Foto de l'autor

Martin Pevsner

Autor/a de Divinity Road

2 obres 22 Membres 9 Ressenyes

Obres de Martin Pevsner

Divinity Road (2010) 21 exemplars

Etiquetat

Coneixement comú

Gènere
male

Membres

Ressenyes

Ressenya escrita per a Crítics Matiners de LibraryThing .
Good in parts.

Some of this book was very well written, other parts needed a bit of editing. Overall, it had a slightly awkward feel, but having said that, it covered some interesting topics, some with great sensitivity.

The begining was excellent - Greg's slow awakening in the midst of the wreckage of the plane that had been transporting him home from a trip to South Africa was brilliantly described. (Though his injuries were a bit unbelievably minor). His subsequent fight for survival in the war-torn area of Africa where he finds himself was gripping, but the final outcome was frustrating.
Meanwhile his wife, Nuala, has to come to terms with his disappearance and struggles to deal with his loss without the closure that his body would bring.
Another couple feature centrally in the book - Aman and his wife Semira, separated by circumstances and appealing for refugee status in UK, their stories are tragic and an eye-opener into the struggles these people must undergo.

However, on the negative side, there was too much theological banter between Aman and his room mate, Kalil. The arguments were interesting but too many pages were expended and my interest was lost. The author is obviously a pacifist as he expounds his beliefs again, later in the book, as the two female characters have a similar discussion.

This was Martin Pevsner's first novel and I would certainly give a second book by this author a chance.
… (més)
½
 
Marcat
DubaiReader | Hi ha 8 ressenyes més | Aug 10, 2011 |
Ressenya escrita per a Crítics Matiners de LibraryThing .
Divinity Road tells the interlocking stories of two couples who have been separated by circumstances... or perhaps geopolitics is a better description. An African couple, Aman (Eritrean) and Semira (Ethiopian) are separated when an accident leads to a prison sentence for him, and she flees illegally to the UK. He reaches the UK some years later but is unable to track her down. Some time later, Nuala's husband Greg disappears, victim of a suicide bombing on a plane flying over an unspecified region of the Horn of Africa.

This book touches on some interesting issues, but I think there were two things wrong with it. The first is the writing, which is much too 'tell, not show' - this is most obvious in the sections dealing with Nuala's grief and depression after the disappearance of her husband, which lead us through a set of symptoms. There is very very little dialogue in the book, which is often a sign that the author is telling us too much and not showing enough: on the other hand, what dialogue there is is quite clumsy - I can't imagine anyone in real life showing a photo of their daughter and saying "She's twelve now, that awkward stage before womanhood".

The second is that the stories of the men add very little to the central theme of the book which is about grief and recovery. Pevsner's decision that Aman's story should not be one of political persecution, and that Greg's crash should be in an unspecified war zone, mean that they only hint at wider themes, in a way which is a distraction from the rest of the story. I think a much better story would have focused on the relationship between the two women rather than trying to give equal time to all four. This could have been a more intimate examination of their grief and recovery while still bringing in the same wider issues.

She cannot wait for the promised updates, her impatience dragging her upstairs to her bedroom where she begins to pack a suitcase. She decides to call every hour until she receives the go-ahead to journey to the crash site. In the meantime, there's a phone call every twenty minutes or so, the electronic tone setting Nuala's nerves jangling, a sense of dread every time she picks up the handset, but it's always a friend or relative. Hours pass. The telephone, with its capacity for relief or ruin, becomes a toying instrument of torture.
… (més)
½
1 vota
Marcat
wandering_star | Hi ha 8 ressenyes més | Jul 30, 2011 |
Ressenya escrita per a Crítics Matiners de LibraryThing .
My, what a powerful story! Divinity Road brings together the stories of four people who are caught up in the maelstrom of destiny. The author certainly doesn't allow either his characters or his reader get off easy with this book. Even though the story sucked me in from page one, I still struggled to finish it because I felt my heart breaking for these people every time I started reading. The novel was very engaging though and I would warmly recommend it.
 
Marcat
riikkat | Hi ha 8 ressenyes més | Jul 28, 2011 |
Ressenya escrita per a Crítics Matiners de LibraryThing .
"Divinity Road" opens in Africa where Greg is the only survivor of a plane crash. His story is harrowing; difficult to read at times, but compelling reading nonetheless. The story moves between Greg's struggle for life in Africa and his wife Nuala who is still in England, struggling with her confusion, grief and anger, unaware if he is alive or dead. We also follow Semira, a refugee from Eritrea who is trying to make a life for herself and her children in a strange country which is not always accepting and her husband Aman who has been separated from his family with no way to find them. He is being drawn into the life of a terrorist.

Reading this book, it felt just a little bit clunky. The four stories it held were in themselves exceptional, but I wondered if they could have been tied together just a little more smoothly. But having said that, this was a wonderfully engaging story that gives the reader an eye opening look at the plight of refugees.
… (més)
 
Marcat
judylou | Hi ha 8 ressenyes més | Jul 20, 2011 |

Estadístiques

Obres
2
Membres
22
Popularitat
#553,378
Valoració
½ 3.7
Ressenyes
9
ISBN
3