So our two previous reviews of the book commented on the bestseller status of Gruen's novel, and I'll admit that it was a turn-off for me as well. I guess in my attempt to fashion myself as intellectual (or at least more intellectual than others), I was reluctant to read a book (for a book club) that has suggestions for book club reading in the back. I am also wary of any book that is so successful it gets its author a $5 million advance for her next two books (not to mention $1 million for the movie rights)!
So it kind of pains me to admit that this book was good...predictable, but good. This got me thinking, what makes a bestseller a bestseller? I think that Kara is right to say that the opening pages give a decent indication of who these characters are. Nothing is really shrouded in mystery here. Is it just wanting a "good story" to occupy time that makes this book fantastically popular? But Pat's response has me thinking that I didn't give this book enough credit--perhaps it does cleverly "stage the felxibility between reality and imagination" through its themes.
All of this is a really crap way of saying that I don't really know what to think of this book anymore. I enjoyed reading it, and there's something to be said for that. But, I think I enjoyed it self-consciously, maybe even with a little guilt. It's like listening to John Mayer--I still seem to enjoy his songs, but I probably wouldn't admit that to too many people (unless it's on a public, geeky blog). And when I do enjoy them, I'm not even entirely sure why.
This post probably strays from the idea of the blog--I doubt many people wanted to read about my hyper-conscious choices in reading. In fact, I barely talked about the book at all. Old Jacob was cool--cranky, yet lovable. I imagine that Robert Pattinson will make a bland, but pretty good looking Young Jacob. But then again, Young Jacob is kind of bland--did anyone else think he was completely naive? He just sort of seemed to be there but perhaps not be so much a part of the action.
Feel free to ignore the above comments. I know I will.
