More reviews

GONE GIRL 

By Gillian Flynn

I saw a quote from the book advertised on the London Underground and that made me want to read it.  I like the technique the author uses to make both narrators seem believable.  Each had their own unique voice.  I started off feeling sympathetic towards one character only to find that this completely changed and left me questioning my own judgement - very clever.  I don't want to say too much about the story as I don't want to ruin it for anyone who hasn't read it.  A real page turner.  I hate the title though!

THE HELP 

By Kathryn Stockett

When I read the first few pages I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy this book because of the style of dialogue. In the end I found the dialogue really helped to define the characters and it was a real feat by the author to keep the "voices" of the characters consistent and real throughout. The story is narrated from the points of view of three very different main characters. I enjoyed this style. I also liked the way that as one chapter ended the next chapter sometimes started off from the same point, but from another narrative point of view so you got to see the same situation from two different perspectives. The characters were believable and I especially liked the character of Minny. My only niggle is I would have liked to have heard more about Celia towards the end. After the first chapter, I couldn't put it down and didn't want the book to end. It gave me an insight into life in 1960s Mississippi. I will be looking out for more from this author.

THE RETURN 

By Victoria Hislop

An enjoyable read, although I found her style sometimes annoyed me as there seemed to be a lot of ‘overwriting’.  I found the characters a bit flat, but I thought the sense of place was well drawn. I enjoyed the second section of the book more than the first and thought that the horrors of civil war were well depicted, although I found the odd switch back to present day clumsy.  I guessed at the ending long before it came.  I think the ending was far-fetched, but that’s the beauty of fiction.  I enjoyed it more than The Island, but I'm not sure I'll be reading any more books by Victoria Hislop.