About this title: A woman named Alice, in training at a terrorist training institute, looks back on the incident that propelled her toward that choice: the plane that she and her sister Edith were traveling on was hijacked by a blind man and two others. The facts of that event remain somewhat elusive, as the relationship between the two sisters becomes strained. ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Good. Ships from the UK. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Ships from the UK. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Your purchase also supports literacy charities. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Virago Press Ltd
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9781860499258ISBN:1860499252
Description: Fine. "Publisher: Virago Press Ltd Date of Publication: 2004 Binding: Paper Back Edition: First Paperback Edition Condition: New Description: 8vo-over 7"-9" tall 1860499252" read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780399150494ISBN:0399150498
Description: A wonderful copy with some minor edgewear to the cover. Dust Jacket has some edgewear present. -, Hard Cover, Very Good / Very Good. read more
"This book was a bit too complicated and convaluted for me. It follows a woman named Alice as she goes through a hijacking. But it might not really be a hijacking. The story is weird and I don't like the disaster of a relationship Alice and he sister Edith have. The writing is all right but I tended to lose interest throughout the course of the book."
"This one started out entertaining--I liked the narrator's hostility and sharpness, and was intrigued by the introduction--but I very quickly became disenchanted. Maybe I'm just not ready to read a farcical, satirical romp about terrorism. It's possible. More likely, the author simply failed to convince me on every level: plot, characters, tone--everything. I ended with a sense that Julavits didn't really know what sort of a book she was writing--political commentary? family drama? inquiry into the nature of identity? examination of the nature of humanity based on how quickly it dissipates in extreme situations? Julavits tried to do all and failed at capturing any, in large part because of this fracturing overambition, but also because of her over-attachment to being clever, detached, and postmodern.
Two stars not because "it was ok"--it was not--but because I have read far worse books and would like to save the dread one star for them. And Julavits' lauded (by the blurbs, at least) "savage humor" did indeed amuse me a couple of times on a sentence level, and I was mildly interested in the sibling dynamics for maybe a quarter of the book. Overall, though, the book failed to create any emotional or intellectual resonance at all."
"Account, by an unreliable narrator, of an airline highjacking and its aftermath—or perhaps not, as one of this book's key themes is appearance vs. reality. Overtones of Lewis Carroll and Vladimir Nabokov. Julavits creates excessively writerly prose, and depends too much on verbing nouns."
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