"You'd have to be living in Nova Scotia with your head up a polar bear's bum to have avoided it."Is this supposed to be funny because the author knows there are no polar bears in NS, or did she just choose a poor example?
Overall I was entertained by this book, despite its many flaws. Thoughts: *SPOILERS*
- Too many characters. You could easily have cut out most of the minor players. Especially the Elton John-wannabe, Barty.
- Too long. The extra players made the story drag on and on longer than needed. This was a 400 page meandering book that could have been cut down to 250 and been a tighter story.
- Jesse's level of "instant love" for Annie felt, well, improbable.
- Something about Annie just seemed... off. Despite explanations of why she was not looking for love, her reactions to and rejections of Jesse just didn't seem natural.
- I did enjoy the first-person views of the painting. Giving it a voice and a personality was fun.
- Aha. The author was being self-indulgent by padding the novel with the extra characters. At least, that's what I gathered from this article. It may be fun for the author and the art world, but as a general fiction reader, I considered it extra fluff.
