by Gregory Maguire
|
| List Price: | $26.00 |
| Average Rating: |  |
| Lowest New Price: | $15.71 |
|
 |
|
Book Description
Winifred Rudge, a bemused writer struggling to get beyond the runaway success of her mass-market astrology book, travels to London to jump-start her new novel about a woman who is being haunted by the ghost of Jack the Ripper. Upon her arrival, she finds that her stepcousin and old friend John Comestor has disappeared, and a ghostly presence seems to have taken over his home. Is the spirit Winnie's great-great-grandfather, who, family legend claims, was Charles Dickens's childhood inspiration for Ebenezer Scrooge? Could it be the ghostly remains of Jack the Ripper? Or a phantasm derived from a more arcane and insidious origin? Winnie begins to investigate and finds herself the unwilling audience for a drama of specters and shades -- some from her family's peculiar history and some from her own unvanquished past.In the spirit of A. S. Byatt's Possession, with dark echoing overtones of A Christmas Carol, Lost presents a rich fictional world that will enrapture its readers.
Customers who bought this item also bought
Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Not in the same league with his other books, 2008-08-28
As a commuter I have enjoyed Maguire's books on CD immensely (Wicked, Son of a Witch, What the Dickens)and expected the same from Lost. Was I wrong!! It isn't so much that the story is bad, but the woman (Jenny Sterlin) narrator/reader has a voice that is so sharp and grating that it was a literal assault on my ears. She made ALL of the characters sound mean, unsympathetic, ugly and sarcastic... even when their words weren't meant to be. It was impossible for me to warm up to any of the characters in this book. The readers of the other CDs (I felt) read the books perfectly, with just the right emphasis and style. I hope to never mistakingly buy a CD read by Jenny Sterlin again. I also hope that Maguire has the good sense to have a different reader for his other books, because I truly enjoy his other writing.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 I was lost, 2008-07-12
I struggled so hard to just finish this book. The whole time I felt like the story was scatterbrained and confusing. I was truly "lost" after I've finished this. This book was waste of my time and I hope no one else makes the same mistake.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 Good book, 2008-06-14
Came right on time, excellent condition (new).
The only thing I suggest is wrapping better the books, just a cardboard piece and plastic doesn't do it as expected.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Interesting, 2008-06-14
Clever modern retelling of the ghost of Xmas past.
I usually love the device of the unreliable POV, but the problem with this POV character in this one is that she's intentially so disjointed and deluded and withdrawn that the reader has to connect the dots to see the big picture.
And I think the big picture is that ever since the late 1800 mankind has come to rely on escapist fantasy and meds to such a degree that at the first major trama in our lives we react by medicating and fantasizing ourselves into zombies, unwilling to feel real pain or joy or love again.
This novel is about how absurd this must be to our "little ice-age" ancestors with their artifically truncated lifespans and their primative "hungry. pray. catch. cook. eat." mentalities.
Overall I enjoyed every page of it, which I can't say for most novels, so I give this one high marks.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Disappointing, 2008-06-04
I was thoroughly disappointed with this book. Having read "Wicked" and "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister", I was looking forward to reading another of Maguire's imaginative works. However, "Lost" seems to be just that. Nothing really fits together in this novel, and Maguire had the opportunity to develop the Scrooge storyline wonderfully, but instead chose to go with an unknown ghost and theme of incest. It was, by far, the worst novel I have read this year.
Price is accurate as of the date/time indicated. Prices and product availability are subject to change. Any price displayed on the Amazon website at the time of purchase will govern the sale of this product.
|
Store Categories
|