Customer Reviews

Dune Road

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

I'm a big fan of Jane Green, and did enjoy this book overall, it was entertaining and light for a summer day ... but feel like the "rich family in connecticut" formula is getting old fast. Dune Road is set in a wealthy CT town and features characters that are very similar to her other novels. Yes, they're loaded. Yes, their husbands work on Wall Street. Yes, they wear 3 carat diamond studs. They all use the same interior designers, and drive luxury SUVs. Been there, done that in The Beach House, Swapping Lives, To Have and to Hold...the list goes on. Can't she think of something totally new and different than writing about rich people in CT?

Also, while Green happens to be English, the peppering of British slang throughout the book doesn't seem to make sense considering the characters (except for one) are all American, and an American reader unfamiliar with these terms may not understand why Kit is wearing a "vest" to yoga class instead of a tank top, or what on earth "sod's law" means (in case you're wondering, it's the same idea of Murphy's law).

Although Kit, the main character is recently divorced, you actually root for her to get back with her husband which is a bit odd for a chick lit novel, but I liked the relationship with the two characters and how they worked as a family, even when divorced. I did however see a lot of similarity between her and Daff from The Beach House.

Green also throws in a long lost family member plot (um, didn't that also happen in The Beach House?)

I'd recommend this as a vacation book but don't think it's Green's best.

After reading Jane Green's books for many years, and finding the last two or three to be disappointing, I picked up Dune Road hoping that she had somehow managed to find a trace of the flair she displayed in her earliest offerings, such as the delightful Jemima J: A Novel About Ugly Ducklings and Swans and thoughtful Bookends: A Novel. Instead of a lively and punchy chick lit work, however, I found myself reading the most banal novel full of the most irritating and dithering female characters it has ever been my misfortune to encounter in a novel with a contemporary setting; I wanted to pick most of them up and shake them until their hair was less than perfect and their gleaming teeth rattled at least slightly.

Kit is divorced from her Wall Street banker husband because, it seems, she couldn't find a better way to stop herself from being transformed into the kind of trophy wife he wanted. (It's no secret, from the earliest pages, that he still hankers after her and he's really her soul mate.) Her closest friend, meanwhile, after happily becoming a consumer goddess, is angry at her husband for mismanaging their finances and allowing her to become that woman. Leaving aside the issue of whether either woman is interesting or appealing enough to identify with, there's the bigger one of whether they are realistic. In this reader's opinion, both are cardboard cutout characters and Green's half-hearted efforts to transform their lifestyles into lives by whipping up such drama as a mother's conflict with her daughter over borrowed clothes are just absurd and, ultimately, dull as ditchwater.

There is a plot and an underlying theme of sorts to this, but both are a bit absurd in both nature and execution. The theme -- how well do we really know the people we have in our lives or who we encounter -- is at the heart of the plot, which revolves around the somewhat mysterious Tracy, owner of the yoga center that both Kit and Charlie, her friend, attend. (There's also a subplot involving a mysterious sister of one of the characters, who may or may not be what she seems, and a suitor for one of them, ditto.) Through in a reclusive thriller writer, apparently tormented by the death of his wife 30 years earlier; a warm, wise and witty elderly neighbor and surrogate grandmother living next door to Kit, etc. etc -- and you still have a novel about not much in particular, going nowhere in particular. The plot -- which doesn't get going until halfway through the book -- has all twists and turns telegraphed well in advance. It was only sheer stubborness that got me to the final page.

There are authors who have written wonderful domestic novels, from Jane Austen onward. Those stories rely as much on compelling character portrayals more than drama in the plot. Chick lit, I'd argue, is characterized more by predictable character types set in plot dilemmas that while recognizable, never become so predictable that the reader can see what will happen next. This book doesn't succeed on either front. Jane Green is no Jane Austen; she can't write about character development, even if her characters developed. (They don't; they meander and drift and ponder, endlessly.) The writing is as tedious and meandering as her characters' musings; such plot as exists isn't the kind that will keep you turning the pages to see what happens. It's a story about characters who just seem to dither, to whom things happen. When I compare that to her previous novels, whose characters acted, reflected and changed their own lives, this is deeply disappointing.

Coming from an author whose work I'd never read before, this would earn 2 stars; because Green can do and has done far better when she's put her mind to it, I'm giving this 2.5 stars and even rounding it up. But I'd suggest it only as a beach read -- and then only if you've borrowed it from a library.

I've read all of Jane Green's books and normally enjoy them. However, I couldn't wait to be done with this one, and not because I was loving it. The writing seemed very juvenile, as she repeated the characters thoughts and ideas over and over (felt like she was trying to fill pages). I saw one of the "twists" coming a mile away (don't want to give away any plot points), another of the "twists" just disturbed me. Overall, I didn't ever find myself caring for any of the characters like I usually do when reading Green, so I didn't care what happened. I just wanted to finish reading so I could get on to the next book in my reading list.

