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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I found it to be quite interesting, actually!, February 5, 2007
This review is from: Vertigo (Paperback)
Having read some of the other reviews here, I was interested to see that most readers either loved Vertigo or hated it. I've read Lauren's contemporary works and was interested to see how she'd handle a historical novel. I think she did quite well. Comparisons can be made to Madame Bovary, but that is not a bad thing.
It's fascinating to see how easily love and trust can be manipulated. Emma started out in a loving, honest relationship (or did she?) and the progression of her alternate relationship was slow and complex. It was an interesting look at how Emma's society viewed themselves and each other, especially considering that her correspondence with a prisoner fell dramatically outside the norm.
I was thrown a bt toward the end- was she losing her mind, or was it all an elaborate scheme? The thing I thought was best is that the reader isn't presented with a neatly wrapped ending. There are still threads to be followed, decisions to be made. One wonders what will become of our heroine.
And for the reviewer that thought the sex was too graphic- have you read many romances?!? This was TAME compared to some of the thinly disguised pornography that I've been treated to by some authors. (and tame does not equal boring)
All in all, I'd read it again. And I probably will!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lots of interesting twists and turns, February 28, 2007
This review is from: Vertigo (Paperback)
This is the story of Emma, a housewife who is bored stiff. Her husband, John, is a successful writer and she is his satellite. With a nanny to take care of their son and a plethora of servants, Emma has too much time on her hands, and not enough to do. John talks at her, telling her what's going on in the world, and no one takes much interest in her interior life.
The book takes place in Victorian times, a period I happen to like, but even if you don't, the characters and emotions are modern enough that it's not really an "historical" novel, even though the details are accurate (except perhaps when a horse-and-carriage is called a cab?)
Anyway, the plot is endlessly engaging. One New Year's Eve, Emma resolves to become a better person. As a means to this end, she engages in a correspondence with a prisoner. At first he rebuffs her, but this only strengthens her determination to connect. Before long, their letters become sexual.
I won't give away any more of what happens, but suffice it to say the novel ends up in a different spot than you would have predicted. (DO NOT look at the last page before you get there.) A slight downside is a lack of believability at times, both with the characters and the plot. However, this is a dramatic read that will keep you guessing, and it won't bore you.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful, brilliant!, November 20, 2007
This review is from: Vertigo (Paperback)
I admit I had some preconceived notions regarding Lauren Baratz-Logsted when I picked up this book. Her name sounded familiar, and then I remembered reading a chick-lit novel of hers called The Thin Pink Line some years ago. Hmm, I thought as I read the back page of Vertigo. So now she's writing period novels, huh? She still writes chick-lit. Nothing wrong with that -- I love chick-lit -- but most authors write under a different name when they switch genres. Well, Vertigo is one of, if not THE best novel I have read in a very long time. But more on that later. This turn-of-the-century tale is about Mrs. Emma Smith, a thirty-something wife and mother whose New Year's resolution for 1899 is to become a better person. Her husband John, an accomplished novelist, suggests exchanging letters with a prison inmate. John is doing research at a prison for his next novel, and he knows the perfect pen pal for Emma, an educated man convicted for murdering his wife. How scandalous of her husband to suggest such a thing! But John reassures her that the man had no choice but to kill his wife. So the letters begin, and soon Emma and Chance Wood fall in a passionate, obsessive sort of love. And that is just the beginning of twisted chains of events that unfold with each beautifully written chapter.
This is a gorgeous, ironic historical novel that pays homage to classics such as Jane Eyre and Madame Bovary and reminds you a great deal of D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover, Kate Chopin's The Awakening and Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Ubervilles. I'm not saying this is quite as literary as the aforementioned novels, but it took me back to those classics. This story is dark and sinister, a wonderful piece of suspense, with twists and turns that keep you guessing until its last pages. The erotic scenes are sexy and tasteful. In short, this novel is BRILLIANT. I wish I had written it! At the risk of sounding like a total cliché, I couldn't put it down. I don't know how successful this novel was on the bestseller list, but it should have been up there with the very best. (On the other hand, "the very best" is not exactly accurate. I cannot help but shake my head at the sort of garbage that makes the NYT list these days, but I digress.) The epilogue is absolutely wonderful in its vague but hopeful tone. Emma will not go gentle into that goodnight and I cannot help but root for this compelling anti-heroine. I don't want to give anything away, so I won't go into further detail.
Now I must point out the flaws. This work is wonderful, but far from perfect. One of the things I did not like about the writing was the fact that I couldn't tell the difference between the flashbacks and the natural flow of the story, which confused me at times. I also couldn't help but wonder about the twist at the end. It felt like most of it was thrown in out of nowhere. John seems to change through the course of the story. I know that it is Emma's perception of him that changes, but the ebb and flow of the narrative aren't clear enough about that, and so the change seems abrupt. And the author should have described the late-Victorian era with more detail. This is a fascinating era with so many changes in norms and technology, and she should have explored it more. Some historical references are thrown in, like Queen Victoria's death and the Boer War, but more could have been added to the dialogue and narrative. It surprised me that there was no mention of the motorcar. They weren't popular until about 1906, but they had been invented and manufactured for quite a few years, and were exhibited as the transportation of the future in many places. Those loose ends are what kept me from giving this the rating I wanted to give it: five stars. I did enjoy Vertigo very much. So much so that I have added it to the spot in my library reserved for my all-time favorites and "must rereads." Anyway, yes, I did have some prejudices regarding Baratz-Logsted. To be honest, I had wondered if this book was ghostwritten. But why would it be? As a writer, I am too aware of the different stories that go on in one's head, and how although one may have a particular voice in fiction, there is still that one Big American Novel that is just dying to be written. So I have nothing but praise for this author and wish her the best. I will definitely be reading her Red Dress Ink chick-lits after this!
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