16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Half way thru and "caught in the middle"..Love it & Hate it, April 28, 2000
This review is from: Fine Things (Mass Market Paperback)
I hate to be party pooper...
I know that Danielle Steel is a fabulous author, and that her books are loved worldwide, and I do think she's an incredible person....
BUT
I just picked up this book, I am still in the middle of it, and I thought I would give my opinion already...
I think its an amazing story, great characters, and very emotional...
but something about the writing is not very intriguing or "different"...
Most of the sentences seem repetitive, like "he never loved her so much..."..."she never looked more beautiful"...."Jane loved him very much and he loved her too"...(I feel like these sentences are in each chapter). A lot of the writing is just predictable and boring; it almost seems like it was written for an elementary school reader...At times I have found myself re-reading sentences and saying "is she kidding ? "..
OK, here's one example
"Her mother looked wide-eyed and alert and beautiful, just like she had before, only thinner, and they were moving to Stinson Beach the next day"
...can someone please tell me how that sentence makes any sense ? ..
I found many of these, as a matter of fact they distracted me from reading all along my subway ride...I wish I had a highliter for each one I found...and for each "She loved him very much" or "She was never happier in her life"...
Another thing I'm not crazy about is how DS always uses the phrase, ".....and he told him just as much"....If you have read this book you might remember...
Another thing...
After Liz and Bernie were married they were trying SO HARD to have a baby. They wished for it when they tossed coins into the Fontana di Trevi on Via Veneto...then a month or 2 later, Liz begins to feel nauseous and exhausted, misses her period (and doesn't realize it), never remembers feeling that horrible....and doesn't think that maybe she's pregnant ! ...it's just too unrealistic at times...
Sure it's fiction, it's a novel, but it's easy to get absorbed into a good book..
This one is too surreal, and it's disappointing in a way...
Redundancy...
In each chapter, someone is going to or coming from an airport...A few times I thought I was re-reading a past chapter...Either Bernie is flying on a business trip, or his parents are coming to see him...
More repetitiveness...
Each time Grandma Ruth comes, she has bought tons and mountains and lots and lots and lots of toys for the kids from "Schwarz...and each time Bernie sees his mother he has a new bag for her or she is wearing a suit or hat that he bought her years before...
There is way too much mention of the department store Wolff's...That store seems to be the saving grace of everything...
Need food ? Wolff's has a gourmet department...
Need a lawyer ? Wolff's has that too !
Whatever Bernie or his family needed was provided by Wolff's. Seems like these 4 people are living in a glass bubble called Wolff's...
It is also annoying to have to hear about every piece of clothing worn by Grandma Ruth, Liz and every other woman in the book, where the oufit was made, what material it was, and how it looked on them....A run-on sentence just to describe an outfit...( I love clothing and shopping but this is a novel, not WOMENS WEAR DAILY)...
Also, I was told in English class in high school NEVER to start a sentence with the word AND, and sure enough DS seems to do that VERY VERY often...
I plan to finish this book, since it's a gripping story, but I am very bored with the writing style.......I will not give up on DS however, I do plan on reading more of her books, (not consecutively - i need a change of writing style)hopefully I don't come across these same bad habits......
I would love to hear if anyone agrees or disagrees with me...send me an email......no offense to anyone, just my honest-to-goodness opinion !
I never thought it was possible to like the story line of a book, but not like how it was written...
I guess it's kind of like what they say about jokes "it's all in the delivery"......
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Audio Edition... Read By Richard Thomas..Most Enjoyable, March 13, 2006
This review refers to the Audio Cassette Edition of "Fine Things"(ISBN: 0553470817)
"Fine Things" by Danielle Steel is a fairly short, but sweet story and although a bit predictable, Richard Thomas', fabulous reading voice has a way of lulling you into the story. He brings the characters to life,and has you involved in their story.
In his mid thirties, Bernie Fine, successful in business but not, so far, in love, would finally find love. Liz a single mom, with a beautiful little girl, came into his life and changed his world. They formed a wonderful little family. When tragedy strikes though, Bernie must learn to deal with the pain, with life and breaking down the wall he built around himself so he could learn to love again.
I'm not sure that I would have enjoyed this story as much if I would have read it, instead of having it read by Thomas. He is able to relay Bernie's love, his pain, and his sense of humor to the listener.Other's have mentioned that the book can get a little repetitive so, with this particular story, I think this (abridged) audio edition may prove to be most enjoyable.
"Fine Things" is 2 cassettes,3 hours, and also has excellent sound quality.It is also included as the bonus book in Steel's audio edition of
Echoes (Danielle Steel), a very moving tale of generations of women.
Enjoy The Read...Laurie
more audio reads recommended:
Back When We Were Grownups
The Shipping News
A Midsummer Night's Dream CD set (New Cambridge Shakespeare Audio)
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