 |
highly recommended |
Wiping tears from my eyes before getting off the subway 
I am in the middle of reading this most INCREDIBLE novel - almost halfway through it. Truly the best I've ever read. Well crafted, riveting, cliff-hanging, and just about PERFECT in every way. Bravo, Catherine! She's really done it. Man, can she flesh out a story. And oh my God, how she captures the essence of every character and describes every scene so beautifully. You should have seen me wiping the tears from my eyes as I had to close the book quickly to get off at my subway stop. Everybody was looking at me weeping on the train!
So, needless to say, I'm really LOVING this book and want to cheer Catherine on to write more, and MORE. Thank you for this, Catherine.
Very enjoyable and inspirational read.
My book club loved this book! It's sweet and well written. I read it in one sitting. The story line is engrossing, it's also inspirational, although not in a didactic, boring way. We became invested in the characters, their interactions and the final satisfying resolution of the plot. There's also some humor in its spoofing of yoga and "new age stuff," which, as a yoga teacher, I relished.
Touching Deeply
A CRACK IN EVERYTHING is Catherin Ingram's third book and first novel. I read this book mostly in an airport and on a plane. The novel moved and transported me more than any 747 could possibly do. The book resonates deeply with life being lived. Read this book and be touched.
above-average chick lit 
I notice that nearly all of the other reviews of this book are written by individuals who have not reviewed any other books. That suggests to me that these are mostly "promotional" reviews written by acquaintances of the author. That isn't necessarily a negative about the book, just that the reviews aren't really objective.
I'm not quite sure how I ended up reading this book, but I did enjoy it in spite of some serious drawbacks. Based on its literary merit alone, it probably deserves more like three stars rather than the four I gave it, but it is just too good-hearted to get overly critical about. It is better than a lot of other "comtemporary chick lit" out there these days, though it fits squarely in that genre.
The author seems to be making some effort to keep her feminist biases under control -- there is no really "evil" male character, only clueless. As she puts it, men "think with their dicks and unfortunately their dicks aren't very smart". The male lead Alex is extremely capable when it comes to making money, but clueless in his personal affairs. He relies entirely on women to help him navigate his personal life. Women are the exclusive voices of wisdom, especially his sister Joan. Alex is basically good-hearted, whereas Joan is good-hearted nearly to the point of saintliness.
Fiona is charming in her innocence and purity. That she is also really, really pretty in a natural and unself-conscious way adds nicely to the plot line. She stands in vivid contrast to her Los Angeles schoolmates who are perfect stereotypes of contemporary teen decadence. Unfortunately, stereotypes are all too pervasive in this book. These include Alex, his girlfriend Mandy, and nearly everyone in the Los Angeles scene except Joan (who is also something of a stereotype, though a different one from the other Los Angeles characters). These characters all have a hard time breaking through their stereotypical images to come to life.
But our "politically correct" (or is it "culturally correct"?) author isn't too hard on anyone. Though girlfriend Mandy is not intended to be a sympathetic character, she is given plenty of excuses (dysfunctional family) for being a pretty but petty, superficial, scheming, manipulative, new-age twit. In the end one is meant to feel sorry for her more than dislike her.
I actually liked Mandy a lot because through her we get a humorous but exactly right-on picture of how it is that women, all women, know what's up with the dynamics of male-female relationships, regardless of personal motivation. Joan, with entirely different motives, also knows the score with infallible feminine intuition. Only Alex is in the dark, as usual.
I would have expected a little more life-wisdom to be embedded in a novel by Catherine Ingram, but while light in that department, this book does peripherally touch upon some thought-provoking themes, including death and loss. The characters are all impacted by dramatic events, but their responses are mostly in the realm of modifying their life situations (in generally benign and positive ways) rather than in deeply coming to grips with the fundamental dilemmas of life itself.
But for all its superficiality, this book was nevertheless quite charming and engaging and I don't regret the time I spent to read it. Though I comment on the book's weaknesses, I did give it four stars and I am passing the book on to a friend who likes chick lit. I think she'll like it.
a feminine Hemingway
This book is a delight to read. I didn't want to put it down, not only because the characters, their connections and the events in their lives moved along in a most compelling and engaging manner, but more because Catherine Ingram's wide objective and compassionate view of her characters and the world in general is
a world I loved being submerged in. Nuanced human characters in cinematic scenes are painted in clear concise language reminiscent of Hemingway's spare style, but with feminine insight. Ingram delves into the everyday texture of her characters' lives and reveals their incremental transformations. I think I breathe more fully having read this book.
reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4
A Crack in Everything reveals a collision of values--old world and new, European and American, rich and poor--as the lives of a Hollywood producer, two young musical prodigies, an actress/model, and a couple of wise and earthy women intersect and force transformations in each other. Spanning several continents, the story is a journey of love and loss, the redemption that comes in realizing life's true priorities, and the light that gets in through the cracks along the way.
crack in everything, crack, everything
|
