Mother of Pearl

Rating:
Summary: Waste of Time and Money!
Review: I have read many of Oprah's book club selections. I loved some, and tollerated others. But The Mother of Pearl is unbearable! The language is difficult, and insulting! The characters you should love, you can't understand. The story line shiftes too frequently to comprehend. AND WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE PIGS?

Rating:
Summary: The worst oprah book club selection ever...
Review: I read over 150 pages of this book and it was a struggle all the way. I was thoroughly disappointed with this selection. Impossible to make sense of the characters, the story was boring...and I never finished it.. I figure that reading is suppose to be a pleasurable experience. As I look at the other reviews I can see I am not alone.

Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Read
Review: Who said reading should be easy? If you want easy go and turn on the television. Sometimes books just don't dish everything up for you on a plate. That is one of the joys of books. Mother Of Pearl is one of those books and one of those books that does it well. A strange storyline, stranger characters and an ending that is flawed but satisfying, Mother Of Pearl shows what an imagination can hold. There are times when the text seems disjointed and perhaps they need to fix up the typos before it is reprinted but besides that Mother Of Pearl is a ripper of a book. A book that challeneges and in doing so evokes wonderful images. A book that sweeps you along much like the creek that soon becomes a river. A book written by an author that is brave in the way she develops her characters and in the way she ends their separate stories. Don't not read it because others say it is bad, give it a go i think some will regret it if they don't.

Rating:
Summary: A spellbinding story.....
Review: Absolutely one of the best books I remember reading in a long time. An unbelievable accomplishment for a first novel. I will be waiting impatiently for another book by Melinda Haynes.

Rating:
Summary: Not one of Oprah's better picks!!
Review: I guess everyone deserves a chance to tell their story. This book was extremely confusing. It took more time to reread pages and reread pages over and over again. With this book being a summer read, it probably made summer boring for some. There were many instances when I struggled with throwing the book to the side, under the bed, even in the trash. It was almost like I needed an interpreter to help me understand what I was reading. Better luck next time Ms. Haynes.

Rating:
Summary: great characters
Review: I knew this book wasnt going to be easy after I read the first chapter but I stuck with it because frankly I dont give up easily. However, after a while I started to enjoy this book. The characters were interesting and the story drew me in. I was reading passionately when the book lost steam. After joleb was found, chapters just went on and on about the river. I give the book 3 stars because there was a lot in this book that enjoyed but I think the book needed an editor to cut a lot of lulls.

Rating:
Summary: Very Complicated
Review: I'm sorry I wasted my time and money on this one. Too wordy and very difficult to follow. I had to read and reread severals different times just to try and sort everyone out. I could not even finish the book. Maybe next time Oprah.

Rating:
Summary: All the"greatest hits" of Southern lit but misses the mark.
Review: There is a nagging lack of reality in Haynes characters. I feel as though I have been run through a "greatest hits" of Southern literature and modern conflict. The setting and characters were not l950's because they were contrived to suit the topics of Y2000 and enjoyed our hind sight. Why must we suffer through endless metaphors in modern fiction? Before she writes again, she should study. Before Oprah recommends a book, she should have her heart in her. It was obvious to me that it wasn't. Lucky for the author perhaps, but not for the reader. If there was a chance to give no stars, I would.

Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected from an Oprah book.
Review: Disappointed. I was really looking forward to another one of Oprah's books. This book was too long and boring. Hard as I tried, I could not connect w/ the characters. I was hoping to find out what the slitted pig was all about, but didn't.

Rating:
Summary: The Summer reading blues
Review: 6 weeks ago I picked up this book, looking forward to another great Oprah pick. Boy, was I wrong. I compare this experience to having to read a Summer reading list selection during my high school honors English days. You know, the books you absolutely do not want to read but you know you have to or else you'll fail some sort of test. The test with this book was simply not giving up and making it to the end. The sentences were too wordy, the story was undeveloped and the characters were empty. The summer of 1999 will forever be remembered as the summer wasted on a bad book. Sorry Oprah, better luck next time.