On my first blind date with a book I read 68 pages of Erica Ferencik's Into the Jungle before I threw in the towel. It took me four tries to get that far along in the story, and was probably 67 pages more than I should have read, but I wanted to give the story a chance.
Things I liked about this blind date: not a single thing.
Things I disliked about this blind date: Everything. I'm not kidding, everything. From the cover art with its blinding yellow accents (I should have taken that as a Do Not Enter warning) to the over-wrought, thesaurusitis writing and a collection of characters so juvenile, unrealistic and (admittedly, artfully) repulsive I had zero sympathy for all of them. This book is a steaming pile of crap dressed up like a story -- and yes, I would say that to the author's face. My overriding thought every time I turned a page was Can I stop now? Please?
I know I should not feel this way; the novel got a starred review from Publishers Weekly, too. Oh, well. Now I understand why their reviewers always hated my books.
I've only asked people not to read a book once in the past; China Nieville's Perdido Street Station did so much harm to my brain I almost gave up writing. After 68 pages of this, I have to ask again. Please don't read this book.
2 comments:
Considering I'd never heard of this author until you showed the trio, nor the recommending author for that matter, I knew I'd steer clear of it before you even started. That and the cover is cringe worthy...
It's so bad, Theo, it might put you off reading forever. Hence the last line of my post.
Post a Comment