No Dress Rehearsal (Open Door) Review
No Dress Rehearsal (Open Door) Overview
Lizzie is dead - she just doesn't know it.
Why does everyone ignore her when she needs a little sympathy? She has been in an accident, after all.
The next day, Lizzie goes to work as usual and meets two unusual people, spirits who have been sent to break the bad news. But our Lizzie is not ready to go anywhere. She has yet to say her goodbyes.
Help is at hand with Jan and Jim, messengers who have seen it all before. Before Lizzie crosses to the other side, she'll get her chance to stage the closing scene of a lifetime.
Marian Keyes is one of Ireland’s most successful authors with impressive international success. Her books include This Charming Man: A Novel (William Morrow, 2008); Anybody Out There? (2007); Angels (2002); Sushi for Beginners (2000) and many more. Marian was born in Limerick and lives in Dublin.
THE OPEN DOOR SERIES: An innovative program of original works by some of our most beloved modern writers that was first designed to enhance adult literacy in Ireland. Yet these fresh stories are much more, showcasing new writing from authors such as Roddy Doyle, Nick Hornby, Maeve Binchy and a pantheon of talent. Six charming books will be published each and every season.
Available at Amazon Check Price Now!
Related Products
Customer Reviews
Check how many pages before you purchase! - Ms. J. Lichfield - Kent, UK
This was only my second kindle purchase and thought I was getting a whole regular sized paper back. I shall check in the future as this was a great read but not worth the money for the speed with which I finished it.
Great start but yikes... - MomofFive - Florida
I've always enjoyed Marian Keyes' books...very entertaining yet insightful. And this book started out well, too. Light and airy yet touching on something deeper, naturally.
But I agree with others--it was a little too short. And more importantly, contradictory. There are angels but no afterlife? Where are those angels coming from? I found the ending grim and empty. It was like Keyes was trying to put meaning into a meaningless end, but she didn't succeed.
Not a book, just a short story! - Tara Kneitz - Dresden, Germany
I love Marian Keyes. I also like short stories. But for an arguably good short story is not exactly conducive to a good review.
This is a good read, however the scope of the story simply does not allow for either character development, nor is it written well enough to give the reader at least the satisfaction of a real "life lesson", which is obviously its intent.
There's not one novel Ms. Keyes has written that I haven't read and thoroughly enjoyed. I would have gladly paid for this story (rather that than for whatever vapid "women's magazine" it might otherwise have been published in). But the same price as many wonderful full-sized novels? My own fault for not reading the other reviews firt, I suppose.
Wish I had known the intended audience - Gloss -
No plot spoilers in this review (unlike others). I love Marian Keyes and bought this book despite the lukewarm reviews. I neither regret nor am pleased with the decision, and I'm no better off for having read this book.
What no one said in the previous reviews -- and what would have been helpful to know -- is that this book is part of the "Open Door Series." Look it up on Wikipedia.
Apparently it's an Irish series aimed at improving adult literacy. The novellas must meet certain parameters: limited number of words, limited vocabulary. No wonder the book was woefully simple and lacked depth, and no wonder no one has ever heard of it before. Keyes is always an enjoyable read, but this time she fell short. I think she could have done more even within those parameters. For such a short novella (even as far as novellas go, this was VERY truncated), there wasn't even a particularly powerful message. Now I see why, but it still could have had more of an impact than it did. I wish someone had addressed this in previous reviews. It's really not meant to be a "short, powerful message" book -- rather, it's a "short, easy-to-read, adult-literacy" book, almost like a children's book. Also, Keyes ripped off ideas from some of her other books -- which also makes sense, considering that the target audience is unlikely to read her other books.
It should not cost nearly as much as it does, but it's an interesting read for a Keyes fan, I guess. That's the best I can say about it.
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 31, 2010 08:00:08
No comments:
Post a Comment