I must admit that this was a lovely book with beautiful language and magnificent descriptions. Unfortunately, it was weighed down with several flaws. Ms. Gilbert is a master of language, whether written or spoken; there is just no denying that she has a way with words. However, it seemed that in this novel, she took her gift a bit too far. The novel was too drawn out, and entire sections could have been omitted without affecting the quality of the story (ie. Tahiti... insert eye-roll here). Also, this is an instance where the author’s use of the third-person omniscient format worked against her, leading to an inability for the reader to bond fully with the characters.
Another surprising element that detracted from the overall feel of the novel was the overt sexual scenes. By all means, if the story had actually been in need of such carnal detail, I could’ve stomached it. It seemed, instead, that these scenes were misplaced in this particular novel, if not completely gratuitous. Perhaps Gilbert could have communicated the same message with a subdued version of the same material.
All in all, the characters were impressive and multidimensional. I enjoyed learning about an area of science that I never paid much attention to, and I appreciated the amount of research that went into this novel.
Read 11/10/14
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