Lauren O. (LoMel) - , reviewed on + 134 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book was recommended to me after I read Euphoria and The People In The Trees and loved them both. I GUESS I can see why someone would see similarities-all three books are set in remote jungles and involve scientific research of some kind, but while the other two books are anthropology-based this book seemed more like a mystery that happened to have a similar setting and characters. I don't know, I get it on one hand, but I didn't really feel in the end like this book had a lot in common with the other two. I feel bad taking off a star because I was kind of misled on what this book was about but I guess that's what I'm doing.
As for this book specifically, it was fine but I didn't find the plot or the characters particularly engaging. The pacing was also kind of weird-it takes half the book to actually get into the Amazon and I don't feel like the earlier stuff was necessarily extraneous but at the same time I'm not sure why there was so much of it. The characters were interesting but I didn't have any real emotional connection with or attachment to any of them, and the ending just sort of drops the relationship between two of the main characters and takes off (literally). Also there's a lot of questions that can be raised about the ethics of pharmaceutical research but I feel like the book didn't really answer any of them and just sort of left them there, abandoned in the jungle. I was able to predict the twist at the ending from a ways back but I don't think it was badly plotted, just one of my more perceptive moments. Basically if you really want to read this book, you probably shouldn't let any of what I'm saying dissuade you since I think part of my disenchantment comes just from expecting a different book going in. That said, while it's a quick read it does have some legitimate issues.
As for this book specifically, it was fine but I didn't find the plot or the characters particularly engaging. The pacing was also kind of weird-it takes half the book to actually get into the Amazon and I don't feel like the earlier stuff was necessarily extraneous but at the same time I'm not sure why there was so much of it. The characters were interesting but I didn't have any real emotional connection with or attachment to any of them, and the ending just sort of drops the relationship between two of the main characters and takes off (literally). Also there's a lot of questions that can be raised about the ethics of pharmaceutical research but I feel like the book didn't really answer any of them and just sort of left them there, abandoned in the jungle. I was able to predict the twist at the ending from a ways back but I don't think it was badly plotted, just one of my more perceptive moments. Basically if you really want to read this book, you probably shouldn't let any of what I'm saying dissuade you since I think part of my disenchantment comes just from expecting a different book going in. That said, while it's a quick read it does have some legitimate issues.
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