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gweiswasser's review against another edition
3.0
Three Stages of Amazement by Carol Edgarian is one of those books that captures a very particular point in time in a very particular place, for a very particular demographic. In this case, it's recession-era (2008) San Francisco among formerly high-flying venture capitalists and entrepreneurs facing the end of limitless possibility and funding.
The couple at the center of it are Lena and Charlie, married with two small children, including a sickly toddler born premature and facing a host of medical problems. Charlie has left a stable job as a surgeon in Massachusetts to pursue his dream of starting a company that facilitates remote, robotic surgery by first world doctors on third world patients. Charlie's startup is running out of cash, and his long hours have taken a huge toll on Lena, who is trying to hold things together at home on her own. Charlie ends up accepting funding from Lena's estranged uncle Cal, a legendary venture capitalist in the Valley, who may have his own motives for funding Charlie's venture over the objections of his partners.
Three Stages of Amazement is a good book with a very large flaw. Here's the good: I really liked the story, which sucked me in early and never let go, and I thought Edgarian's depiction of the world in which Cal and his wife Ivy lived was especially powerful. Her writing, for the most part, is sharp and observant, with little details that are both familiar and fresh at the same time. It took me back to San Francisco, where I lived for a time, and vividly conveys an uneasy, disorienting period of time that hasn't entirely gone away.
Here's the bad: the dialogue, especially between Charlie and Lena. While some of Edgarian's dialogue was pretty realistic, there were some sentences that characters said to each other that were just completely off. I can't imagine real people talking this way. Here's an example: "Charlie, you have been in this house less than an hour and I have watched you chew and I have listened to your stories, but your you has yet to come through that door." or "Lena, listen, if you're going to write the script, don't make us small." Just odd little exchanges that I had a hard time accepting, and that were jarring when I got to them.
read more of this review at http://everydayiwritethebookblog.com/2013/01/the-three-stages-of-amazement-by-carol-edgarian/
The couple at the center of it are Lena and Charlie, married with two small children, including a sickly toddler born premature and facing a host of medical problems. Charlie has left a stable job as a surgeon in Massachusetts to pursue his dream of starting a company that facilitates remote, robotic surgery by first world doctors on third world patients. Charlie's startup is running out of cash, and his long hours have taken a huge toll on Lena, who is trying to hold things together at home on her own. Charlie ends up accepting funding from Lena's estranged uncle Cal, a legendary venture capitalist in the Valley, who may have his own motives for funding Charlie's venture over the objections of his partners.
Three Stages of Amazement is a good book with a very large flaw. Here's the good: I really liked the story, which sucked me in early and never let go, and I thought Edgarian's depiction of the world in which Cal and his wife Ivy lived was especially powerful. Her writing, for the most part, is sharp and observant, with little details that are both familiar and fresh at the same time. It took me back to San Francisco, where I lived for a time, and vividly conveys an uneasy, disorienting period of time that hasn't entirely gone away.
Here's the bad: the dialogue, especially between Charlie and Lena. While some of Edgarian's dialogue was pretty realistic, there were some sentences that characters said to each other that were just completely off. I can't imagine real people talking this way. Here's an example: "Charlie, you have been in this house less than an hour and I have watched you chew and I have listened to your stories, but your you has yet to come through that door." or "Lena, listen, if you're going to write the script, don't make us small." Just odd little exchanges that I had a hard time accepting, and that were jarring when I got to them.
read more of this review at http://everydayiwritethebookblog.com/2013/01/the-three-stages-of-amazement-by-carol-edgarian/
sophronisba's review against another edition
3.0
Really, this is a two-star book, but I'm giving it an extra star because Theo reminds me so much of my older son. I really did like the portrayal Lena's relationship with her children, but I disliked pretty much everything else.
mhannahm's review
3.0
I had trouble getting past the mannered writing, but once I did I enjoyed this. A little soap operatic, but a good summer read.
mikolee's review
3.0
I really enjoyed this modern story about a san francisco couples struggle with life- career climbing, disabled baby, family secrets coming unveiled. Distracting, quick fun.
susanscribs's review
3.0
A lot of readers felt the main characters were rich, spoiled yuppies with First World problems. That didn't bother me, but I failed to feel much of a connection to the heroine or understand why she was considered so appealing to her husband and ex-lover. She was a good mother but ultimately whiny and selfish; her husband was a saint for putting up with her. Despite the unsympathetic heroine, the book was well-written and an interesting look at a brief moment in recent history before the economic bubble burst.
amandam's review
2.0
I was pulled in by the first few gloriously written pages and continued to be impressed by her writing throughout. Ultimately, though, I couldn't quiet the voice in the back of my head that didn't much care about the characters, that wasn't finding more than a bit of drama to pull my through the plot. Obviously I liked the setting, but this is not the San Francisco I know and inhabit. I'll definitely read her again, but this book was only so-so.