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Loading... In a Perfect World: A Novel (original 2009; edition 2009)by Laura Kasischke
Work InformationIn A Perfect World by Laura Kasischke (2009)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. I enjoyed this book. It covered so many issues: global warming, epidemics, motherhood, family, and survival. These topics don't sound like they would go together, but this book is beautifully written in the way it ties them together. The author based a lot of this story on the Black Plague which I haven't read much about. I am now interested in reading about it. Not all the characters are likeable at first, but many redeem themselves as the novel progresses. This is definitely a novel about the choices we make and the choices we are sometimes forced into. This book holds a lot of fodder for book club discussions. Definitely will be reading more from this author. ( ) At first I disliked the book. Kind of romantic, almost a chic-lit story of a not-too-bright flight attendant who falls in love with a pilot. Blah. But then the pandemic strikes and the story turns into something else. This is definitely not the post-apocalyptic story I suspected, but an interesting one nonetheless. I kept wondering, though, would it really be so easy and peaceful to live in a world where the infrastructure is more or less lost? Would life in small town America continue peacefully - only without electricity - while the big cities collapsed? They might. But for how long? I was unsure about the novel for most of the time I spent reading - it seemed purely superficial, lacking some sort of depth that could truly draw me into the story. While the situation was eerily prescient for our current times, I just couldn't quite connect with Jiselle's life. And then the author gave this book the absolute perfect ending - for THIS story - and it all came together. I'm extremely happy I stuck it out until the end, because it wound up being a thoroughly rewarding experience. Flight attendant Jiselle is tired of always being the bridesmaid and never the bride. When a pilot named Mark Dorn walks into her life that all changes. The two join together, after a whirlwind courtship, and decide to marry. The only obstacles they face are the world being under economic failure due to a plague called Phoenix flu and Mark's daughters who let it be known there is no place for a stepmother in their home or hearts. Jiselle, left alone while her husband travels, does her best to win over the daughters and fight for their survival as the plague worsens. Her only happiness at times is Mark's son who, unlike his sisters, accepts her role. The first part of this book was a bit of a struggle for me. It was a bit on the slow boring side. I am glad I stayed with it as it turned out to be very engaging. I found myself reading as fast as I could to find out what was to become of the characters I had grown very found of. Even so, I too was let down by the ending as stated by other reviews. There was no closure. That to me is okay if the ending builds the reader up to believe there will be an encore, but that is not what happened. Sadly, I was left with wanting to know more, but got the feeling of, I'm never going to know. If I had been giving a different ending this book would have probably reached a 5 star. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Publisher SeriesGallimard, Folio (6770)
"Jiselle, a young flight attendant has just settled into a fairy tale life with her new husband and stepchildren. But as a mysterious new illness spreads rapidly throughout the country, she begins to realize that her marriage, her stepchildren, and their perfect world are all in terrible danger."-- No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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