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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating, absorbing, perfectly-crafted thriller,
By A Customer
This review is from: Cold Heaven (Mass Market Paperback)
Having read many recently published books and not found many that I would give a rave review, I asked myself what book WOULD I rave about and thought about "Cold Heaven", which I read several years ago yet remember as vividly as if it were yesterday. The novel pulled me in with its unique, "Twilight Zone" plot, then deftly introduced other themes on the nature of love, sanity, spirituality and Catholicism. It is truly a gripping, haunting book, and a good introduction to Moore, who has written several other superb novels--although none, in my opinion, as memorable as this. One final note: avoid at all costs the film based on the book, a botched job if there ever was one
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mostly Succeeds,
By
This review is from: Cold Heaven (Mass Market Paperback)
This is the second Brian Moore novel I've read and if there is a pattern emerging it is that his books are intensely readable. I defy you to read the first ten pages of this book and try to set it down. It isn't going to happen. That said, though, the book does not completely succeed from an artistic standpoint. The story starts off as a simple mystery. An American woman is vacationing in France with her husband. She wants to separate from him and is indeed planning to announce this to him when he is involved in a boating accident and killed. The following day, she returns to the hospital to which he was taken, and is told that his body has disappeared. Pretty gripping, admittedly, and sure enough, the reader finds himself happily engaged in discovering what this mystery is all about. But very quickly, we sense something unusual about this woman. Her thoughts and actions do not seem normal; in fact, they become somewhat bizarre. It is then that we learn that there is something else going on here; something much larger than the mystery at hand. We realize that the husband's disappearance is only a minor element of this other aspect. I cannot reveal what it is; it would ruin the experience of the earlier mystery. Let me just say that there is a supernatural element which leads to a thought-provoking theme: what is it that we want from this life? Salvation? Freedom? Privacy? It would appear that not all of us are involved in a lifelong, soul-searching quest for enlightenment, even when it is handed to us on a silver platter. And that this is not necessarily a bad thing. My complaint with the novel lies in the fact that not all the pieces fit together. There are several threads which are begun and left in the air and one gets the disturbing sense that this was deliberate. They are red herrings meant to deceive us. What were the husband's notes, for example? Much time is spent in showing us his writing them and her searching for them. And then they are never mentioned again. What was that about? And the fat man with the dogs. He appears out of nowhere, seems to have a malevolent presence at several significant events, then vanishes. Why is he even there? Of course, the entire beginning subplot steers us in the wrong direction to begin with. Clearly, these things are intentional, and I'm not sure why. Leading the reader into blind alleys does not advance the novel thematically or in any other way. But it is nevertheless an enjoyable book, and will inspire at least a little thoughtful introspection on the part of the reader.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
It's suspenseful, but very repetitive; eventually empty,
By Penelope (Southern California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Cold Heaven (Mass Market Paperback)
I can't understand what all the fuss is about Brian Moore. Am I reading the wrong novels? The book jacket says he was Graham Greene's favorite living author. Graham Greene is my favorite author, but I don't care for Brian Moore. The story idea is so interesting, as was The Magician's Wife. Vactioning in Europe, a woman's husband is fatally injured in a boating accident, but his body is missing from the morgue. She returns to find his things missing from their hotel. I don't won't to spoil any mystery, so I won't say what happens from there, only that she is struggling with visions she doesn't want to believe are from God. Such an interesting idea. However, so much is repetitive. She goes through the same struggles over and over again, never learning any lesson or benefiting from her experiences. She complains--a lot. I didn't find the ending satisfactory at all. I kept reading, dying to find out if she would have some miraculous discovery, but in the end it was as empty as The Magician's Wife. If you want suspense and moral inquiry (as this book jacket promises) read Graham Greene instead: The End of the Affair, The Heart of the Matter, or A Burnt-out Case.
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