tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071219441574727960.post8147297601598640511..comments2024-03-28T13:59:47.496-07:00Comments on Excelsior: Five Bells – Gail Jones (2011)Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05063686203602541260noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071219441574727960.post-64590231295402329372012-08-14T02:47:42.143-07:002012-08-14T02:47:42.143-07:00I had a hard time getting through this book due to...I had a hard time getting through this book due to the writing style. If this book was a puppet show you would be able to see the strings. I think Jones was perhaps trying to accomplish too much with this book. She investigates too many ideas, leaving the reader unsatisfied. <br /><br />She does successfully create vivid images of Sydney, but I didn't care about the characters, their emotional lives don't read as authentic to me, the plot devices are too apparent, and I don't feel that she ties up her loose ends. I would have much preferred a whole book devoted to the Pei Xing character as I found her scenes to be the most absorbing and powerful.<br /><br />I am generally quite charitable when it comes to book reviews, but I was quite disappointed with Five Bells. Elizabethnoreply@blogger.com