Customer Reviews

An Indecent Obsession

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

McCullough's best. In the genre, you couldn't ask for a better read, especially if you're fascinated by complex personalities and what makes people tick. Having read it years ago, I still remember the vivid characters. Volatile, unpredictable people (including a honey of a villain) are trapped in an enclosed environment, packed with intense emotions. The ending packs a wollop. A good, page-turning entertainment.

This is her best book by far! I read it 15 years ago and have always wanted to do so again. Took it to the beach this summer. Even after all this time, I could still recall nuances of characters, they are so well defined. Remembered that obsession to duty was indecent to the rest of self .Also, that the ending was incredibly sad, but faithful to the theme.

This is a bit off from my normal reading but I first read this book about 20 years ago while on leave from the Army I couldn't put it down. I found it at my girlfriends house and when I went home I found my mothers copy and sat there and read it to the end in one sitting. A great book and a well told story and I loved it but don't ask me why as I just don't know! It was made into a half decent movie not long ago as well.

To begin with it takes a bit to get into, but once the characters are defined the story begins to make sense and you begin to feel what it must be like to be 'Sis'. The ending is a shock and what is least expected of Sis. This is a bit like The Thorn Birds, in that is contains forbidden love.

I found this book a fairly engaging and quick read, but my overall reaction is not nearly as positive as the previous reviewers. It seems to me that Colleen McCullough had some interesting ideas about love and duty, and the relationship between them, and wanted to explore those ideas in this book. The characters seem kind of secondary; like puppets used to make the author's more abstract points, not really flesh-and-blood people. She's also a little heavy-handed with her themes; saying things along the lines of "and then she pulled down her nurse's veil, thus reasserting her duty over love," as if the reader couldn't figure that out. I have to admit, though, that the book kept my interest until the end, so take my criticism with a grain of salt. At the end of the day, I thought it was good, but just could have been much better.