One reader named Jane wrote the following in a review of the book:
"I felt that this book was very hard to get into. the beginning of the book bored me very much. I was unsure about characters all through the book. I know that there were other books to be written after it but the ending just did not seem to work for me and others friends I have talked to."
What is your response to Jane's comments?
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16 comments:
I agree. The author's intro is a bit dull. In the first few pages I was thinking "What???" we don't get an in depth view of the characters and their behaviour. I often had to re-read a page because I drifted away and lost interest. I was not very engaged... But as the book progressed, it got much better. I almost feel that I was there with Takeo. What do you guys think?
I agree and disagree with what Jane said. I disagree when she says the start is very hard to get into. I personally think the start was the most exciting part of the novel, as after just a few pages, Tomasu's (later Takeo) village is attacked and his town life destroyed. However I agree with the fact that the character's were very very hard to remember and follow. Example: Otori's name kept randomly changing to Shigeru, which confused me and made it easy for me to get distracted and stop reading. The middle section of the book, where all the characters were introduced and 'changed' was very boring to me. I'll talk about the ending in another comment later on.
The ending: I was disappointed with the ending. I knew that there were to be other books in the series, and after gritting through the slow and confusing parts of the book, it started to get exciting. I thought that Lord Otori Shigeru, by far my favourite character (due to his honour and courage) would play a major part in the rest of the series. But because of the fact that he wouldn't be playing a further part in the series (I won't ruin it, but you can probably guess why) I personally was disappointed. The fact that there would be no more Shigeru put me off wanting to read the other books. Also, because I found this book very difficult to get into and extremely confusing (as mentioned in the previous comment) I didn't have a strong desire to want to read the next one.
I almost agree with what Jane is saying in her review except for one crucial thing. How can she say that the book was hard to get into when the start of the book is action packed? Tomasu's life is changed right at the start of the book when his village is destroyed and he is rescued by Lord Otori.
I do agree with Jane though that the characters in the book are really hard to follow. It could just be that we are not accustomed to the traditional Japanese names, just like a Japanese person would have trouble remembering traditional English names.
I also agree with Jono!! How he said that it was hard to follow Lord Otori's name and how it randomly changed to Shigeru which was extremely confusing.
Later on in the book I just lost interest at times and like the big ben I found myself re-reading pages because I would just tune out of the book and go into a series of complicated thoughts that made no sense while my eyes were slowly skimming over the book. When I finally came back into reality I had no idea what was happening in the book and had to re-read. J
ust like Jono!! When I finally finished the book I looked at the sequel one in the library but chose another book over that one because it was confusing and boring at times. I'm not just trying to agree with everyone else but it seems as though most people have the same reaction to this question.
I would like to add more to my comment. I can see where Jane is coming from, but also see otherwise. As Jono and I both mentioned, the characters are referred to by different titles. For example, Kaede can also be called Shirawaka Kaede and ‘My Lady.’
I also understand why she and Jono weren’t impressed by the ending. Takeo’s perspective of many characters changes in the last few chapters. For example, Kenji. Takeo has deep respect for him. Then Kenji kidnaps Takeo. Takeo is filled with disgust and betrayal. Then before we know it, they are friends again after Shigeru has been laid to rest. This is a bit of a flaw; as in reality, if a person was to betray another, they would be feuding for weeks. In the book however, Lian has written otherwise.
But apart from being hard to get into, the book is great. The ending I thought was fantastic. It leaves us on a cliff-hanger, hooking us in and making us want to buy the next book. I know I will! Lian wants you to feel like this, because she wants you to keep reading the series.
T Robot, how can you possibly say the book was easy to get into? Yes the introduction is action packed, and that's the mistake the author made. There’s too much action!!! How can you possibly make a head or tail of any situation if millions of events are occurring simultaneously? That’s exactly what happens in the book. Personally, I prefer a book that slowly builds up in suspense until the final chapters. Apart from the intro, the book is just right.
Well the big ben I am extremely sorry but it seems as though we are not on the same page (get my joke...page...book review...haha) I loathe books that have a slow beginning, they are not good to read and hard to get into. Not everyone has to be the same as you...
Good joke, ha ha. Nor does anyone have to have the same view as yourself...
I'll join this argument. Ben...I think it's obvious that the introduction is the best part of the book. It is gripping and exciting, action-packed and intense. The book draws you in as soon as you turn the title page. What's more Ben, the next ~150 pages (the middle part) of the book, the part you said was the most interesting, was boring and confusing!
Despite my argument, I have nothing wrong with your opinion Ben, I just disagree with what you are saying!
Yay! I love debates... now back to business. It’s good we have different perspectives. I’m not saying I don’t think the Introduction is absolutely terrible, I just think that a few too many events occurred there. What I’m saying is it would have been better if the events that Takeo experienced didn’t all occur in the first chapter, rather over the course of a few.
Big Ben I am not saying that everyone has to think the same way that I do unlike you. You are a puritan and you are criticising me because I am not the same as you.
Just a bit harsh Tom... This is only school worl
I agree entirely with Jane except for what she says about the ending. As soon as I started reading I knew it would be one of those old, asian based books which i have a disliking for. This made it especially hard for me to get into the book at the start. I like a book that gets straight into the action but in this book. Jono says that it was exciting when the village burned down and I agree but this lasted only like 5 pages and after that there is absolutely no action whatsoever and instead boring details. The character had annoying names and this made them annoying to follow.
I disagree with all of you and I think the best part of the book was the end as it was where all the action was. I agree with what Ben says about spreading the beginning out but if you did that the gaps would be filled with boring detail.
The ending was disappointing as I wanted Takeo and Kaede to be together but there would be no sequel then. Because of this the end left me feeling empty.
I agree completely with what Ben said. I too had to re read a couple of pages just to grasp what was being said. At the end of the book I went back and started again so I would understand the intro, this helped a lot.
with what Jane said I think she is wrong by saying that she couldn’t get into it and the characters were unsteady all the way through the book because by about halfway I was sure on almost everything.
I also agree with Jono that a little part of me didn’t want to read the next ones. But I did anyway and the second one was boring but in the third one the author picked up his game. It was fast paced exiting and I couldn’t put it down.
I agree and disagree with Jane on this one, as the start is only hard to get into before the attack on Tomasu's village when the author is just going through Tomasu's life so far, but after that it is really exciting, and the description of some chapters were very in depth, while others were very Blasé (skimmed through them) and it would be very easy for some people to lose intrest sometimes.
However, I thought that the characters weren't that hard to follow, and in response to Jono's example the difference between Shigeru and Lord Otori is the difference between mere peasants he rules over speaking to him and close friends talking to him. To use your name as an example it's the difference between 'Lord Goddard' (if only) and Jono, because Shigeru was above the class of peasant, and for a peasant to use the name Shigeru would imply that they were of equal status
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