Customer Reviews

Prizes

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Erich Segal proved that he knows how to pull our emotional chains as well as any contemporary writer in Love Story and Oliver's Story. He may well just have done it again in Prizes, the engrossing tale of three brilliant individuals. Their professional quests plus their lives and romances make for rapt reading.

Child prodigy Isabel da Costa has made a significant discovery, creating a formula that Einstein was unable to piece together. Sandy Raven, his personal life bordering on destruction, has capped his dedication to research by reversing the aging process in cells, and Adam Coopersmith, a physician, has developed an almost miraculous drug to help women who have been unable to become pregnant. His already full life is further complicated by his marriage to a career-minded lawyer and his introduction to Anya, an irresistible Russian emigre. Beckoning all of them is the ultimate accolade, a Nobel Prize.

A compulsively readable tale.

- Gail Cooke

First, the characters are great. Their descriptions are very thorough. You can almost see them, as if they really are true persons. Second, the plot of the story is very well-defined. Third, the flow of the story is well-timed.

This is the second book I've read from Erich Segal, the first being "The Class", and all I can say is that its a very, very enjoyable book to read. I can't put it down. After this, I'm looking forward to buying his other books as well. Good work, Mr. Segal.

Prizes is an truly terriffic book. It has a plot similar to that of a daytime soap opera, however, it is much more sophisticated and realistic. Although very exciting with many interesting twists and turns, the book displays a strong theme of man's selfish nature, and causes one to take a serious look at the ethics of the world today. The themes of great human achievment and perseverence are also prominent. I enjoyed "Prizes" thouroughly, and I strongly recommend it for readers seeking a well developed, entertaining story.

The book is so amazing in the way it portrays the feelings of Isabel, the child prodigy that wins the Nobel prize at the age of 18. Like Isabel, I was labeled as a "gifted kid" and saw Isabel as a reflection of myself. Segal masterfully portrays the psyche of Isabel. The best part of the novel is Jerry Pracht, Mr. Perfect himself. This book is so cool!

Brilliant read, not as fundamental as Doctors or The Class, but still something worth occupying a book shelf.

the going ups and downs of geniuses are wonderfully portrayed and the lucky ones might not be at the end...there's no such things as luck...how god's hand change life in a second..it just too good to be commented upon.

Today's science and medicine research in fiction. Having met researchers involved in the miscarriage and pregancy research, I found the book fascinating and I continue to want to know how the characters lives were transformed by the Prize. Sequel, please? I was so mesmerized that I took the book to a baseball game and finished it as the Angels beat the Orioles!

This is a book I have read, repeatedly, because I enjoy reading about intellectual people who succeed brilliantly. The book is about three exceptional people who have succeeded in their chosen areas of expertise. The story covers their life struggles and triumphs. Unexpected twists and turns add color and enjoyment to the novel's narrative, especially the life that is depicted as Isabel Da Costa's complicated life story. As I have written in other reviews, it is fun to read about fictional, brilliant people and this book is an excellent addition to that book list.

I find of all Mr. Segal's fictional books, that I have read (which is almost everything that he has published), this is his best! This book displays a maturity and more depth compared to his other books--especially better than `Love Story.' This book displays an amazing and enjoyable insight into individual psychology--it is almost voyeuristic. Mr. Segal's talent is making the reader care for his characters, and he is a master at accomplishing this.

After I had read Love story and then Acts of faith by Erich Segal, I convinced myself that nothing could be written better about love, about relationships and about life by any one. But once again I was proved wrong by the same author who has bound the world by his words. His depiction of the relations between Laura castellano and her father (DOCTORS) or between Isabel and Raymond dcosta in (PRIZES) are such a treat to read and relish. I have never come across a more livelier character than Jerry Pracht. The moment he enters into the plot of the novel the novel becomes a song and flows in your minds. Its the ultimate and the greatest and if at all any book can better this then it ought to be written by Segal himself. Waiting for more such pleasure in the near future Nagesh.M