Scan barcode
scoutsmom2000's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
hanna_15's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 *
Finally finished my first read of the year. It didn't turn out as good as I expected or hoped. The book wasn't bad but if it had been about 200 pages shorter I would've definitely enjoyed it more. I have to admit, that I skipped through the last hundred pages just because I wanted to be done.
Finally finished my first read of the year. It didn't turn out as good as I expected or hoped. The book wasn't bad but if it had been about 200 pages shorter I would've definitely enjoyed it more. I have to admit, that I skipped through the last hundred pages just because I wanted to be done.
alexpler's review against another edition
3.0
Un libro muy tramposo y además mal escrito (los diálogos son deplorables) que sin embargo se lee rápido. Anoche me leí 200 páginas de una tacada hasta terminarlo. Me sentía tan engañado como lector que no daba crédito y tenía que seguir leyendo. Si era la intención del autor, bravo por él.
"Yo creo sobre todo que folla usted como escribe: o el éxtasis, o la nada. Encuentre a alguien que esté bien, y dele una oportunidad. Haga igual con su libro: dese una oportunidad también. ¡Dé una oportunidad a su vida!"
"Yo creo sobre todo que folla usted como escribe: o el éxtasis, o la nada. Encuentre a alguien que esté bien, y dele una oportunidad. Haga igual con su libro: dese una oportunidad también. ¡Dé una oportunidad a su vida!"
noeliadf's review against another edition
5.0
Sobre esta novela se ha escrito de todo y a mí personalmente me gusta mucho su riqueza de expresiones, su forma de construir la novela yendo y volviendo en el tiempo, permitiéndote ver cómo han evolucionado los personajes y esa trama tan compleja que la hace pasar de una novela de amor a una novela negra. Dicker es simplemente genial!
elisability's review against another edition
3.0
** Disclaimer: I read this in the original French. **
The narrator, Marcus Goldman, is a young author whose first book was a roaring success, and is now struggling to get started on a second one. He goes to Aurora, a small American town on the coast of the Atlantic, to find refuge with Harry Quebert, a celebrated author who was his professor years ago and has remained his friend since. While he’s there, he discovers that his mentor had an affair 33 years ago, when he was 34, with a 15-year-old girl, Nola Kellergan, who disappeared at the end of that summer.
A few months after that visit, Nola’s body is found on Harry’s property, and Harry is arrested and accused of murder. His reputation is dragged in the mud, but Marcus is convinced of his old professor’s innocence. He starts his own investigation, and soon receives threats, which only convince him that he’s right in his suspicion that the story is bigger.
So the book goes from Marcus in the present (2008) and Harry and Nola in 1975. It is part murder-mystery and part love story. To be honest, the love story part exasperated me–but I blame that in part on the writing. I keep making myself read books in French, and every time I conclude that I hate books written in French. I honestly think I wouldn’t have disliked it as much if I had read it in English (the dialogues would have been more believable, at the very least, I kept thinking, “but nobody actually talks like that!”).
Another thing I disliked was that every single character was despicable. Except for... nope. I actually didn’t like a single person.
My mom is the one who suggested this to me, and she said the ending had disappointed her, but for me, the ending is actually what pulled the book up from two to three stars. The solution to the murder mystery is not what you expect it to be, and that made it interesting to me. There was a lot more going on behind the scenes at that time than what we saw, and I liked how the clues were dispersed throughout the novel and all came together in the last few chapters.
The narrator, Marcus Goldman, is a young author whose first book was a roaring success, and is now struggling to get started on a second one. He goes to Aurora, a small American town on the coast of the Atlantic, to find refuge with Harry Quebert, a celebrated author who was his professor years ago and has remained his friend since. While he’s there, he discovers that his mentor had an affair 33 years ago, when he was 34, with a 15-year-old girl, Nola Kellergan, who disappeared at the end of that summer.
A few months after that visit, Nola’s body is found on Harry’s property, and Harry is arrested and accused of murder. His reputation is dragged in the mud, but Marcus is convinced of his old professor’s innocence. He starts his own investigation, and soon receives threats, which only convince him that he’s right in his suspicion that the story is bigger.
So the book goes from Marcus in the present (2008) and Harry and Nola in 1975. It is part murder-mystery and part love story. To be honest, the love story part exasperated me–but I blame that in part on the writing. I keep making myself read books in French, and every time I conclude that I hate books written in French. I honestly think I wouldn’t have disliked it as much if I had read it in English (the dialogues would have been more believable, at the very least, I kept thinking, “but nobody actually talks like that!”).
Another thing I disliked was that every single character was despicable. Except for... nope. I actually didn’t like a single person.
My mom is the one who suggested this to me, and she said the ending had disappointed her, but for me, the ending is actually what pulled the book up from two to three stars. The solution to the murder mystery is not what you expect it to be, and that made it interesting to me. There was a lot more going on behind the scenes at that time than what we saw, and I liked how the clues were dispersed throughout the novel and all came together in the last few chapters.
saanamm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
llabaza's review against another edition
3.0
Demasiado largo para lo que ha terminado siendo. Se ha repetido y recreado demasiado en sí mismo lo que ha hecho que aburriera en algunas partes.
remilove456's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of the best books I have ever read. This thriller compares to those of Agatha Christie and is full of incredible content until the last page. You need to read it!
_ignorethesmoke's review against another edition
2.0
So... many... exclamation marks!!!!
If you get rid of all the mother's phonecalls (those were supposed to be funny??) and all the "Magnificent" backstory and cavilations, it's a normal, decent book, but I found myself rolling my eyes to infinity everytime the narrator explained how hard he wanted to be a succesful writter, how hard his life was and how much he admired Harry. Also, what's with repeating chunks of paragraphs we read two or three pages ago? No wonder it's 600+ pages. Chop 200 pages and it would have been a better book.
As for the plot twists, I guessed who the killer was 150 pages in. Some other things surprised me, but I found them pretty convoluted and implausible (not that I expected it to be 100% realistic, but come on...)
I never write reviews here but for Harry Quebert I had to make an exception. That's how annoyed this book got me.
If you get rid of all the mother's phonecalls (those were supposed to be funny??) and all the "Magnificent" backstory and cavilations, it's a normal, decent book, but I found myself rolling my eyes to infinity everytime the narrator explained how hard he wanted to be a succesful writter, how hard his life was and how much he admired Harry. Also, what's with repeating chunks of paragraphs we read two or three pages ago? No wonder it's 600+ pages. Chop 200 pages and it would have been a better book.
As for the plot twists, I guessed who the killer was 150 pages in. Some other things surprised me, but I found them pretty convoluted and implausible (not that I expected it to be 100% realistic, but come on...)
I never write reviews here but for Harry Quebert I had to make an exception. That's how annoyed this book got me.