Hannes Bol Bol itibaren 27547 A Portela, Lugo, Spain
Sadly, this is the first book I've had the chance to read all year. Boy, do I miss sabbatical! In any case, it was pretty good. I really liked the love story between the couple. Their relationship was endearing and it realistically recounted the unexpected and difficult moments that can face a couple in the first years of their marriage. However, it was less fulfilling to never learn the reason for the wife's mood swings. Was she bipolar (an increasingly overused condition)? Or did she suffer from bouts of anxiety? I somewhat resented the typical characterization of the absentminded professor who would somehow overlook all the signs that pointed to some sort of mental illness. This character flaw also made it frustrating when the story took up the strange plot twist of the men conducting cruel experiments on dogs. I have to admit I almost stopped reading. The whole episode seemed awkward and unnecessary when there was such a nice mystery unfolding as to how and why the wife had died. It was most difficult though to see the professor not "get it" - why, I kept wondering, would he expose his dog - the only living connection to his wife - to such danger? Worse, why wasn't he out there searching for the dog when she disappeared? At this point in the novel, his deep grief just became annoying and his character was simply reduced to a helpless old man. Eventually though, the story does come back and provide a creative end to the mystery. Overall,I think this is a well written, light read that will definitely hold your interest.
truly Puzo's book through and through....