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kiwikathleen's review against another edition
3.0
I'm really not sure what to say about this book. I laughed a lot at the idiocy of the man, I got angry on behalf of his wives and children, I shook my head at the ghastly fourth female . . . So, the book had me involved and that's a good thing. But I sure didn't like Mr Wonder.
booksinthetreehouse's review
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lindzlovesreading's review against another edition
3.0
Reading this I felt I was in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing. Just one of those books you pick up and read the first page and go, yeah this is going to be good, and it was. Knox is an author I have been meaning to pick up for years, he seems like one of those authors that can slide from fiction to non fiction with irritating ease. At one stage I was contemplating his biography on Don Bradman, until I remembered it was about cricket.
'Wonder Lover' starts out as a simple fable, told through a chorus of united yet separate voices. A man with a many secrets, and each secret ,or in this case wife, does not know about the other one. As the story unfolds the more delicate and complicated it becomes as slowly characters are developed and things start to blend the writing develops a depth, well the writing is really good. It felt effortless, easy. Even though I admired other Australian man of letters Steve Toltz, you can tell he poured over each and every sentence.
Again because of the fable-ish beginning, it could be set in any country in any town, the landscape is as bland as John Wonder himself, yet as the story deepens you know that town intimately as the novel develops it's own character. And a story of love and the different types of love also turns into a story of identity.
It's just a good book, might even pick up the Don Bradman now, a book is not about the subject but how the writer tells the story.
Interesting note, the more I think about the book the more I don't like how the women were written, typical stereotypes kept creeping in. The angry passionate woman from South America, the passive woman from Asia, the complete bogan woman reveling in her boredom (though she was a hot of a character). Interestingly this is not a deal breaker, I loved the writing to much.
'Wonder Lover' starts out as a simple fable, told through a chorus of united yet separate voices. A man with a many secrets, and each secret ,or in this case wife, does not know about the other one. As the story unfolds the more delicate and complicated it becomes as slowly characters are developed and things start to blend the writing develops a depth, well the writing is really good. It felt effortless, easy. Even though I admired other Australian man of letters Steve Toltz, you can tell he poured over each and every sentence.
Again because of the fable-ish beginning, it could be set in any country in any town, the landscape is as bland as John Wonder himself, yet as the story deepens you know that town intimately as the novel develops it's own character. And a story of love and the different types of love also turns into a story of identity.
It's just a good book, might even pick up the Don Bradman now, a book is not about the subject but how the writer tells the story.
Interesting note, the more I think about the book the more I don't like how the women were written, typical stereotypes kept creeping in. The angry passionate woman from South America, the passive woman from Asia, the complete bogan woman reveling in her boredom (though she was a hot of a character). Interestingly this is not a deal breaker, I loved the writing to much.
essjay1's review against another edition
4.0
Odd, interesting, well written ... he left a few unexplained gaps and stretched our ability to believe in some instances, but overall a very entertaining novel. My leftie feminist self did not enjoy the stereotypes each wife was allotted however the portraits of family, and in particular familial love/guilt/duty of care etc, are thought provoking and insightful. Without a doubt a very clever and original book.
chloe456's review against another edition
1.0
I don’t normally respect my own time, but even so this was a waste of my time
gnomely's review
2.0
alright the writing was so immersive i managed to down this book in two days which was pretty neat. malcolm knox has an excellent command over words, which managed to keep me deeply engrossed the entire time, despite the characters, and plot, and pretty much everything else being a combination of boring and annoying.
john wonder is a total sleezeball, and also completely unremarkable and forgettable, as the narrative reminds us every three pages. (somehow he manages to marry three women, despite how absolutely bland and dull he is.) he spends the majority of the novel in his late 50s lusting after a woman (The Most Beautiful Woman In The World) at least 25 years his junior. really great and fun to read about.
the whole book definitely has an air of male-author about it, but that quality is brought into focus whenever cicada appears. the narration becomes distinctly, unmistakably male. gotta mention cicada's breasts at least once every scene she's in or else how would we know she's The Most Beautiful Woman In The World????
and then the ending was as drab as john wonder himself. all the wives end up meeting, sure, but only because mr wonder has become essentially braindead, so the three wives can't even confront him in any satisfying way, because he can't respond. it felt like a copout. the whole time i was waiting for the three wives and cicada to meet, and john wonder finally getting his just desserts for deceiving these women, but then actually no he is kaput now goodbye. the end
it was a weird one, and pretty absurd. i can see why some people love this book. but not for me. too irritating.
john wonder is a total sleezeball, and also completely unremarkable and forgettable, as the narrative reminds us every three pages. (somehow he manages to marry three women, despite how absolutely bland and dull he is.) he spends the majority of the novel in his late 50s lusting after a woman (The Most Beautiful Woman In The World) at least 25 years his junior. really great and fun to read about.
the whole book definitely has an air of male-author about it, but that quality is brought into focus whenever cicada appears. the narration becomes distinctly, unmistakably male. gotta mention cicada's breasts at least once every scene she's in or else how would we know she's The Most Beautiful Woman In The World????
and then the ending was as drab as john wonder himself. all the wives end up meeting, sure, but only because mr wonder has become essentially braindead, so the three wives can't even confront him in any satisfying way, because he can't respond. it felt like a copout. the whole time i was waiting for the three wives and cicada to meet, and john wonder finally getting his just desserts for deceiving these women, but then actually no he is kaput now goodbye. the end
it was a weird one, and pretty absurd. i can see why some people love this book. but not for me. too irritating.
erin_reads_all_the_books's review against another edition
2.0
I was sorely disappointed with this book....my main issue was how on earth this man managed to get 3 women to fall in love with him!
I wasn't hooked at the beginning, and struggled to maintain interest, the writing style wasn't my favourite either, however- onwards and upwards to a better book!
I wasn't hooked at the beginning, and struggled to maintain interest, the writing style wasn't my favourite either, however- onwards and upwards to a better book!