The Savage Garden by Mark Mills
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Book Reviews of The Savage Garden
Book Review: Savage garden
Summary: 5 Stars
Book was in very good shape, looked new. Haven't read it yet as it is next month's bookclub book. Always enjoy shoping at Amazon for reading material.
Book Review: A trip to Italy for the price of a paperback!
Summary: 4 Stars
A well-written, fun read...it took you to another time & place and combined humor, art history, and mystery--a winning combo to escape to.Book Review: Disappointing
Summary: 3 Stars
I don't think Mark Mills could write a bad book, but having said that, this, in my opinion, is the weakest he has produced thus far.
Adam, graduate student, is sent off to a friend of his professor's in Italy to research the architecture and history of a garden in the villa. There he finds that all is not as they appear, and before long, he is swept up by feelings of unease. What is it about the sculptures in the garden and the way the garden is laid out that draws him to the library to read Dante's Inferno? Is the villa or the family Docci who lived there cursed? Are there really sinister reasons for the deaths that have occurred there and what were they?
Even as Adam uncovers hidden secrets, so too does he start to fall in love. I thought Mr Mills could have delivered a much shorter book that packed a greater punch. At times, I found my attention wavering as he seemed to ramble tediously over (as I was later to realize) some really unimportant details and scenes.
If this was the first book of his that I'd read, I may not have been eager to read his other, much better written books, Amagansett and The Information Officer.
Book Review: A Disappointment
Summary: 3 Stars
This novel is clearly a work of great effort, and so I feel bad not giving it a glowing review.
I really *wanted* to like it.
But none of the characters ever become real. I never felt anything for or became interested in the main character.
Although I enjoy both descriptions of imagery and classical mythology, the long . . . looooooong descriptions the writer provides to try and give the reader hints involving what happened in the past did not help the plot.
Also, the more words the writer used, the less I could actually "see" in my mind.
I can see from the reviews below that many people truly enjoyed this book, so this is just my reaction, but the characters simply never came to life for me.