Ward, Amanda Eyre. Forgive Me. An ARC. I'm going to quote from the Publishers Weekly review of the audiobook, rather than write my own:
From Publishers Weekly
Before Nadine has fully recovered from an assault that left her hospitalized, she is already on a plane to South Africa. As luck would have it, she flies the same flight as two parents who are to appear in front of a tribunal created in the postapartheid era to reconsider the crimes of political criminals. Their testimony will decide the fate of a young woman who was involved in the murder of their son, Jason. A hard news journalist, Nadine wants the scoop, but returning to South Africa will bring up some dark memories from her past. Lee's narration proves to be the best part of this audiobook. Her soft and smooth voice captures and improves the emotion and energy of the book. Her accents and different vocal characterizations are also impressive and consistent. While she will seduce listeners, her skill won't necessarily improve the story, which feels hackneyed and forced. Though Ward provides an intriguing look at the issue of recovery in postapartheid South Africa, her protagonist's personal journey proves clichéd and counterintuitive to the politics of the story. Simultaneous release with the Random House hardcover (Reviews, Apr. 30).
The above review pretty much sums up the novel for me, with two exceptions: the boy's diary and the feeling of manipulation at the end of the novel.
Fiction. 2007. 234 pages.
Glad you enjoyed your trip. I've picked up a book by Ward and it appeared a bit too gut-wrenching for me, so I skipped it. Sounds like this one is worth passing up.
ReplyDeleteAt last, one I don't need to add to the ever-growing list.
ReplyDeleteBookfool -- A great trip! From what I've read, Ward's first two books must have been better received than this one. Nadine's character seemed shallow in spite of all the concern about apartheid.
ReplyDeleteBooklogged -- There were some good parts to this one, but as a whole it just didn't seem to hang together.