October 09, 2011

Bookends by Jane Green

I wasn't really a big fan of this book. It was nice in a homey sort of way, but there just wasn't a whole lot too it aside from ramblings.

A group of friends who have been together since their University days (minus one who reappears later) have gotten along with their lives, working, finding love, one of them marrying, one of them searching for his perfect man, another not searching at all. Cath, who I would consider the main character of this book is the one not searching. But when she and Lucy decide to open their own bookshop / cafe, she meets a man in the most unexpected of places. But other things are happening with their friends and it seems like the world is starting to fall apart a little piece at a time.

I wasn't really taken with any of the characters. I found Cath kind of boring and self serving with a woe as me attitude. Lucy and Josh were just somewhat unbelievable as a couple. I did like Si, who was frantically searching for the right man. He at least had some personality. And Portia just sounded like someone I would have a good time ignoring. Overall not my kind of group of people. They were written well as to be believable but weren't the kind of people I'd like to read about.

There wasn't really a plot, just a group of people going about their lives with some conflict or another. Ok, so maybe that could be a plot, but it wasn't very exciting. Green explored some heavy themes towards the ends of the book, which I wasn't expecting because the first parts were so light and fluffy. The two halves just didn't mix well with each other. I also didn't really like how she broke up the times and instances as it made it a kind of disjointed read. About the only thing I did like was the different cultural references to Europe and reading about some of the food (although the amount of food these people consumed was astounding).

Wasn't my cup of tea and I probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I won't be looking for anymore of Green's works anytime soon.

Bookends
Copyright 2002
358 pages

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