» The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: very much enjoyed this book
Comment: While the beginning felt a bit confusing, it picked up quickly and things began to come together. Very enjoyable and highly recommended.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: added to my favorite list
Comment: This book was read by my book club, and most of us thought it was one of the best ones we've read!!!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Comment: I loved this book. Would not have choosen it myself but it was for our bookclub. I love when that happens. In fact, for the first time in a long long time everyone in attendance (about 20 of us) liked the book! That in itself says it all.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: a vague disappointment
Comment: I was intrigued by the cover reviews for this book, which included phrases like "strange, sad and marvelously well-written"; "elegantly written"; "horrors of a gothic novel" and "reminiscent of Daphne du Maurier".

None of that came through to me. The story is told through the voices of the 3 main characters, Iris, Kitty and Esme in the present day, and Kitty and Esme in the past. No narrator is identified. Adding to the confusion, Kitty's present voice is a random stream of disjointed memories, due to her dementia. The reader must learn to distinguish these voices, by means of reading and re-reading until finding the pattern, and by deciphering clues once the story starts to take shape. Even so, I felt that the end was not the least surprising, having been well hinted at for nearly half the book. In fact, I felt I must have missed some facet of the plot, because the deep mystery I anticipated never materialized. I think the story could be interesting. I liked Esme, and would have enjoyed becoming better acquainted with her, but the book doesn't give that type of depth to any of the characters. The issues noted in various other reviews at this web site tell the plot quite well, so I won't bother to discuss it. I think the reviews on the jacket cover are misleading and over-hyped. If I were an editor, I'd send the writer back to restructure the book, and to more fully develop the characters.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A HAUNTING FAMILY DRAMA
Comment:
In the middle of an average work day, Iris Lockhart receives a phone call that changes her life forever. She is informed that Esme Lennox, a great aunt she never knew existed, is being released from Cauldstone Hospital--a mental institute where she's been locked up for sixty-one years, five months and four days. Iris is shocked. Her grandmother always claimed to be an only child. If Iris claims Esme and takes her into her home, what other secrets will Esme reveal?

I'm not certain if I loved this book or hated this book. It is undeniably well written and extremely compelling, but it is also not an easy book to read. Esme Lennox's story is on that will grab you and hold tight, prodding you to read on until you've finished the last page. Then, it will haunt you.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox is part mystery, part family drama. It's incredibly sad yet mesmerizing. If you need a happily ever after, this isn't the book for you. However, if you want a book you will remember reading long after you've closed the cover pick up Maggie O'Farrell's The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox.

For another book that will make you think, try A Wish in Time.A Wish In Time

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