Title: Remarkably disappointing
Product review: I read and enjoyed Little Altars Everywhere and was looking forward to reading Divine Secrets. I haven't been as disappointed by a novel in quite a while. The characters in Little Altars are articulate, smart, funny, painfully honest and--most important--speak for themselves. The switch from first person to a third person narrator robs Divine Secrets of much of the vitality of the first book, substituting a lame "romantic" plot for the slowly revealed mysteries and horrors of a remarkably dysfunctional southern family. The romance is contrived, and the writing is banal. Comparisons to The Bridges of Madison County are all too accurate. Sadly, the characters in Divine Secrets are quite weak : annoyingly narcisistic women and an unrealistic, stereotyped cast of supporting players. What happened to the engaging people in Little Altars? They are unrecognizable here. I hope Ms. Wells finds original characters with their own voices again in her next book.
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