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samanthajayne_x's review against another edition
2.0
2.5
The book was okay I really liked the 1st point of view from Ruby then switching to third when it was the adults. I also enjoyed everyone's interaction with Ruby. Yazmin the mum felt really irresponsible at times and some of her choices were questionable. Overall good story and good plot.
The book was okay I really liked the 1st point of view from Ruby then switching to third when it was the adults. I also enjoyed everyone's interaction with Ruby. Yazmin the mum felt really irresponsible at times and some of her choices were questionable. Overall good story and good plot.
helengc's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
emmacr2024's review against another edition
4.0
Fans of Rosamund Lupton have been kept waiting for her third novel The Quality of Silence for quite some time. It certainly had a lot to live up to considering the huge success of her first two books. Does it meet the high expectations and the hype surrounding its pre-release? Well for me it did. I was totally lost in the harsh, cold, barren lands of Alaska journeying alongside Ruby and Yasmin as they desperately search for Matt - their father and husband. I can see why some people might be divided after finishing this book, admittedly most of the action doesn’t really happen until the last few chapters and that won’t suit everybody but for me what made this book special and a hauntingly atmospheric read was the unique relationship between mother and daughter. Ruby is a character the likes of which I have never read before, for she is deaf and as she says herself all she hears is quiet and feels motions and vibrations. Her Twitter name says it all @wordsnosounds, she uses this alongside a blog to communicate to the outside world and her entries dotted throughout the novel are powerful and emotive.
Yasmin and Ruby arrive in Alaska to meet up with Matt (a wildlife film maker) who has been away for a period of time. Yasmin is here to issue an ultimatum to him - give up and come home or their marriage is over. Yasmin is no ordinary woman left at home to run the household but rather she is a highly trained astrophysicist, she knows and understands the world and how it works and does her best to make Ruby feel as included as possible. Upon arrival at the airport devastating news is revealed, there's been a terrible accident in the village he was living and he's missing. Yasmin didn’t react the way I expected her too, distraught at the news but rather a steely determination develops as she believes that he's alive. Sure he only rang a few hours before they left England. Soon Yasmin against all advice embarks upon a dangerous, terrifying quest to journey to the tiny village of Anaktue to uncover the truth for herself. She has not given up on finding Matt alive and neither should Ruby. Immediately anyone would question why on earth any responsible mother would decide to take her 10 year old daughter into the Alaskan wilderness? But to me she had no choice. She had made it that far to Alaska in the first place and if your heart was telling you there was a small chance of seeing your husband again surely you would go for it? Also it wasn’t like she could just abandon Ruby and go solo. I think her love for Matt but also so many unanswered questions spurred her on through the adventure from hell.
Once Yasmin and Ruby venture away from the airport the book came into its own, both from the point of view of getting inside the characters heads and the breathtaking descriptions of Alaska. Most chapters were told from alternative viewpoints and I loved this. The innocence of Ruby believing that everything was going to be alright and the utmost trust she put in her mother even though she had taken them to an aggressive, hostile land. Ruby was a likeable character and for one so young never lost her head in spite of being in such an unusual situation. Even when strange emails start appearing on her laptop she remained calm and sensible throughout. Soon the pair commandeered a truck for themselves and are driving into one of the worst snowstorms that has been forecast in years. Here the author excels magnificently in her descriptive abilities, you feel as if you are a passenger in the truck sitting alongside Ruby battling the elements the further North along the Ice Road they travel. The Tundra is a place where nothing grows and to step outside the warmth of the truck would see your breath freeze in an instant. It’s harsh and devastating in all senses of the word. Having watched The Ice Road Truckers programme I knew plenty of the places mentioned such as Prudhoe Bay and Deadhorse. The terminology surrounding trucking didn’t put me off either as it is all mentioned in the programme. In fact having seen what the truckers go through only helped to make this book more realistic for me. Yasmin is a woman who some may find foolhardy but I just think she is to be admired for her determination and tenacity .To be able to navigate the treacherous ice roads and keep a sane head in plummeting temperatures and arctic conditions whilst someone is trailing you should be commended. Her devotion and thirst for answers shone through.
