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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Anyone read this recently?  I liked the part that took place in the 1800s, but really felt like the modern-day story line fell flat.  [b]I felt like most of the interactions were forced to make a point, as opposed to having any real feeling or depth.  [/b]

Curious to hear what others thought.[/quote]

This is my overall impression of Brooks as a writer—one-dimensional characters who are just there to advance an agenda. The thing is, I often agree with her agenda. If Horse is anti-racism, I’m all in.[b] But these points could be made so much better by working them around complex characters and plotlines. I found People of the Book almost unreadable, for example.[/b] Brooks began as a journalist and she hasn’t learned the novelist’s skill of showing not telling. [/quote]

Which characters/plotlines were one dimensional in People of the Book?

The only thing I didn't like about POTB was the ending. That felt contrived.  
[/quote]

It’s been a while since I read it and I gave my copy away immediately, but as far as I can remember…. Most of all, the Christian mom, who was totally and unrealistically infantile and histrionic. The Muslim pederast (or whatever sexual misconduct he was into).  The priest who actually saved the book in question, who was so many bad things I lost count (alcoholic, smelly, dumb, a few more I can’t remember, but it just never ended in service of Brooks’ point that he was in denial). I just kept rolling my eyes. This isn’t character development, it’s cartoons. I was so disappointed because I wanted to be enchanted with a book about books. [/quote]

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