Negative Positive
Title: Where's the real author?
Review: What a disappointment! After loving "The Secret Life of Bees" and passing it on enthusiastically to friends and family, I was so looking forward to reading "The Mermaid Chair." This just can't be the same author who wrote "Bees." It is very nearly a formula-written romance about an affair between a bored, middle-aged woman and a monk, of all things! I could almost see the "heaving bosom, bodice ripping" stereotyped characters. Yes, I did "get" the point of the story, and, yes, such feelings could arise, but at the very first sighting?? Between such characters in these circumstances? Ms Kidd jumped into the whole premise with no buildup at all. Give readers credit for being unable to suspend their disbelief, something I do very easily with the help of writers and movie-makers. So, I did make it to the end, but closed the book, shaking my head, thinking, "Who wrote this thing?"
Is the review positive or negative? 