jeff_simmons

I really liked this book! And yet, I am going to begin this review by telling you all the things that are wrong with it, that somehow did not prevent me from really liking it. Many of these wrong things are spoilers, so they will be hidden. (view spoiler) Not only that, but the main character is seriously obnoxious. She seemed so oblivious to so much going on around her. She asked questions that annoyed me, the other characters, and sometimes even herself. Drove me bananas. Plus the ending was extremely rushed. The book was going along at a decent pace the whole way through, and then BAM in the last few pages 600 million things happen and then it is over. And the Bovanders? How random were they? Were they really necessary? Why were they from Australia and not just some native Brazilians? So weird. AND YET. I still really liked the book. Go figure. Why? If you can just say "well, it's fiction, whatever" to the "scientific" aspects of the book, it's actually a pretty neat story. There is a lot of mystery involved, and it kept me guessing. There were plot twists that I didn't figure out. The characters were interesting, if awful. The location itself is a lot of the beauty of the book, and the descriptions are SO wonderful. Sometimes they are almost too wonderful, if such a thing exists. I could really "see" the jungle and felt like I was getting to know the area as I read. A few more things. I loved that one man is with a tribe for only a few months but learns enough of their language to communicate with them, but the scientists who have been with another tribe for sometimes decades still barely even have a basic grasp of the language. I really want to know who knocked up the old lady. She really evades that question. I love that in the end we come to realize (view spoiler) So much going on in this book. SO MUCH. I think I need to read it again someday knowing what is going on and how it ends to try to figure out what tips are given throughout the book. GREAT story. Highly recommended to just about everyone. But please at least read through chapter 3 (though they are super long chapters). The first two chapters aren't nearly as good because they are just background. After the first two I thought I wouldn't like it. After the third, I knew I would love it.

2022-09-29 12:42