Sunday, July 29, 2007

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

by J.K. Rowling

***** [5/5]

I think everyone has already read the Harry Potter books but if you have not you should. The stories are great and the characters are lively and intriguing. This was the last book in the series but like all the predecessors the book was hard to put down.

The Book of the Dead

by Douglas Preston

* [1/5]

I read this book because I am a sucker for Egyptian themes but it was not well composed. The theme is muted and only a few Egyptian artifacts are present in the plot. The book is structured as a mystery but doesn't have any surprise elements.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

The Price of Love

by Arnold Bennett

[***] 3/5

This was an interesting book with a nice series of plot twists. The heroine struggles with the vices of a new husband as the events of theft unfold over several months.

The characters are well developed but the plot is not as compelling as it could be. Several good twists, but the real value of the book is the moral questions the characters struggle with and how each individual deals with temptation.

Picture of Dorian Gray

by Oscar Wilde

*** [3/5]

Well I finally got around to reading this book. As one of the few classics I had missed I am not sure why I put it off except that it always looked so dark to me. Well ....

This is one of the darkest books around. The plot focuses on Dorian Gray, who doesn't age but his deeds are reflected in a portrait. The story is an exploration of morality in this time period, but it rather drags on after Wilde makes a few points around the mid-point.

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