As mentioned before the action really kicked in the last quarter but I had never lost interest right from the first page. The book just oozed tension and was literally quite chilling. There was alot of detail into the journey but for me it all added to the suspense and suspicion. The endless darkness and cold just created a heightened atmosphere. At some points I was screaming to myself would they just hurry up and just get to Anaktue but I had to step back and savour the brilliant writing and be patient because all too soon I had reached the end of a different but deeply satisfying read that I won’t forget in a hurry. My only minor complaint was after investing so much time in description and setting up the very end was too rushed. For me it was one of those endings where I was left wondering what actually happened? We are led to believe something but other readers may pick it up differently. (I’d love to someone to contact me and tell me what they thought). Put that small issue aside and yes the wait was worth it Rosmaund Lupton has done herself justice with a remarkable book based on a world and place of silence that keeps things hidden but also offers many surprises. Do read this on a warm day as you’ll only feel more sympathy for the struggles endured by two very brave people who go against the odds to demonstrate love and sheer willpower will conquer all.
Yasmin and Ruby arrive in Alaska to meet up with Matt (a wildlife film maker) who has been away for a period of time. Yasmin is here to issue an ultimatum to him - give up and come home or their marriage is over. Yasmin is no ordinary woman left at home to run the household but rather she is a highly trained astrophysicist, she knows and understands the world and how it works and does her best to make Ruby feel as included as possible. Upon arrival at the airport devastating news is revealed, there's been a terrible accident in the village he was living and he's missing. Yasmin didn’t react the way I expected her too, distraught at the news but rather a steely determination develops as she believes that he's alive. Sure he only rang a few hours before they left England. Soon Yasmin against all advice embarks upon a dangerous, terrifying quest to journey to the tiny village of Anaktue to uncover the truth for herself. She has not given up on finding Matt alive and neither should Ruby. Immediately anyone would question why on earth any responsible mother would decide to take her 10 year old daughter into the Alaskan wilderness? But to me she had no choice. She had made it that far to Alaska in the first place and if your heart was telling you there was a small chance of seeing your husband again surely you would go for it? Also it wasn’t like she could just abandon Ruby and go solo. I think her love for Matt but also so many unanswered questions spurred her on through the adventure from hell.
Once Yasmin and Ruby venture away from the airport the book came into its own, both from the point of view of getting inside the characters heads and the breathtaking descriptions of Alaska. Most chapters were told from alternative viewpoints and I loved this. The innocence of Ruby believing that everything was going to be alright and the utmost trust she put in her mother even though she had taken them to an aggressive, hostile land. Ruby was a likeable character and for one so young never lost her head in spite of being in such an unusual situation. Even when strange emails start appearing on her laptop she remained calm and sensible throughout. Soon the pair commandeered a truck for themselves and are driving into one of the worst snowstorms that has been forecast in years. Here the author excels magnificently in her descriptive abilities, you feel as if you are a passenger in the truck sitting alongside Ruby battling the elements the further North along the Ice Road they travel. The Tundra is a place where nothing grows and to step outside the warmth of the truck would see your breath freeze in an instant. It’s harsh and devastating in all senses of the word. Having watched The Ice Road Truckers programme I knew plenty of the places mentioned such as Prudhoe Bay and Deadhorse. The terminology surrounding trucking didn’t put me off either as it is all mentioned in the programme. In fact having seen what the truckers go through only helped to make this book more realistic for me. Yasmin is a woman who some may find foolhardy but I just think she is to be admired for her determination and tenacity .To be able to navigate the treacherous ice roads and keep a sane head in plummeting temperatures and arctic conditions whilst someone is trailing you should be commended. Her devotion and thirst for answers shone through.
As mentioned before the action really kicked in the last quarter but I had never lost interest right from the first page. The book just oozed tension and was literally quite chilling. There was alot of detail into the journey but for me it all added to the suspense and suspicion. The endless darkness and cold just created a heightened atmosphere. At some points I was screaming to myself would they just hurry up and just get to Anaktue but I had to step back and savour the brilliant writing and be patient because all too soon I had reached the end of a different but deeply satisfying read that I won’t forget in a hurry. My only minor complaint was after investing so much time in description and setting up the very end was too rushed. For me it was one of those endings where I was left wondering what actually happened? We are led to believe something but other readers may pick it up differently. (I’d love to someone to contact me and tell me what they thought). Put that small issue aside and yes the wait was worth it Rosmaund Lupton has done herself justice with a remarkable book based on a world and place of silence that keeps things hidden but also offers many surprises. Do read this on a warm day as you’ll only feel more sympathy for the struggles endured by two very brave people who go against the odds to demonstrate love and sheer willpower will conquer all.
marticlar's review against another edition
3.0
Alaskan experience was very unique and made me want to read more. Although thd plot was quite predicable I still enjoyed reading it. Practically read it in 2 days.
marieeve1978's review against another edition
4.0
3.5...
