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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

Published August 10th 2005 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
277 pages
Source: Borrowed

There are stories that make you think afterwards. You sit there and just stare at the book (or in my case, the Kindle) in your hands. It is a profound feeling, this period of after-book contemplation. It does not strike me often, and I cherish it when it does.

I enjoyed the premise Elsewhere sets up, but thought the execution was lacking. The relationship between Liz and Owen was, to be blunt, almost tacky in my opinion. Most of the novel was dull for me. Yes yes, this happened, whoopee. I would then proceed to click on the next page button, feeling just a tiny bit annoyed at the lack of development.

But the ending. Oh the ending... I was expecting it. There wasn't some huge twist that left me speechless. But the way Gabrielle Zevin phrased it, the simple writing style and the descriptions of Liz and Owen—they were heartbreaking.

I was trying to decide between a 2-star rating for most of the book and a 4-star for the ending. However, most of the book is obviously, umm, the majority of the novel, so I have gone with 2 stars.

Rating: 2
oh so unremarkable
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