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The Descendants / Kaui Hart Hemmings

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I really enjoyed this book from start to finish.  I saw the film first and was interested enough in the story that I wanted to go back to the original novel.  I’m glad I did.  While the film remained largely true to the novel, it did inevitably change some details of the story, and left others out entirely.  The characters are all wonderfully developed, each unique, each believable.  They’re definitely not perfect, and their fallability may be part of why the novel is so compelling—we may see ourselves in the characters, and relate.  That’s the thing about this book, it just seems so incredibly real. Everything-- the language, the motivations of the characters, their actions.  In spite of the tragic storyline (mother in coma at death's door) there’s still a lot of joy and humor in this book, too.  The Descendants is ultimately a celebration of life, of family, of finding what matters.  A pretty amazing debut novel for Kaui Hart Hemmings.

Comments

  1. wclaspyApril 24, 2012 at 6:07 AM

    haven't seen the movie yet- it's on our list!- so perhaps I should read this first!

    ReplyDelete

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