Jane Smiley

A well written - effective - novel that kept me turning the pages just to know what would happen next, but I don't think that's good enough motivation for reading a book. It reminded me of a perfectly good mainstream movie, the kind that sucks you in with its acting and photography and music while you watch it but which is immediately forgettable afterwards because you never really believed in or cared for the characters and the plot was just too predictable and unrealistic.
I had no problems finishing this long novel in a sitting and that might automatically count for a good grade for some, but I was only rather mildly interested and entertained, not emotionally involved or thrilled by virtuoso writing. I'd rather be alternately annoyed and amused by a more uneven, less "well made" novel!
Also, I felt there were some plot elements that were just too much, supposedly "shocking" but quite unbelievable and too conventionally handled. As previous reviewers have suggested, they may be modelled on the author's reading of King Lear rather than on any faithfulness to her own story. Since I felt rather detached from the entire narrative, though, those elements weren't exactly jarring, only slightly disappointing.… (mer)