ms_tiahmarie's reviews
1089 reviews

Notes 19 Feb: Yes, reading another one, and this one is NOT on sale. Hence why I skipped a head. They are fun, but I'm not enough of a mystery reader to dedicate myself to 11 bucks a pop just to what their relationship develop. But this one seems intriguing and willing to give it all one last hurrah.

Later that same day: Not feeling well so read the day away. This is my favourite of the three.

What one would expect from Richard: comic wit cloaked in deep tragedy. Or Quentin Tarantino without the guns.

Beautifully written. Although I couldn't stop thinking 'Literary "Single White Female"' - although that is rather misleading. Spooky. Eloquent.

A brilliant book. It quietly, but persistently, pushes forward to assert the place of herself, her daughters, while exploring feminism and the concept of 'goodness.'

I sat there nodding, 'I know what she speaks.' The laments, the frustrations of so many, put together without dramatics. I saw a bit of every woman in my writer's group - wise beings at an age where society likes to shelve, overlook.

I wished to crawl into the pages and chat with women there, pick their brains, share a cup of coffee.

I am so glad I decided to spend more money and buy the solid book, not kindle. To be able to leaf through the pages and read again and again.

Yes, I adored this book.

I didn't love it like I did some of his others. I'm not sure why. There are aspects which were really good and yet...not sure. An intriguing project all the same.

A sad part of human history brought to life with all the complexity that reality brings.

Subtle yet poignant about women's lives, and the legacy of life in general - taking the romance out of ageing and the general 'Hallmark moments' in life that are vaulted into things that are not necessarily quite what society holds them to be. Shield's then, as counter balance, adds beauty to many common activities that are overlooked without overly glorifying them.

This is only my second book of Shield's. I confess, I enjoyed Unless more. But I admire how Shield's adjusts her work to suite the story. She has not rehashed a work to create another. The two books are different. Yet, Shield's arguments and ideas are there, so is her style - thus the 'taste' of this author's work carries between books. Not all writers can transition yet still give their readers enough of the flavour they crave. It seems Shield's can. Which may be why she one so many awards.

I needed a 'lighter read' to break up the other books I'm working my way through. The e-version of this came on sale and it is set in Cape Town, so I thought, 'What the heck, lets give a little local crime a try.'

Much to ponder.

I had wanted to read this book for so long and...oh dear. I don't go on to goodreads to bash books. It is simply that I am not the ideal reader for this book. I have pet peeves (like anybody else) and can't get behind the story line of 'man falsely accused of ...' by a woman. It is a long loved storyline in books, TV and Hollywood and the stats don't back it up. If these storylines were to believed, these things happen all the time. In actual fact, it is a rare occurrence. Normally a woman really does have the event happen to her. Nobody will believe her. It would be rare there would be enough evidence or belief for it to go to trial. And getting her on the stand? That too almost never happens. And when she does? It is mostly about what a slut/ whore / once had a drink and therefore is easy... I live in the rape capital of the world and thus, I'm really touchy about such things.

It is just a story, I hear you say.

That is true. Thus, you may like enjoy this book very much. (The dog is a lovely dog.) We all have things that drive us nuts, for good reasons or otherwise, and this is one of mine.