unpeeled, layer after layer, until we want to leap into the pages to rescue Hazel. The other characters surrounding Hazel and Jonathan are just as fascinating and disturbing, one of my favorites being Charlotte, an out-of-work actress with a magnificent heart that gets trampled upon constantly, whether it's by her unforgiving sister, Nurse Bernie, or her louse of a boyfriend. The Missing World really is a stunning read and quite impossible to put down.
Rating:
Summary: Second Chances Gone Awry
Review: The brilliant idea behind this novel is the idea of "second chances" to right the wrongs one has committed, and who doesn't want to get a second chance tossed his or her way once in a while? So I began this book somehow pulling for Jonathan who is hoping to make ammends after the disasterous breakup with his girlfriend Hazel - who P.S. - has amnesia after an accident and can't remember that they are finished. Then Margot Livesey so deftly and eerily twists the story, and the character of Jonathan is gradually unpeeled, layer after layer, until we want to leap into the pages to rescue Hazel. The other characters surrounding Hazel and Jonathan are just as fascinating and disturbing, one of my favorites being Charlotte, an out-of-work actress with a magnificent heart that gets trampled upon constantly, whether it's by her unforgiving sister, Nurse Bernie, or her louse of a boyfriend. The Missing World really is a stunning read and quite impossible to put down.
Rating:
Summary: Superb Novel
Review: The Missing World is a wonderful blend of psychological thriller and Iris Murdoch-type novel that I completely enjoyed. Hazel has been hit by a car and is beset by a series of seizures. Her memory of the last three years has vanished and, because of the seizures, in walks Jonathan, an old lover, who by virtue of Hazel's memory loss, Hazel believes to be her current lover. He takes complete advantage of the memory loss and little by little, Livesey reveals what it is exactly that Hazel has forgotten. Let's just leave it at Jonathan is not a very nice person. At the beginning of the novel, Livesey also introduces two other characters who have yet to meet Hazel, but who ultimately play an important role in Hazel's life with Jonathan--Freddie, an American expatriate roofer in search of someone to love and someone to save and Charlotte, an unemployed actress in search of somewhere to live. Livesey ultimately brings all three lives together in a fascinating way. The Missing World is a well told story that will keep you wondering how it will turn out. Enjoy
Rating:
Summary: Superb Novel
Review: The Missing World is a wonderful blend of psychological thriller and Iris Murdoch-type novel that I completely enjoyed. Hazel has been hit by a car and is beset by a series of seizures. Her memory of the last three years has vanished and, because of the seizures, in walks Jonathan, an old lover, who by virtue of Hazel's memory loss, Hazel believes to be her current lover. He takes complete advantage of the memory loss and little by little, Livesey reveals what it is exactly that Hazel has forgotten. Let's just leave it at Jonathan is not a very nice person. At the beginning of the novel, Livesey also introduces two other characters who have yet to meet Hazel, but who ultimately play an important role in Hazel's life with Jonathan--Freddie, an American expatriate roofer in search of someone to love and someone to save and Charlotte, an unemployed actress in search of somewhere to live. Livesey ultimately brings all three lives together in a fascinating way. The Missing World is a well told story that will keep you wondering how it will turn out. Enjoy
Rating:
Summary: And What If I Don't Care Who Wins?
Review: The writing is top notch, the plot is intriguing and it moves along fairly well. So what is the problem? I don't care what happens to any of the characters. Just when I think I can really pull for something good to happen, the author slips in another serious character flaw. I am glad I read it but when it ended with none of their life situations resolved, I found that I really didn't care.
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