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October 19, 2003-9:32 p.m.
At 835 pages, this book is a weighty tome. Were that were true of its literary merits, as well. At the beginning of the book we are beckoned to follow several characters before we finally latch onto one and the story begins. Basically this is the story of William Rackham and the people around him. William fancies himself an iconoclast and author until he meets up with the prostitute, Sugar. Deciding that he must have Sugar all to himself, he gives up his life as a freewheeling intellectual and wannabe author and accepts his father�s demand that he take over the family business and restore his household to the style to which they were once accustomed to living. This pleases his loony, bedridden wife to no end as it will allow her once again to participate in society events. The first half of the book is good reading. William sets Sugar up in her own home. Sugar helps William with his business. It is only when Sugar persuades William to move her into his house as his daughter�s governess that the story bogs down, becomes extremely tangential and downright boring. Ever the trooper, our Sa saw this book through to its conclusion. The book ends rather abruptly with Sugar having kidnapped William�s daughter, Sophie, and William setting out to search for them. This ending leaves way too many loose ends for my liking. We don�t know if William ever finds Sugar and Sophie, or for that matter, what becomes of several other characters. I really felt cheated by the ending after having invested so much time on the book. I can�t recommend it. **Disclaimer: All characters in this diary are fictional. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, real or imagined, is purely coincidental and unintentional.** |
