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emma_ireland's review
3.0
I enjoyed reading it but wasn't satisfied with where it went or how it "finished". I guess I'm a bit of an old grump when it comes to endings: I don't like to be left wondering.
jewelianne's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the premise of this book in theory. I have never seen the movie Sliding Doors so I can't say if it's any good, but I have always thought it sounded interesting, although apparently not interesting enough to get over my "not watching movies" thing. But when I heard about this book (a recommendation for books similar to Help for the Haunted, which I don't necessarily agree with), I was very intrigued. Basically, the idea is that a single mother goes on a brief vacation and does not return when she is expected. As her friends at home grow increasingly more worried, two parallel stories unfold about what might have happened to Anna. One is (kind of) a chic-lit scenario, and the other is more of a thriller/horror story. Sounds great, right?!
But in practice I didn't love it. I think part of it is because I did not find any of the characters very likable. Maybe it's because I'm not a single mother trying to get her groove back, but I didn't really get Anna. Her friend, Stella (whom the parts at home were told through) was probably realistic, but I could not connect with her at all. The only things she seemed to like was Anna and pot. And Anna's other friend Paul wasn't really a deep enough character for me to have any feelings about whatsoever.
As for the parallel stories one was kind of boring, and the other was kind of a page turner, but ultimately didn't really make any sense. A lot of it just seemed pointless. For example, Anna bought her daughter a present that she has with her in both of her parallel narratives. In both versions it gets damaged, but in very different ways. This is kind of interesting, but it didn't really go anywhere. And then at the end, when everything comes together, it sort of felt like the whole book didn't go anywhere. I don't know which story actually was the "real" story, although I guess that's the point? I could deal with that. I could not deal with the last paragraph of the story though, because it seemed like there was supposed to be some revelation there, but it didn't make any sense. I can't really say anything else without posting spoilers. It's not a bad read, but it also didn't live up to what I had hoped.
But in practice I didn't love it. I think part of it is because I did not find any of the characters very likable. Maybe it's because I'm not a single mother trying to get her groove back, but I didn't really get Anna. Her friend, Stella (whom the parts at home were told through) was probably realistic, but I could not connect with her at all. The only things she seemed to like was Anna and pot. And Anna's other friend Paul wasn't really a deep enough character for me to have any feelings about whatsoever.
As for the parallel stories one was kind of boring, and the other was kind of a page turner, but ultimately didn't really make any sense. A lot of it just seemed pointless. For example, Anna bought her daughter a present that she has with her in both of her parallel narratives. In both versions it gets damaged, but in very different ways. This is kind of interesting, but it didn't really go anywhere. And then at the end, when everything comes together, it sort of felt like the whole book didn't go anywhere. I don't know which story actually was the "real" story, although I guess that's the point? I could deal with that. I could not deal with the last paragraph of the story though, because it seemed like there was supposed to be some revelation there, but it didn't make any sense. I can't really say anything else without posting spoilers. It's not a bad read, but it also didn't live up to what I had hoped.
nocto's review against another edition
3.0
I've not read any Sarah Dunant for ages. This one took me a while to get into. Then I loved it for a long time. Then I got a bit disappointed with the ending. That summarises it pretty well.
This is the Stella's story: her friend Anna goes missing on a trip to Italy and what we have as well as Stella coping with Anna's young daughter is two flights of Stella's imagination as she thinks about what could have happened to Anna. Figuring out the two parallel versions of what could have happened to Anna is what took me a while to get into in the beginning. The similarities and differences between the two stories made for a fabulous middle of the book. But just as I was wondering how on earth the book was going to conclude I was disappointed and I didn't really feel it all came together in the end.
A good read all the same and one that makes me want to seek out the other Dunants that I haven't read.
gruberkare's review against another edition
4.0
A bit reminiscent of the movie Sliding Doors. Enjoyable in that it was so different. Creepy at times - in a good way!
kylietokar's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
readerofthings's review against another edition
5.0
Despite what many of the other reviewers have said about the ending, I enjoyed the book. There are two parallel story lines about what could have happened to Anna, and you never do find out which one "actually happened" but both plots are interesting and both seem to have an ending. I found it to be a well written suspenseful novel with interesting, fleshed-out characters.
mackenzierm's review against another edition
2.0
Alright, where to start.
This book was in three different perspectives:
The first being Estella's, while Anna was missing.
The second being Anna's, while she was kidnapped.
The third being Anna's with this man Samuel.
I was expecting more from this book, it's supposed to be a psychological thriller and whatnot.. but where was the thrill? In my opinion, this book was a 300 page novel that went absolutely nowhere. The third perspective had pretty much nothing to do with the story.. or at least, that's what I think.
And what exactly was the point of Anna being "kidnapped", when NOTHING came of it. I really thought this book was going to get better, well I was more hoping it would, but sadly, it didn't.
Poor structure, no plot, average characters. All in all, a rating of about 1.5 at best.
This book was in three different perspectives:
The first being Estella's, while Anna was missing.
The second being Anna's, while she was kidnapped.
The third being Anna's with this man Samuel.
I was expecting more from this book, it's supposed to be a psychological thriller and whatnot.. but where was the thrill? In my opinion, this book was a 300 page novel that went absolutely nowhere. The third perspective had pretty much nothing to do with the story.. or at least, that's what I think.
And what exactly was the point of Anna being "kidnapped", when NOTHING came of it. I really thought this book was going to get better, well I was more hoping it would, but sadly, it didn't.
Poor structure, no plot, average characters. All in all, a rating of about 1.5 at best.
unabridgedchick's review against another edition
4.0
This exciting thriller left me ill until the end (in a good way). It tells the parallel stories of Anna, a single mother on an impromptu vacation in Italy, and Stella, her best friend. Very quickly, the reader learns that Anna did not return home when she said she would and had not contacted anyone to explain the delay. This sets up an exciting tension: the reader catches Stella's anxiety as we wait with her for word from Anna; and since we the reader know that something is going to happen to Anna, all the chapters with her are nail-bitingly tense as we hurtle toward that moment when Anna doesn't get on the plane home. Is she having an affair? Has she been kidnapped? Until the last page (and even then), the reader is left wondering: what is Anna after? What is she hiding? Do her friends know her as well as they think they do? And how will it end? A fast, tense read.
libraryowl's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this but didn't love this book. It has two different scenarios and it is up to the reader to figure things out. It caught my interest and is an interesting idea, but I guess I wanted a final answer.
waywithwords's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. The two different possible Away story lines were really just two short stories pushed together as a gimmick, and I ended up completely skipping the Home portions in the last half of the book as they were boring and completely unnecessary to the plot. This was definitely disappointing to me as I have really enjoyed all of Dunant's historical fiction novels.