Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta
I have been avoiding writing about Beginner's Greek by James Collins.
I read so many positive reviews, and I'm pretty sure I like it, but my thoughts about the novel are swirling around in my otherwise empty head like they are trapped in a slo-mo blender.
Behold, The Beginner's Greek Smoothie:
I loved, loved, loved the main character, Peter. He was likeable and surprising, all the way through.
I loved, loved, loved the other main character, Holly. At first it seemed like she might turn out to be a bit flat and kind of a caricature, but Collins worked a little magic. He cleverly contributed to the rounding out of her character by using the impressions and reactions of other characters around her. Well done.
Charlotte...a secondary character. Hmmm.... she was cookie-cutterish, and when Collins tried to make her character surprising a la Peter, it fell flat.
I knew from reading reviews that the exposition of this novel occurs on a plane. Collins scored points for creating an airplane-like hushed mood, and he performed some nice writerly descriptive tricks, but the first 25 pages, I confess, made me apprehensive that I was about to read something trite. Or WORSE, that I was missing the point and what the heck was wrong with me that I didn't "get" how good this book is.
I wasn't feeling it, then I felt it, then I lost that lovin' feeling again, then I found it.
I enjoyed reading the book, and I looked forward to returning to it after I'd put it down. Collins creates readable and appealing characters. Collins also, however, slides off the plot structure arc too many times, though. If you're Thomas Pynchon or Paul Auster, you can feel free to ignore the generally agreed upon parameters of plot. But Collins is not, mercifully, Thomas Pynchon or Paul Auster, so...Dude! Respect the structure!
The cover of this book was pretty. It felt nice, too. I once read that books with blue covers sell better than others. Publishers tend to use blue covers on books they project will succeed, marketing-wise. Interesting.
I feel bad that I wasn't more positive. I'm a pathetic critic. I am sure that James Collins is a good man with nice manners and that he recycles and buys Girl Scout cookies and signals when he turns.
I read so many positive reviews, and I'm pretty sure I like it, but my thoughts about the novel are swirling around in my otherwise empty head like they are trapped in a slo-mo blender.
Behold, The Beginner's Greek Smoothie:
I loved, loved, loved the main character, Peter. He was likeable and surprising, all the way through.
I loved, loved, loved the other main character, Holly. At first it seemed like she might turn out to be a bit flat and kind of a caricature, but Collins worked a little magic. He cleverly contributed to the rounding out of her character by using the impressions and reactions of other characters around her. Well done.
Charlotte...a secondary character. Hmmm.... she was cookie-cutterish, and when Collins tried to make her character surprising a la Peter, it fell flat.
I knew from reading reviews that the exposition of this novel occurs on a plane. Collins scored points for creating an airplane-like hushed mood, and he performed some nice writerly descriptive tricks, but the first 25 pages, I confess, made me apprehensive that I was about to read something trite. Or WORSE, that I was missing the point and what the heck was wrong with me that I didn't "get" how good this book is.
I wasn't feeling it, then I felt it, then I lost that lovin' feeling again, then I found it.
I enjoyed reading the book, and I looked forward to returning to it after I'd put it down. Collins creates readable and appealing characters. Collins also, however, slides off the plot structure arc too many times, though. If you're Thomas Pynchon or Paul Auster, you can feel free to ignore the generally agreed upon parameters of plot. But Collins is not, mercifully, Thomas Pynchon or Paul Auster, so...Dude! Respect the structure!
The cover of this book was pretty. It felt nice, too. I once read that books with blue covers sell better than others. Publishers tend to use blue covers on books they project will succeed, marketing-wise. Interesting.
I feel bad that I wasn't more positive. I'm a pathetic critic. I am sure that James Collins is a good man with nice manners and that he recycles and buys Girl Scout cookies and signals when he turns.
I for one am curious as to how the WRH finds time to read so many books between grading papers, kitchen renovations, and general life crap. Are you spending an inordinate amount of time in the bathroom; (semi-colon fan)have you found a hole in the space-time continuum? What's your secret? It probably has to do with watching a lot less TV than I do.
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