Janet Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 The Sea by John Banville The Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 This is one of those books that I feel I ought to read because it's raved about modern fiction. But every time I think about the praise it receives, about the beautiful prose and so on, I just instinctively feel it will be long and tedious and drag and not have a plot I'd grab hold of. Your review just reinforces my prejudice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I hated this book - it is one of the very rare books that I have abandoned. It just droned on and on........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I have this on my TBR pile. I read The Book of Evidence and thought it was brilliant, and I'm still looking forward to The Sea. I appreciate your review though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted February 18, 2009 Author Share Posted February 18, 2009 Angel - that's exactly how I felt. Kylie - glad I haven't put you off. "One man's meat..." and all that. I'd still like to try The Book of Evidence as a comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Ahhh, well, I loved The Sea, granted the first time I read it, I missed some of the time shifts, and markers. However with careful reading I managed to keep the time lines straight and it just fell into place with the second reading a few months later. A very fulfilling and satisfying story to me. I found it quite different to Book of Evidence, Freddie's saga. Kylie, if you enjoyed BoE, please, please read Ghost and Athena, they are a continuation of Freddie's story. I kind of wish Banville would continue with Freddie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Doesn't sound very impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Kylie, if you enjoyed BoE, please, please read Ghost and Athena, they are a continuation of Freddie's story. I kind of wish Banville would continue with Freddie. Thanks, Pontalba. I have Athena already but need to track down Ghost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmlanebooks Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I loved The Sea initially - the descriptions were beautiful, but very quickly they became repetative and I began to get bored of them. The plot was very slow and it was lucky that it was such a small book or I wouldn't have finished it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maggie Dana Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Phew, glad I'm not the only one who didn't care for this. I heard the author being interviewed on NPR (National Public Radio in the U.S. ... the only stations without constant ads) and he was fascinating (and funny) and the book sounded wonderful, so I got it (luckily, from my library) but couldn't get beyond 50 pages or so. I tried, I really tried, then reckoned I just didn't connect with this particular author. Pity ... because the writing was lovely; it just didn't have anything I could grab hold of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 From the posts I've seen in various forums, readers either love or hate The Sea. It wasn't till my second reading that all the the time lines finally clicked. But when they did, it was magic [for me ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princess Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Ouch. I spotted this cheap, but I think I'll give it a miss now! Thanks for the review! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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