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Maven Books

Reviews about historical, literary, classic, and other fiction.  Miscellaneous book things.

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L.M. Montgomery
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A Possible Life: A Novel in Five Parts by Sebastian Faulks

A Possible Life: A Novel in Five Love Stories - Sebastian Faulks

I read the first part of this five-part novel, but I was somewhat disappointed and ended up quitting altogether. The first part (Geoffrey) started off ok, though it felt a bit flat to me; the story meandered a bit, skipping ahead in small chunks.

Then there was a big change in the story -- which was both predictable and unbelievable at the same time -- and we're whisked off to a different setting. This got more intense, albeit in a rather sloppy way, with things happening without much basis or development. And then, just as things are gaining quite a bit of intensity, the plot skips ahead a few years and you're left wondering what just happened. The story just sort of peters out after that.  

I lost interest after that, and didn't really feel like continuing to the other stories after all. It felt like the first part could have been its own novel, if only it had been a bit more developed, and not skipped ahead so much.  I'd heard good things about Mr. Faulks' book "Birdsong," and I certainly hope that that book is better written than this one. I might give it a try, but I would not recommend this one.