just read it

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)
Genre: fantasy, science fiction
Review: There's no good way to summarize this book at all, let alone do it without giving away the whole thing.  So without mentioning the plot, what I can say is this: if you liked Cloud Atlas, definitely read this book.  If you didn't like Cloud Atlas, read this book anyway, because although it too is a genre-bending book, it's really very different.  Ditto for The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (both are among my favorite books, by the way).  What it boils down to is the David Mitchell is one of the most talented writers around and anyone who wants to read a book that will be a lot of fun, but also be challenging, should read his books.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.

just doesn't measure up

The Wednesday Daughters by Meg Waite Clayton
Rating: 2 stars (out of 5)
Genre: fiction
Review: I loved The Wednesday Sisters, and was excited to read this sequel.  Unfortunately, I was disappointed.  The three main characters were neither well-drawn nor likable, and the story wasn't very compelling.  Or perhaps it was that the issues these women are facing were not nearly as compelling as the issues their mothers faced.  Gone are the struggles to break away from the strictures and prejudices of the past.  The daughters are confronting deaths of loved ones, infidelity, and other relationship crises, any one of which is ordinarily enough to make a story.  So why don't we care as much about them as we did about their mothers?  Maybe because Clayton seems to want this book to be as weighty as the first was, but it's just not.  I don't know.  Whatever the reason, this is one case where the the elders really are the betters.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.