Wednesday, January 13, 2010

The Reading Group - Elizabeth Noble


Rating: 7/10


Review: 
I'm someone who believes that how much you like a book, mostly depends on what you go looking for in a book. The Reading Group is a perfect example. I went in looking for a novel about five women who tackle the problems in their lives, while having books and each other for company. And that's almost exactly what I got, though the emphasis given to the 'reading group' discussions is disappointingly low.


Elizabeth Noble is a brilliant writer and I love her style, her no-fuss way with words. It helped me enjoy a book that was a little too long. Noble is excellent with character development too. Initially, there were too many characters and the narrative shifted from one to another abruptly. But once I got used to it, it was exciting to see each of them handle their lives. I didn't always agree with what some characters said or did, but I was fascinated by them and I was rooting for a happy ending.


The book isn't typical chick-lit, if chick-lit means a lot of romance and hilarity. The book is much more emotional and refreshingly, not a 'middle-aged women whine about their lives' story. It stretches and rambles unnecessarily in parts and isn't as much about the 'reading group' as the members themselves. But I enjoyed it more than the last novel supposedly about books and book-lovers I read, which was Sue Gee's Reading In Bed


The books selected for the reading group, that include Rebecca, The Girl With A Pearl Earring, I Capture The Castle, Heartburn, Atonement, Guppies For Tea seem to be excellent choices. There's nothing extraordinary about the plot. It's a simple but well-written story and quite a good first novel. Though several reviews I've read aren't quite positive, I enjoyed this book for what it was: a pleasant, comfortable read about female bonding, though a little too long. Elizabeth Noble is an author whose books I'm definitely looking forward to reading!

10 comments:

Bloomsbury Bell said...

This sounds really interesting - I haven't read any Elizabeth Noble before. I love I Capture the Castle and Rebecca so it would be interesting to read a book in which they feature!

christa @ mental foodie said...

"I'm someone who believes that how much you like a book, mostly depends on what you go looking for in a book" - you are absolutely right. I just finished "31 Hours" yesterday and was very disappointed. I was expecting a thriller, but it was not... which reminded that I need to finish the review... I hate giving low scores but gotta be honest.

Kals said...

Bloomsbury Bell - Do check it out, if so, though discussions about the books are very minimal :)

Christa- Oh, I know! Expectations are one of the reasons, I guess, that we sometimes hate books everyone else loved and vice versa.

Sarah said...

Hi Kals,

I came across your lovely blog and thought you might like to take a peek at mine. I live in the French Alps and write about food and renovating our old watermill. Would you be interested in exchanging links? I am now following you.

Sarah

http://atasteofsavoie.blogspot.com/

email: atasteofsavoie@gmail.com

Kals said...

Your blog is equally lovely :) I shall follow it now, thanks for dropping by!

Alyce said...

I'm glad it wasn't middle-aged whinyness. :) Too bad there wasn't more of the reading group discussion though. This is the first I have seen of this book.

Sherrie said...

Hi!
Sounds like an interesting book. I'll have to check this one out. Thanks for stopping by my place. Have a great weekend.

Sherrie
Just Books

Kals said...

Alyce - LOL. It was well-written and engaging, though I'd have loved more book-talk!

Sherrie - Have a great weekend and happy reading! :)

Booksnyc said...

Thanks for the review - this one, along with Noble's "Friendship Test", is on my bookshelf waiting to be read. I have read "Alphabet Weekend" by her and enjoyed it - nothing deep but fun nonetheless.

Kals said...

Alphabet Weekend sounds fun! It's on my TBR along with Friendship test, actually :)

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