This book has just the right amount of creepy, when reading late at night...
However, I was a little disappointed by the ending. Also, it took me some time to get adjusted to the type of narration, sometimes as a third person, sometimes at the first person but as a little girl...
I have on my to be read pile another book from this author, Sister. I will then be able to see if it's an author that I will want to continue exploring in the future.
This book has just the right amount of creepy, when reading late at night...
However, I was a little disappointed by the ending. Also, it took me some time to get adjusted to the type of narration, sometimes as a third person, sometimes at the first person but as a little girl...
I have on my to be read pile another book from this author, Sister. I will then be able to see if it's an author that I will want to continue exploring in the future.
bookph1le's review against another edition
1.0
Where to even begin with this? I've read Lupton's previous novels, and while I thought Sisters was excellent, Afterwards was a bit of a disappointment to me. I guess it's all downhill with this author for me, but where Afterwards was a letdown, this book was just plain one of those that I hated so many things about I couldn't even get invested in it. Strap in, because this is going to be a bumpy ride chock full of spoilers, so if you don't want to know what happens in this book, stop now.
First off, the entire premise of the novel was patently absurd to me. Yasmin pulls her daughter from school and goes running off from England to Alaska in the middle of winter to confront her husband about his kissing another woman. Now, while I understand her mental anguish at this, I found the whole thing an overreaction. Had Yasmin not had a ten-year-old deaf daughter that she dragged along with her, I might have bought it. But her reaction struck me as far too extreme, particularly when she thinks about how she couldn't leave her daughter at home because she had nowhere safe to leave her, yet she brings her to Alaska in the middle of winter and then proceeds to take her out into the Arctic wilderness. Plus, it's not as if getting out to the wilderness is easy in the summer, but in the middle of winter when temperatures are brutal, fierce storms are plentiful, and you can die of hypothermia in minutes, Yasmin takes Ruby along with her. Marinate over that one for a while.
Granted, it's not until Yasmin finds out that there's been an accident and that her husband has been declared dead that she really loses her mind and sets out on her desperate quest to save him, despite all evidence that he's dead. She decides he's alive, and that's enough for her to set out on an utterly moronic quest to find him. I would have been fine had she gone on her quest alone, but the fact that she brings her ten-year-old child with her sent me right over the edge. I was incredulous that she'd take Ruby with her as she tries to get out to the middle of the Arctic nowhere.
Then, it just got better from there, stretching my suspension of disbelief until it broke into a million pieces. Yasmin and Ruby hitch a ride with an ice trucker, which was unbelievable enough, but when the trucker has a stroke, Yasmin proceeds to steal his truck and continue driving on her own. Yasmin is a physicist by training, but I did not for one second believe that someone whose entire driving experience seems to consist of driving a tiny car around England could get behind the wheel of a semi hauling a prefab house and proceed to drive it along an ice road through the Alaskan wilderness in the middle of winter. I could not believe there was any possible way someone completely inexperienced could even manage to drive a truck like that without adverse weather conditions.
I'll summarize from here because it'll take me all day if I go into the details. Yasmin and Ruby proceed from one peril to another, all because Yasmin feels this burning need to rescue a husband she has no evidence is alive. I think it's supposed to be romantic? How could it be, when it means Yasmin disregards every experienced trucker who warns her to stay in Coldfoot and ride out an impending storm, but she decides to keep on going, with her daughter in the truck with her. All the while, they're being chased by the villain, who turns out to be the most unbelievable villain possible, given that he's pursuing them in a tanker through the same dangerous wilderness Ruby and Yasmin are traversing. I get that the villain has a whole lot at stake here, but I do not believe a character like that would do the dirty work himself, particularly considering the peril he puts himself in.
From there, the book gets more ludicrous, culminating in quite possibly the most ridiculous confrontation I've ever read about in a book. I could barely read through that section because I was rolling my eyes around with such force. Suffice it to say I thought the ending was nothing short of dumb.
All this silliness aside, I wasn't even invested in the story, which is why it took me so long to read this "thriller". There are long passages where both Ruby and Yasmin wax poetic, and I found them frankly boring. I also thought the language was outright florid in some parts, and I wanted to laugh at what were supposed to be profound statements.
