I really did not enjoy reading this book. The book consists of 16 short stories in which appears a bracelet that brings bad luck to everyone that gets hold of it. I really like the idea of this but the authors just didn't make it work. When you read this kind of book you expect that the stories are short, without too many details and complicated characters. And that's okay because there are 16 stories in one book, all written by a different author. But in this case it just seemed like important parts were missing in every story. It wasn't just that it was short, there were important things left out that were necessary to understand the story. I constantly felt like I had missed something so I had to flip back through the pages to see what I had missed. What also didn't increase my opinion about the book was that some stories were very, very weird. I mean, I like fantasy but this was just bad. I also feel like there should have been said something about the bracelet itself, about the history or the purpose of the bracelet. I had hoped that every story would unravel something about the bracelet and that it would become clear why the bracelet brings bad luck. But no, absolutely nothing about the bracelet itself, only what charms hung on it. The point of it all seemed to be missing.
This is why I read so much so often and include audiobooks (unabridged, always unabridged) in my literary diet. This is really a collection of short stories from a variety of authors who have used a common thematic device—a charm bracelet—to weave all the stories together.Each of these stories is a charm (I couldn’t help myself). Each picks up where the other left off, yet they could all stand alone. For instance: at the end of one story, a girl tosses the charm into the Mississippi and at the beginning of the next, a man claims to have found it while fishing in New Orleans. I enjoyed each story. But to have this many good short stories woven together with a common element that span two centuries and many continents is a great treat I will not soon forget.Good stories with plenty of intrigue, murder, sex, and plot twists — all presented with first class narration.
What do You think about Like A Charm (2004)?
Het idee achter het boek is erg leuk, maar in de uitvoering laat het te wensen over. Het boek draait om een bedelarmband. In elk kort verhaal komt dit aan bod aan de hand van een bedeltje. Zo komt elk bedeltje aan bod. Elk kort verhaal is geschreven door een andere auteur. Het eerste en laatste hoofdstuk is geschreven door Karin Slaughter, die het boek heeft samengesteld. Normaal ben ik gek op haar boeken, maar haar eerste verhaal vond ik erg slecht. Het is echt een vaag verhaal over een man die in de ban raakt van een Indiaanse vrouw. Het is maar goed dat dit niet het eerste boek van Karin Slaughter is dat ik gelezen heb, anders had ik vast nooit meer wat van haar gelezen. Sommige verhalen zijn wel leuk, maar andere zijn saai of vreemd. Daarom heb ik het boek in zijn totaal maar twee sterren gegeven. Ik vind het boek niet echt een aanrader, maar anderen zijn er helemaal weg van, gezien sommige reviews, dus als je twijfelt: lees het boek en oordeel zelf.
—Hannie
Ik had recensies vantevoren gelezen waarin duidelijk staat dat je geen 'Karin Slaughter boek' moet verwachten. Dat was erg belangrijk om te weten.De kwaliteit van de verschillende verhaaltjes was erg wisselend, sommigen waren erg leuk, van andere was ik blij dat het uit was. Het was dus een voordeel en een nadeel dat de verhaaltjes kort waren, zo'n 15-20 bladzijdes. Sommige verhalen hadden van mij (veel) langer mogen zijn!De verhalen zijn prima los te lezen, ik heb ze dus per 2 of 3 tussen andere boeken door gelezen.
—Anke
A series of short stories read by a variety of authors about a charm bracelet. The stories are widely uneven and introduce a variety of topics around a charm bracelet. I found the first and last story the toughest to get through but there were some excellent stories in the middle that I just did not want to end.I did not understand the story of the bear and how that related to the charms in the beginning. The very sad story at the end links all the stories together very loosely. I'm not sure how you could improve a series of short stories written by different authors better...perhaps align the characters or the period or little more cleverly.I enjoyed the stories.
—Jeremiah
