Customer Reviews

Desire Lines: A Novel

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

A fan of Baker Kline's since her first novel SWEET WATER, she shows that she hasn't lost her touch as a talented writer with this new book. Christina Baker Kline has written a powerful story about friendship, family, loss, and redemption. Her characters are so real, the plot fresh, and the dialogue crisp. You become so involved in Katherine's search for her missing friend, Jennifer, -- and Katherine's own search to find herself -- you will not be able to put the book down until you turn the last page. Desire Lines is definitely one of the best new books of 1999.

This is the second novel I have ready by this author. I enjoyed Sweet Water very much and this novel did not disappoint either. The author does an excellent job of slowly letting the story unravel naturally. Characters are very realistic as are their relationships and the strains between people, even with the passing of time. I found this book very readable and am surprised it is already out of print and didn't really make much of a showing. The writer is extremely talented and the mystery absorbed me as a reader. I reccommend finding a used copy from one of the amazon used booksellers. I'm glad I did.

This was a quick afternoon's beach read--I may not have finished it if I had packed another book to read. No great literary value here-- in fact, the story had a lot of holes in it, so I was forced to use my imagination.

In Bangor, Maine, on the night of her high school graduation in 1986, Jennifer Pelletier, Kathryn Campbell's best (she thought) friend, just disappeared from the face of the earth. She walked away from a bonfire and was never seen again.

Ten years later, a few weeks before their class reunion, Kathryn, recently divorced, returns to her mother's home in Bangor. She is still haunted by Jennifer's disappearance with its lack of closure and begins to write an article for the local paper, resurrecting the case in the eyes of the town and those who knew the missing girl.

I DID learn one thing from this book: the meaning of "desire lines". This means the trail through woods or brush, often barely discernible, showing that someone else has walked there before. It is a term used in orienteering and hiking.

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. I graduated from high school in the same year the main character did, and all of the cultural references were perfect. Plus, the author does an incredible job of describing everyday life - conversation, gestures, all of it. I was thoroughly captivated and could relate to what the characters were going through. Great book!

Desire Lines is a hugely enjoyable read for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that it does not fit squarely into any specific genre. I am not at all sure where the Gen-X tag is coming from, to approach the book with that in mind is to begin with an unnecessary preconceived notion. At no point during the book did I find myself pausing to wonder if anyone would actually say that, if anyone would actually do that, if such things could actually take place. The story is eminent and the existential dilemmas are enough to inspire empathy in any person. The scattered bad things I have read about this book seem to have been written by people who didn't actually read it and could not conceivably be more off base. Do yourself a favor, buy two. One for yourself and one for someone you love. Or like.

I was very disappointed by this book. The writing was bland and less interesting than most genre fiction. The plot had promise as a different twist on the coming home theme but was not done well. If the writing is dull, the plot had better be strong. If the plot is weak, then the characters and writing had better be stellar. This book had none of that. If this book was intended to target the Gen-X market, well I'm a Gen-Xer and the only targeting I saw was the name-dropping of popular music groups. You could change those names and this story would fit into any generation.

This books lacks both the ferocious, ironic psychological insight and stylistic verve of the best fiction, and the trashy, sexy, honestly lowbrow, no-holds-barred fun of the worst. Kline's novel is embarrassingly self-serious, anemic, empty, soulless, the literary equivalent of Slim-Fast -- sure, reading it'll make the time go by (and it sure won't make you fat), but where's the beef?

The Boston Globe's glowing review led me to this book and I found I couldn't put it down. Kathryn 's coming to terms w/ loss, divorce and disconnection grabbed my attention more than the mystery of her friend's disappearance - though that too contributed to my staying up way too late last night reading!

Stolid, linear, perfectly grammatical. A mildly intriguing
idea that keeps you reading...I laughed once or twice...
frowned once or twice. Yawn.

Did I read that this author went to Yale? Just goes to show that an ivy league education has nothing to do with having a vivid imagination. Images, details are painted in here and there. It's a S-T-O-R-Y. With an obligatory beginning, middle,ending, and flashbacks. Do they have Erector Sets for novels? Hey, this could be the model.

Reviewers seem to either love or hate this novel, there seems to be no in-between. I loved it and couldn't put this book down. I was drawn into the mystery, wanting to know the answer, but at the same time, not wanting the book to end. This is a beautifully written description of small town American life with the focus on how people come to terms with their past and learn how to move on. Highly recommended.