Grasshopper Audiobook

" I started out enjoying this book but the story became unconvincing principally because I didn't believe in the family in the flat trying to avoid detection from social services. Then there was an unconvincing twist in the tale ( won't give it away) but it was too much of a coincidence. Pity because she can write a good story. "

" You'll never look at pylons the same way again! "

" A bit too dark for me. I was getting so depressed that I didn't finish reading it. "

" As an audiobook this was a wonderful listen. A bit slow paced at times, but it held my attention, and as the story developed, I found myself wanting to keep listening to find out what was going to happen next. (18 cd's) "

" This is my first Barbara Vine, though I've read plenty of her work as Ruth Rendell. It's taking me awhile to warm up to it, but I'm sticking with it because it is a studio listen. Unfortunately, I never really took to these characters. I think it was partly the narrator, but this book didn't grab me. So many circumstantial and ultimately not very interesting details. I did like the surprise ending, though. "

" The book is written by Barbara Vine, an alter-ego of well-known British mystery writer Ruth Rendell.It is essentially a love story. The author tells the story through the eyes of Clodagh Brown, who has bumped into a woman she once knew, eleven years after they had been kind of friends. Clodagh reviews the events that took place over a roughly 6 month period when she was twenty, newly in love, and making choices based on her youth and naivete. I persisted in reading this book, in spite of its very slow pace and tedious detail of the day-to-day lives of the many (some minor) plots the author juggled. The book was full of foreshadowing events which never seemed to live up to the author's hype. Sometimes, I would get distracted by the author's jumping around on the timeline. If I had the energy (which I don't...the book was 400 pages loooooong)I'd go back and see if things matched up. The author would say things like, "we would learn weeks later" or "we'd never have left her that day had we known". This was pretty constant throughout the book. I found it tiresome. Yet I give it three stars because I did get caught up in the lives of the characters. I did want resolution. I felt like this would have worked more as a British mini-series on PBS, where not a lot is happening much of the time, but you still are committed to watching their daily lives play out. Ruth Rendell (Barabara Vine) is a highly regarded author so I think I'll give her another try. "

" One of Barbara Vine's (Ruth Rendell) best. I've listened to it twice now as a Book on Tape. She is one of the best authors at writing about the "human mystery" of motive and emotion. "

" Just reading this now. I tend to love British writers, the humour is so sophisticated, dry and subtle. The writing here conveys the characters' thoughts amazingly well. An interesting story line, human and simple yet not usual. Not an amateurish writing style in any way either. Like :-) "

" Won't read again. Gloomy "

" I absolutely hated this book! It dragged on and on and on. It was torture reading this book to the end. "

" All the elements of a good thriller, including premonitions of upcoming disasters; but I found myself irritated by the characters' constant poor choices. Thought provoking. "

" This novel is about loss and growing up. It has a slightly suspenseful aspect (which I enjoyed) and some good twists. Although it has a bit too much detail, the author weaved the story and moved through time so effortlessly that it was a nice read. "

" a relatively quick read, her characters are always interesting. The story was compelling up to a certain point then seemed to lose momentum : I felt a little cheated at the (anti) climax. "

" Always enjoy Barbara Fine, especially for her character development, much better, I think, than her Ruth Rendell series. "

" One of my favourite books, I've read a few times now. Really got lured into the lifestyle of the characters and their strange habit, especially the character named Wim (I don't want to give anything away). Try it, see what you think! "

" This has got to be the most disappointing Barbara Vine novel. If you're new to her work, don't start here "

" I loved this book she is a fantastic storyteller! I was hooked all the way. "

" Not my favorite. Maybe I'm tiring of the hard-luck stories of all the characters. "

" very odd book set in London. Lives of late teens/early 20-yr olds Almost quit reading a couple times but persevered because something entangled me in the story. Not exciting though. "

" It took me a while to read this, some of it dragged. I still wanted to know what happened, and I'm glad I finished it. "

" Well-plotted. A little too much stuff about what's on top of roofs. A few illustrations would have helped. Still, it was a good read. "

" Unlike "The Birthday Party", I found this book somewhat tedious with too much foreshadowing of doom and gloom. "