tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13936314.post1439926942246058959..comments2023-07-12T07:22:02.075-07:00Comments on Pop Culture Junk Mail: Like The Secret History? Try this...Gael Fashingbauer Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10720729203329325754noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13936314.post-34918565156885230882011-04-17T21:50:42.070-07:002011-04-17T21:50:42.070-07:00Reading "The Secret History" and am amaz...Reading "The Secret History" and am amazed by the similarity to "The Likeness" - which Iread and loved. Disappointed that Tana French was so obviously influenced.Loved, loved "In TheWoods" and "The Likeness"."Faithful place" - not so much.Had zeero empathy for the narrator who is - to put it mildly - a dick.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13936314.post-75274242474748123722010-09-29T14:31:16.598-07:002010-09-29T14:31:16.598-07:00I don't know if anyone is still reading commen...I don't know if anyone is still reading comments, but I need to "talk" to someone about In the Woods. I thought the first two-thirds were absolutely masterful, with the suspense ratcheted up to high heaven. I have three *major* problems with the last third, in no particular order:<br /><br />*skip the rest of this post to avoid major spoilers*<br /><br />1. After sleeping with Cassie, Rob turns into a total asshole, and a really stupid one at that. I don't just mean the blowing her off and running from intimacy. I mean that every conclusion he reaches and every decision he makes is so wrong, inexplicably so. For example, when O'Kelly calls him into the office to bust him about being Adam Ryan, Rob is instantly convinced and furious that Cassie betrayed him, even though she has always been loyal, and there were plenty of other ways he could have been discovered. So he goes and confronts her in a vicious rage. Huh? And everything he did and said was suddenly like that. It was maddening.<br /><br />2. Not solving the older case. I mean...the balls, right?<br /> <br />3. Given what the answer turned out to be, the newer case should have been solved in a week, not months. I mean, you know the body was moved and hidden for a day and you don't run a black light through the only enclosed spaces that are nearby? You don't nail down the alibi for the guy who found the body? They had a whole team of floaters chasing down every cockamamie tip, but it was months before they thought to look for blood in the storage shed? Bah. See, this brings me back to point two, the main reason they botched the investigation of the new case was they had a personal investment in the old case. So we spend the whole book obsessed with the old case and how it relates to the new case, and then...it doesn't? And we still don't know what happened to the kids? And these characters we've been so invested in are just lousy detectives, I guess? Harrumph.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13936314.post-51963618172009311262010-08-13T09:59:52.541-07:002010-08-13T09:59:52.541-07:00http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Guest-Books/...http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Guest-Books/Tana-French/ba-p/3061;jsessionid=05464E9635399226D48007FB4F58E696NYCGirlhttp://leastlikelytoblog,wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13936314.post-56093286074915495012010-08-03T06:57:33.334-07:002010-08-03T06:57:33.334-07:00See, I didn't mind the ending of In The Woods ...See, I didn't mind the ending of In The Woods because I always suspected we'd get the other side of the story from her eventually. And if not? Well, some mysteries never get solved. I'm currently reading "A Faithful Place" and loving it, just like I loved her other two.Amblushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11765599544176134468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13936314.post-89420353293103664132010-07-29T12:11:47.544-07:002010-07-29T12:11:47.544-07:00hmmm... i loved in the woods until the very end, a...hmmm... i loved in the woods until the very end, and then probably threw it across the room in anger. i thought the "resolution" was super lazy. but that didn't stop me from reading the likeness, which i enjoyed much more. and all the other commenters are right--the likeness bears a very similar resemblance to the secret history. i think you will like it very much.arajanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13198382896754614096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13936314.post-14929588888619921282010-07-28T13:58:59.245-07:002010-07-28T13:58:59.245-07:00I LOVED the Likeness. So good! You've got to b...I LOVED the Likeness. So good! You've got to be willing to go along with the plot, but French does enough heavy lifting to make it worthwhile, IMO. Now I've got to try TSH ...Elissahttp://www.elissasthoughts.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13936314.post-89049746025333666222010-07-26T19:24:52.723-07:002010-07-26T19:24:52.723-07:00Do not under any circumstances read this book..you...Do not under any circumstances read this book..you will be bitterly disappointed and feel very cheated.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13936314.post-10820196155571062272010-07-26T18:57:50.082-07:002010-07-26T18:57:50.082-07:00I also thought "The Likeness" almost eye...I also thought "The Likeness" almost eye-poppingly similar to "The Secret History" - both excellent reads!Sarah B.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13936314.post-12786360742902824392010-07-26T14:45:51.051-07:002010-07-26T14:45:51.051-07:00I haven't read "The Secret History,"...I haven't read "The Secret History," but I very much enjoyed both "In the Woods" and "The Likeness," and have "A Faithful Place" waiting on my bookshelf to be read when I'm done with the book I'm currently reading. ("The Postmistress")NYCGirlhttp://leastlikelytoblog.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13936314.post-61446575052082367452010-07-26T10:20:43.715-07:002010-07-26T10:20:43.715-07:00The Likeness is so similar to The Secret History t...The Likeness is so similar to The Secret History that when I was done, I looked up interviews with Tana French to see if she did it intentionally. I can't remember now exactly what I found, but I do remember she mentioned The Secret History was one of her favorites and she is/was aware of the similarities.Meganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02277537532385739286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13936314.post-68499668280091887452010-07-26T09:19:49.158-07:002010-07-26T09:19:49.158-07:00Have you read Another Kind of Monday by William Co...Have you read Another Kind of Monday by William Coles?Carol Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15166705366415665993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13936314.post-17073782227421643232010-07-26T08:22:27.945-07:002010-07-26T08:22:27.945-07:00Gael, I actually thought the Likeness was a LOT li...Gael, I actually thought the Likeness was a LOT like Secret History. If you haven't checked it out yet please do. I can't wait to read the new one.naginatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09338219051413250585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13936314.post-11157309228171072472010-07-26T08:02:11.422-07:002010-07-26T08:02:11.422-07:00In the Woods is one of my favorite books of the la...In the Woods is one of my favorite books of the last few years. I think, if you don't have expectations of what the ending will be and simply read it as a character piece, it is extremely satisfying. I also enjoyed French's The Likeness but not nearly as much, as think it has many more structural (and story) problems than In the Woods. Haven't read her new one yet.<br /><br />Now I have to read The Secret History! I hadn't heard of that one before, so thank you.Carriehttp://iseemonsters.typepad.com/tv_and_dinnersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13936314.post-33863527486652339212010-07-26T07:53:02.040-07:002010-07-26T07:53:02.040-07:00I love "The Secret History." I will hav...I love "The Secret History." I will have to check this one out.MrsKinnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04576952404475388985noreply@blogger.com