Whiteout by Ken Follet

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Novel Travelling

Follow the journey of books around the world and leave your own location and thoughts. For more information and to see the index of other books on this blog go to:
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Bob Mehew: May 24th, 2008

Where obtained: Pawan Guest House - Mcleod Ganj
Where read: Mcleod Ganj
Where left: The Hills around Mcleod Ganj
Thoughts: I was in an experimental 'just pick up a book from a guest house library and give it a go' phase. After all if a book is published and bought by thousands if not millions it cannot be that bad, surely? However I had been burned once by 'The Lifeguard' and it was happening again. This time I was spending a few days walking in the hills around Daramsala and staying in a secluded guest house. I was hoping for a quiet getaway to concentrate on some writing but the guest house was full and the communal areas right outside my room, there was no-where to be quiet. Given that there was a lot of rain and I just could not bring myself to more tedious travel chat, I dived into the only book I took up there for solace and comfort.

Unfortunately I was met by a thoroughly formulaic crime caper that somehow managed to fill five hundred pages of a book. Admittedly it was a page turner and I did rattle throught it, but definitely with my quality filter turned off. The author clearly has more than an eye on film rights with this book and it is like watching a movie in 'word form'. Fights are described, chase sequences drawn out and every detail of surroundings painfully described. The screenplay will be a cinch if it ever makes it. It would certainly waste less time of a consumers life watching the mildly entertaining and no doubt straight to dvd epic than bothering to read the book. For this one, it would definitely be a case of the film being better than the book. Not recommended.

Novel Travelling

Follow the journey of books around the world and leave your own location and thoughts. For more information and to see the index of other books on this blog go to:
Introduction and Index

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