Customer Reviews

Lace

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

 

 

This is good in a Judith Krantz, trashy-yet-well-written kind of way. Contains unfortunate depictions of Arab culture, yet the book rarely raises issues of inter-racial couples, despite its prevalence.

This has a completely implausible plot--four girls meet while together at boarding school in Sweden, have a lot of sex with inappropriate men, one of them winds up having a kid and putting it up for adoption. Then they marry rich, famous, and powerful men from a variety of cultures. The kid winds up having a horrible early life, but manages to rise from making porn movies in France to being an international movie star. Early on in the book, she confronts the four old friends and asks them, "Which one of you bitches is my mother?"

It just gets better from there....

Here's an example of a novel less impressive than its adaptation to the small screen. We still get Lili, the sexy superstar in search of her mother. We get the three school chums who stay united through thick and thin (or through "sick and sin" according to French Maxine), the men in their lives, the Valentine dance ball, and the birth of an illegitimate child. But what's added to this already rich cast of characters is a brochette of less than colorful ones, like Guy, the struggling designer who's storyline about stolen creations doesn't really go anywhere, and the introduction of a fourth friend named Kate who's presence only ends up being lukewarm. Yet author Conran knows how to create some effective moments. Lili's trapped-in-a-spiderweb-like lifestyle is a page-turning experience that adds depth to her thinly veiled character, and Abdullah's political marginality is a riveting take from the already established views of the Frenches and the Americans. But moments like those aren't a dime a dozen in this novel. What could have been a fun, unique experience of getting into the psyche of all the main characters already introduced on TV turned out to be an overlong, under-edited unimpressiveness that shouldn't have been. A shame.-----Martin Boucher

I really enjoyed this book. I actually was disappointed when I was finished because I wanted to know how it all went.......well, can't give the end away. It was well rounded - I didn't enjoy the pain and suffering that Lili had to endure - but I see how it was necessary to fulfill the story line. There were tedious moments when you needed to know details and it became a bit slow - but all in all I LOVED it. I intend to search out more of this authors titles.

I was long a fan of the TV movie, but having now read the book I can say it is quite a bit better than the movie. It is quite a fun book which takes place on an international stage, just like the movie. France, Greece, Switzerland, New York, and the imaginary middle eastern country of Sydon. The story is fabulously over the top and weighs in at 740 pages, so you really get to know the characters. They are quite likeable and the story is dramatic and fun at the same time. Ritzy, glitzy, trashy and glamorous; this book is great fun and great escapism.

This book is utter trash. Not worth your time or money. Stick with Judith Krantz for the sublimely sexy trash!

A classic! I read this for the first time when I was 14. Note to others...this book is way too racy for 14 year-olds (but just right for thirtysomethings!!)

Like Peyton Place (major moiton picture and TV series), Lace, as a TV mini-series, fares better than the literary counterpart that birthed it.

For starts, the book is too long as a work of fiction -- over 700 pages worth of text. If I were a book editor, I would have a very meddlesome urge to edit out some detail that wasn't really necessary to the story line.

With five main characters (Kate, Judy, Pagan, Maxine and Lili), the storyline and timeframes are moving back and forth (1949-1978) as most of the fifty-plus chapters focus on one of the main characters. As a result, the reader needs to pay close attention to what is being read to avoid getting confused.

I agree with one of the Amazon.com reviewers that likens this work to the style of Judith Krantz novels. It is quite well-written in the "Krantz tradition."

The sex scenes are reminiscent of Stephanie Laurens novels. Adultery and fornication will become a boring and tedious read as the story comes to a close.

so not worth $29.99 on Kindle. I'm used to paying $10 of less for much better books. Is the publisher fighting with the author and trying to make sure that no one buys the book? This is just WAY overpriced.

I lost interest in this book, I couldn't get into the other characters besides Lili. There wasn't enough suspense or action or anything else. I didn't care for the author's sytle of writing.

I usually finish reading a book in 1-3 days sometimes hours. I am still reading this one. Actually i stopped and moved on and i have read quite a few since then but i cannot bring myself to go back to it. The book started great Book 1 was good. It was book 2 that dragged. To be honest i will probaly finish it because i do want to know how it ends. Who was pregnant? What happened to all the girls? etc. By the way the love scenes in the first part of the book was boring!!!!!