While I did like the understanding mother and daughter eventually reached, I thought it was better suited to an entirely different book, one that didn't involve a crazy voyage across the tundra in the middle of winter (also noteworthy, since it's Arctic winter, it's also night 24/7 because, you know, a random, inexperienced person driving an ice truck through the Alaskan wilderness wasn't ridiculous enough). It was like this book was trying to be both a literary tale about fraught family relationships and an edge-of-your-seat work of suspense. To me, it failed at both.
It's obvious that the author did a great deal of research for this book, but that didn't prevent it from coming across as fantastical to me. And while fracking is a pretty easy subject to hate on, I still found the central plot cartoonish. This is one to skip.
First off, the entire premise of the novel was patently absurd to me. Yasmin pulls her daughter from school and goes running off from England to Alaska in the middle of winter to confront her husband about his kissing another woman. Now, while I understand her mental anguish at this, I found the whole thing an overreaction. Had Yasmin not had a ten-year-old deaf daughter that she dragged along with her, I might have bought it. But her reaction struck me as far too extreme, particularly when she thinks about how she couldn't leave her daughter at home because she had nowhere safe to leave her, yet she brings her to Alaska in the middle of winter and then proceeds to take her out into the Arctic wilderness. Plus, it's not as if getting out to the wilderness is easy in the summer, but in the middle of winter when temperatures are brutal, fierce storms are plentiful, and you can die of hypothermia in minutes, Yasmin takes Ruby along with her. Marinate over that one for a while.
Granted, it's not until Yasmin finds out that there's been an accident and that her husband has been declared dead that she really loses her mind and sets out on her desperate quest to save him, despite all evidence that he's dead. She decides he's alive, and that's enough for her to set out on an utterly moronic quest to find him. I would have been fine had she gone on her quest alone, but the fact that she brings her ten-year-old child with her sent me right over the edge. I was incredulous that she'd take Ruby with her as she tries to get out to the middle of the Arctic nowhere.
Then, it just got better from there, stretching my suspension of disbelief until it broke into a million pieces. Yasmin and Ruby hitch a ride with an ice trucker, which was unbelievable enough, but when the trucker has a stroke, Yasmin proceeds to steal his truck and continue driving on her own. Yasmin is a physicist by training, but I did not for one second believe that someone whose entire driving experience seems to consist of driving a tiny car around England could get behind the wheel of a semi hauling a prefab house and proceed to drive it along an ice road through the Alaskan wilderness in the middle of winter. I could not believe there was any possible way someone completely inexperienced could even manage to drive a truck like that without adverse weather conditions.
I'll summarize from here because it'll take me all day if I go into the details. Yasmin and Ruby proceed from one peril to another, all because Yasmin feels this burning need to rescue a husband she has no evidence is alive. I think it's supposed to be romantic? How could it be, when it means Yasmin disregards every experienced trucker who warns her to stay in Coldfoot and ride out an impending storm, but she decides to keep on going, with her daughter in the truck with her. All the while, they're being chased by the villain, who turns out to be the most unbelievable villain possible, given that he's pursuing them in a tanker through the same dangerous wilderness Ruby and Yasmin are traversing. I get that the villain has a whole lot at stake here, but I do not believe a character like that would do the dirty work himself, particularly considering the peril he puts himself in.
From there, the book gets more ludicrous, culminating in quite possibly the most ridiculous confrontation I've ever read about in a book. I could barely read through that section because I was rolling my eyes around with such force. Suffice it to say I thought the ending was nothing short of dumb.
All this silliness aside, I wasn't even invested in the story, which is why it took me so long to read this "thriller". There are long passages where both Ruby and Yasmin wax poetic, and I found them frankly boring. I also thought the language was outright florid in some parts, and I wanted to laugh at what were supposed to be profound statements.
While I did like the understanding mother and daughter eventually reached, I thought it was better suited to an entirely different book, one that didn't involve a crazy voyage across the tundra in the middle of winter (also noteworthy, since it's Arctic winter, it's also night 24/7 because, you know, a random, inexperienced person driving an ice truck through the Alaskan wilderness wasn't ridiculous enough). It was like this book was trying to be both a literary tale about fraught family relationships and an edge-of-your-seat work of suspense. To me, it failed at both.
It's obvious that the author did a great deal of research for this book, but that didn't prevent it from coming across as fantastical to me. And while fracking is a pretty easy subject to hate on, I still found the central plot cartoonish. This is one to skip.
the_red_one's review against another edition
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
elsie2110's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
remia1996's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75