Start Date: July 18
Finish Date: July 19
Star Rating: seven stars *******
Movie Rating: PG
I enjoyed this book. I was very interested to find out how it would all work out. And of course we had our cocky, sneaky, smart-talking character, whom I both absolutely loved and hated intensely. But I just... didn't love it.
(mild spoilers follow)
Gregor was handsome, and nice and, well... that was it. He didn't really do much of anything. Lucinda got to do it all. Not that I have a problem with a female main character fixing her problems and all, but its nice if the love interest, you know... helps. Or something. And I don't call "showing up after everything is mostly fixed up" helping. Oh, and while we're on the subject, I am a fan of a love interest with personality. Peter is not who I would want Lucinda to put up with, but at least he has PLENTY of personality. (And don't we all want to sock him for it...)
I'm not really into the whole "love-at-first-sight" thing. I will admit that this was slightly better--I mean, they danced with each other, and talked a (VERY) little, and each is aware that the other is Rather Good Looking... ungh. Hardly better than Twilight, I think. (I'm stopping there, before I even get started.
Really I am. Even making that comparison is making me want to knock a star off of my rating.)
I wasn't a big fan of the goat. This can be explained. All those people out there (that is to say, most everyone) who have NOT had much experience with goats, I'm sure they're all totally willing to buy into the whole "look I'm a cute and cuddly horned thing" thing. But I'm NOT one of those people. I can't really see a goat just nibbling your finger... and those teeth are SHARP. And, as much as you might want to think of the goat as a dog, they have HOOVES, which are rather harder and sharper and smaller than paws, which means it's painful if they, like, jump up on you. Those horns are certainly not much fun either, they aren't really for gentle nudging. And I don't see how a goat nibbling on your hair could be in anyway endearing. (Kix and I know this.) And had the author even take a good look at a goat eye? Not that its all that important, but if I ever wrote a book and had a character much around with a goat, I wouldn't be able to not comment on the rectangular-ish pupils.
(Ok, so that one was really random. But really.) Basically, I'm sure that the author had much more experience with dogs than with goats (not surprising, of course) and wanted her to have a helpful not-dog-friend but somehow just ended up with a horned and cloven-hoofed dog named, what else--Dog. Sorry, not convinced.
(I notice this alot with horses in books too. Quite often I just have to go, "Um, I'm just going to pretend that that would actually work/happen/whatever. And I'm going to keep reading now.")
And Beryl's and Lucinda's friendship seemed... I dunno. "I'm going to tell you about my past and now we are best friends and we'll risk death for each other, ok?" I guess they were both pretty lonely and wanted to attach themselves to SOMEONE, but... well, I just wanted their friendship to have time to actually be, like, believeable. Before each risks death for the other.
Pointing out all these little things makes it seem like I didn't like the book. Which isn't true. But there isn't much else to say about the rest other than, "I liked it. Now, where did I put my Eugenides?"
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