Anita Shreve's Rescue
2012 by Abacus
Once we are introduced to the main characters Webster and Sheila, we know that their relationship will be riddled with pain, disaster and its fair share of problems.
Webster is a likeable character, evoking sympathy because of his turbulent relationship with an alcoholic wife who endangers the life of their only daughter. The same cannot be said of Sheila - his wife - who it is very difficult to feel sorry for as she brings it all on herself. She should never have tried to be something she wasn't - to try on a life that didn't fit.
Rescue begins on a cheerful, warm-hearted note as Webster and Sheila fall in love in extraordinary circumstances. Webster has a tough time trying to settle Sheila down but when he succeeds in rescuing her, the result is that she manages to grow up and lead a mature life.
All this happiness is not to last though. Once she becomes suffocated by this sensible life, where she can no longer handle the commitment, it soon becomes apparent that this story is bound on an unhappy journey. Sheila's poisonous personality sets to ruin their daughter Rowan's existence. Will Sheila return to rescue her daughter and make up for lost time or will she continue to cause disruption and distress?
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
A race between life and death
Ken Follett's Whiteout
2005 by Pan Books
Whiteout is yet another Follett special. The precise detail and descriptive characters he creates makes his books so difficult to put down.
Whiteout is an epic tale of human betrayal, family feud and medical catastrophe, all with a ticking clock.
Every page of this story has some dramatic action taking place, a cliff-hanger or even a developing love affair.
The audience will find Kit to be a most deceitful character and will take an instant dislike to his personality - stereotypically rich, a spoilt only son of a wealthy millionaire who gets extremely perturbed when things dont go his way. However, the fact that he finally gets what is coming to him, is justice enough.
I admire how Follett has decided to make the powerful woman in the story, the hero, the knight in shining armour who rescues the Oxenford family from certain death, after Kit embarks on a dangerous mission which heads towards even his own self-destruction. With the help of master criminals, all Kit wants to do is repay his building gambling debt. Things soon take a turn for the worse when they steal a lethal infectious drug from Oxenford Medical and then hold up Stanley Oxenford's family on Christmas Day as hostages in their family home. What makes this exceptionally is how they manage to steal this drug from right under, head of security Toni Gallo's nose, and even past her high-tech security systems.
We find ourselves asking, what will happen to this deadly drug, which has ended up in the wrong hands.
2005 by Pan Books
Whiteout is yet another Follett special. The precise detail and descriptive characters he creates makes his books so difficult to put down.
Whiteout is an epic tale of human betrayal, family feud and medical catastrophe, all with a ticking clock.
Every page of this story has some dramatic action taking place, a cliff-hanger or even a developing love affair.
The audience will find Kit to be a most deceitful character and will take an instant dislike to his personality - stereotypically rich, a spoilt only son of a wealthy millionaire who gets extremely perturbed when things dont go his way. However, the fact that he finally gets what is coming to him, is justice enough.
I admire how Follett has decided to make the powerful woman in the story, the hero, the knight in shining armour who rescues the Oxenford family from certain death, after Kit embarks on a dangerous mission which heads towards even his own self-destruction. With the help of master criminals, all Kit wants to do is repay his building gambling debt. Things soon take a turn for the worse when they steal a lethal infectious drug from Oxenford Medical and then hold up Stanley Oxenford's family on Christmas Day as hostages in their family home. What makes this exceptionally is how they manage to steal this drug from right under, head of security Toni Gallo's nose, and even past her high-tech security systems.
We find ourselves asking, what will happen to this deadly drug, which has ended up in the wrong hands.
What lies beneath a perfect facade
Anita Shreve's Strange fits of Passion
1994 by Abacus
Strange fits of passion is told in the "reporter" style that recounts events that unfolded in the similar way that her other novel Testimony did.
Each chapter offers an outlook of what happened and the thoughts and views of the main characters and those local people who made contact with Mary/Maureen. Shreve writes their thoughts and views as a police interview account, which echoes the police interview they would have gone through at the time of the events in the story. The local people play the part of the eye witnesses to Mary's life and goings-on while she resides in their town.
When Mary arrives in their small town, things are not quite as they seem, for she hides beneath her disguise and lies. The residents accept her for who she is and befriend her, treat her like one of their own. Only when a dark shadow edges towards the town, to cast its ugly head over the new life that Mary has created for herself, do the residents begin to question who she claims to be and uncover the reality that lies beneath.
As the reader though, we find ourselves praying that the residents believe what Mary has hidden from them - the awful story that she is burdened with. We have to hope that true friendship will shine through the despair and stand against the evil that awaits, to help Mary through this tough time.
Justice does prevail in the end but in freeing herself, Maureen simultaneously ruins the lives of two families - her own and that of the man she comes to love. In taking revenge on her husband and ending her nightmare, she brings about more heartache to her life.
1994 by Abacus
Strange fits of passion is told in the "reporter" style that recounts events that unfolded in the similar way that her other novel Testimony did.
Each chapter offers an outlook of what happened and the thoughts and views of the main characters and those local people who made contact with Mary/Maureen. Shreve writes their thoughts and views as a police interview account, which echoes the police interview they would have gone through at the time of the events in the story. The local people play the part of the eye witnesses to Mary's life and goings-on while she resides in their town.
When Mary arrives in their small town, things are not quite as they seem, for she hides beneath her disguise and lies. The residents accept her for who she is and befriend her, treat her like one of their own. Only when a dark shadow edges towards the town, to cast its ugly head over the new life that Mary has created for herself, do the residents begin to question who she claims to be and uncover the reality that lies beneath.
As the reader though, we find ourselves praying that the residents believe what Mary has hidden from them - the awful story that she is burdened with. We have to hope that true friendship will shine through the despair and stand against the evil that awaits, to help Mary through this tough time.
Justice does prevail in the end but in freeing herself, Maureen simultaneously ruins the lives of two families - her own and that of the man she comes to love. In taking revenge on her husband and ending her nightmare, she brings about more heartache to her life.
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