Title: Manhattan Beach
Author: Jennifer Egan
First published: 2017
My edition: Corsair, 2018, paperback
Cover: The colours are great, and the picture gives a view of New York around the time the story takes place. I just don't like all these quotes on the front. Covers should be pretty, and quotes are not pretty ;)
Innerwork: Pleasant font, quite large, but not too large.
Compatibility with reading on the train: Not too great. Although it is a paperback, the book is quite stiff and heavy, which makes it difficult to hold it open with just one hand.
Synopsis: The book tells the story of Anna Kerrigan, who accompanies her father on business meetings at the age of twelve, and who is a diver at the Naval Yard during the Second World War when she is around twenty. During her teenage years, her father goes missing. Anna doesn't give it too much thought, until she is older and meets Dexter Styles. She remembers visiting him with her father years ago and starts investigating his disappearance. Meanwhile, she tries to become the first female diver and takes care of her disabled sister.
My opinion: Actually, I'm not sure I like the book, though it is not bad. In the beginning lots of events don't make any sense and you get the feeling that the writer is telling things for no reason. However, with a good writer you always know that everything will play a role later on. Only it doesn't feel like it, which makes it hard to get caught by the story. Half way, things come around and you start to make connections, making the plot more interesting. I think I really started enjoying the story when I was reading the last 100 pages or so.
This last part mostly tells you what happened to Anna's father, and how they meet again, after quite some time. These events attracked me the most, the father's story is exciting, full of suspense, which the rest of the book lacks. It happened a few times to me that I was biting my nails when nothing happened, and hardly felt any emotion when something important was happening.
For example, at a certain moment an inexperienced diver finds himself alone on the bottom on the sea, and just to feel some kind of kick, he lets go of the rope. I was almost eating my whole fingers, because I would be scared as hell that I wouldn't find the rope anymore! However, nothing happens. Such an anti-climax. At another point, when someone is actually about to get murdered, I hardly felt a thing. It is utterly clear from the start that he will be shot, so there is no suspense whatsoever.
I do admire how the writer managed to get all these events in the book to come together at the end. In that sense, it is a very well written book. The language is very pleasant as well. I just wasn't grasped by the story ...
Favourite character: Mr. Voss. He is Anna's boss at the beginning, and although he likes her, he encourages her to aim for a different job. It is never quite clear whether he likes her as a friend or in a more romantic way, but he is really kind and they have funny conversations.
Have you read this book? Please let me know what your thoughts are!
Author: Jennifer Egan
First published: 2017
My edition: Corsair, 2018, paperback
Cover: The colours are great, and the picture gives a view of New York around the time the story takes place. I just don't like all these quotes on the front. Covers should be pretty, and quotes are not pretty ;)
Innerwork: Pleasant font, quite large, but not too large.
Compatibility with reading on the train: Not too great. Although it is a paperback, the book is quite stiff and heavy, which makes it difficult to hold it open with just one hand.
Synopsis: The book tells the story of Anna Kerrigan, who accompanies her father on business meetings at the age of twelve, and who is a diver at the Naval Yard during the Second World War when she is around twenty. During her teenage years, her father goes missing. Anna doesn't give it too much thought, until she is older and meets Dexter Styles. She remembers visiting him with her father years ago and starts investigating his disappearance. Meanwhile, she tries to become the first female diver and takes care of her disabled sister.
My opinion: Actually, I'm not sure I like the book, though it is not bad. In the beginning lots of events don't make any sense and you get the feeling that the writer is telling things for no reason. However, with a good writer you always know that everything will play a role later on. Only it doesn't feel like it, which makes it hard to get caught by the story. Half way, things come around and you start to make connections, making the plot more interesting. I think I really started enjoying the story when I was reading the last 100 pages or so.This last part mostly tells you what happened to Anna's father, and how they meet again, after quite some time. These events attracked me the most, the father's story is exciting, full of suspense, which the rest of the book lacks. It happened a few times to me that I was biting my nails when nothing happened, and hardly felt any emotion when something important was happening.
For example, at a certain moment an inexperienced diver finds himself alone on the bottom on the sea, and just to feel some kind of kick, he lets go of the rope. I was almost eating my whole fingers, because I would be scared as hell that I wouldn't find the rope anymore! However, nothing happens. Such an anti-climax. At another point, when someone is actually about to get murdered, I hardly felt a thing. It is utterly clear from the start that he will be shot, so there is no suspense whatsoever.
I do admire how the writer managed to get all these events in the book to come together at the end. In that sense, it is a very well written book. The language is very pleasant as well. I just wasn't grasped by the story ...
Favourite character: Mr. Voss. He is Anna's boss at the beginning, and although he likes her, he encourages her to aim for a different job. It is never quite clear whether he likes her as a friend or in a more romantic way, but he is really kind and they have funny conversations.
Have you read this book? Please let me know what your thoughts are!
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