Read Laura Riders Masterpiece (2009)

Online Book

Author

Jane Hamilton

Genre

Romance

Rating

2.6 of 5 Votes: 4

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ISBN

141041700X (ISBN13: 9781410417008)

Language

English

Publisher

Thorndike Press

Shops

Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble

Free Online

Laura Riders Masterpiece (2009) - Plot & Excerpts

Meh. I had never heard of the author, so judged the book it by its great cover--it definitely did not live up to that! However, Kudos to Hamilton for making fun of the non-reading aspiring writers, and for her darkly-humorous portrait of an everyday sociopath (Mrs. Rider). The characters are OK, but they do and say some really strange things (knee people?? way-out-of-character emails) that make them seem fake. In the Reading Group Guide (first warning sign), Hamilton says the book was "a story that came in one puff, that wrote itself." Don't they always say that books that are hard to write are easy to read--and vice versa? Don't be misled by the summary on the cover: this book is not exactly "hilarious." It has moments where it's funny, but for the most part, it's a depressing commentary on a bunch of selfish, middle-aged individuals. In my opinion, the main character is the worst of all: it's not enough for her to ruin her husband's life out of "matrimonial" boredom, so she starts messing with a successful woman whose husband happens to be a jerk (just like most of the pathetic/straw-men in this novel).