Like many of the other reviewers, I consider myself a huge fan of Jane Green. I am always very excited when I see that her newest novel is available at the library. However, this one was a serious let-down. In her earlier novels, there was a sort of edginess--funny and human and contemporary. This novel was not only very fomulaic, which doesn't always have to be a bad thing, it was also predictable, boring and irritating. Some in-depth descriptions of people's feelings and experiences were repeated throughout, a mistake a good editor would have fixed even if the author didn't notice, and I ended up just actively disliking characters I think I was supposed to like. [SPOILER ALERT: For instance, I initially wanted Kit and her husband to reunite, but not once he'd showed himself to be utterly lacking in integrity by being unable to keep himself from having an affair with Kit's much-younger half-sister, this was a character who could not be redeemed. An even worse scenario is when Kit's friend Tracy sets Kit up with her (Tracy's) physically and verbally abusive ex-husband in order to get money--and when Kit finds out, she's not the slightest bit angry. This is deplorable--what kind of world do these people live in that someone who is supposed to be a friend sets someone else up to be the victim of the same kind of abuse she herself suffered from? This is not exactly sisters-bonding chick lit, this is back-stabbing, appalling morals chick-lit.] All writers--all people, for that matter--should be allowed to have their off-times, but this book is way, way off, and Jane Green, as well as her publisher and her editor, should rethink their priorities.

Jane Green has a way of over-explaining everything. She tells you (repeatedly) what everyone is thinking and why they are thinking that and the motivations are always simplistic - for example, characters automatically following the patterns set by their parents. It's the kind of novel that has its wisest character concluding that "life has a habit of working out, particularly when you're busy making other plans". Once you get past that irritation though, Dune Road is a pleasant enough read. There are several interwoven plotlines and a couple of twists along the way to hold the reader's interest. It never felt like a book that I couldn't put down, but equally it wasn't an effort to read.

Kit is the central heroine, amicably divorced from Adam and working as an assistant to the famous author Robert McClore, who lives in Dune Road. Robert lost his wife in a mysterious accident many years ago, closely modeled on the death of Natalie Wood. Kit also has her own complicated family history. Her best friends are her surrogate grandmother Edie, sexy single Tracy (who is hiding dark secrets) and married Charlie (whose husband has secrets of his own). Their issues also develop over the book. Kit becomes involved with a new man, but there is more romantic tension in her relationships with her ex-husband and her boss. Figuring out which of these men she will end up being with (if any) is a central thread in the book.

While I prefer Jane Green's early books, this is a good choice if you're after an undemanding holiday read in the style of Marian Keyes. If you enjoyed The Beach House: A Novel, it's a safe bet that you will like this too.

Note that in the UK, this book is published under the title Girl Friday.

Jane Green, Jane Green where have you gone? After writing some of my favorite books (Jemima J, Bookends and Mr. Maybe) and a few fairly good others, I was pretty disappointed by Dune Road.

Dune Road is set in a tony Connecticut suburb, filled with trophy wives, soccer moms in designer duds and workaholic husbands. Kit Hargrove is recently divorced and trying to make a new life for herself and her children. Her best friend Charlie is married to a successful banker (or financial planner or something) and she is a part time florist- they don't need the money it's just for fun. Tracy is a yoga instructor at a studio that she owns. These three women are the best of friends, always there for each other when needed (well kinda, sorta- not really). When the financial market crashes leaving Charlie destitute, Kit starts dating a new man, Tracy becomes involved with Kit's boss and a mysterious stranger causes some havoc; everyone's live will change. Excuse me while I yawn.

Cardboard characters, lame dialogue and some ridiculous plot lines caused me to roll my eyes a couple of times. The mystery of Steve the new man in town is pretty easy to figure out, the intent of the mysterious stranger is telegraphed from the start. I question the implausible easy forgiveness of some transgressions that frankly for me would take years to get over. By the end everyone is happy, except you because you paid $[...] for this hardcover mess. It's an easy read for the beach, be sure to borrow it from the library if you still want to read it.

I used to be a huge fan of Jane Green novels - they are easy, fun beach reads that were page turners. She seems to have lost her spark in her latest works though. Dune Road had almost no character development. It was boring and predictable. Her writing has evolved into almost a Danielle Steelish prose. To all her fans, I say skip this book and borrow it from the library. I hope future Jane Green works find their way back to the quality of her earlier efforts. I miss them.

I liked Kit and most of the supporting cast, but I kept thinking that I've read all this before. Bored rich housewife divorces her workaholic husband but is able to find a smaller house in their tony Connecticut town, etc. and Life Goes On.

Several subplots relieved the monotonous repetition, but they were too contrived and much too easily resolved. I am annoyed that I didn't spot one twist a mile away. On the other hand, I read this book in snatches as it never really caught my interest.

I would love to read Robert McClore's books!

Borrow from your local library.

Picked this up from the bargain shelf at the local book store. That it was already being marked down should have been a clue. Since I had never read this author before and read so much, thought I might have found a new author to try. Big mistake. Huge! I treasure all my books, and if I don't really like a book, I'll pass it on instead of adding it to my library. Was too embarrassed to give this book to anybody and admit I'd read it. Her casual mentions of Racheal Maddow set my teeth on edge, the plot, which sounded promising, was a dissapointment. And--the writing was unremarkable. Has she really written a good book?? I'm afraid to try another.

Really, Jane. This was awful. None of the characters were fleshed out. The plot rambled all over the place. This book really left a bad taste in my mouth. EMPTY