I found Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews
intriguing and annoying. It’s a normal length book but at times I felt I
was slogging through the Gulag. Then other times it was fast paced and
interesting. I kept reading, skimming, reading because I wanted to know what
the heck happens to the girl.
It’s present day Russia and Dominika is recruited to be a
“Red Sparrow” – trained seductress, spy, and assigned to American CIA officer
Nate Nash. That’s all well and good. I liked her story line and I liked Nate’s
. I liked their interactions and what ultimately transpires between them.
However, there was a lot of other background material with a lot of Russian
names that were damn confusing. Hence, the skims at times.
The writer is a former CIA officer and obviously knows his
stuff…maybe too much. To me, there was almost too much about many of the
other horrible Russian agents, and then the annoying cat and mouse games. I am
committing sacrilege but it’s like reading John Le Carre (always praised by
critics). I say – Jesus, get on with the story, man……
The cool things about Dominika is she sees in colors –It’s
like an extra sensory skill and that helps her cull out trouble and evil from
decent and good. Nate has a purple aura – he’s a “good” guy.
The movie starred Jennifer Lawrence. It got so-so reviews,
but after reading the book I’m now curious for it to show up on Netflix. I
wonder if they cut out many of the annoying bits and hit the key plot points.
A friend lent me this book, so I got to read it for free. That’s
the best….so if you think you are interested, go find Red Sparrow
at your local library. Da! And a vodka shot for you
A very honest review Joanne, it's annoying when at times the books looks to be good and then not so good.
ReplyDeleteYvonne.
I agree. Especially when parts are really good, and then you have to skim to get to them
DeleteShame it had parts you needed to skim. Doesn't it make you wonder when a book like that becomes a movie while there are really great books with good pacing that never become a movie?
ReplyDeleteyep - you captured a Hollywood problem. I think they are doing better with Netflix shows, etc.
DeleteHi Joanne - I've been reading a lot about Russia recently ... but having worked with Eastern Europe the scenarios don't worry me too much. I'd like to read this one too - though I was trying to move away from Russia!! Thanks for the write up - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteas long as you know to skim when things get a tad boring
DeleteWhen I was young, I read a lot of lengthy Russian novels, and I felt the same way about them. The nugget of the story was brilliant, but OY! the details were about as riveting as reading the "begats" in the Bible.
ReplyDeleteHave a glorious weekend, kiddo.
you made me laugh out loud on this comment. Perfect.
DeleteSounds like one to avoid for me. The movie is supposedly no better, if not more hum drum.
ReplyDeleteconsider this my public service. Read at your own risk
DeleteI'm not a big fan of spy stories, so I probably won't seek this one out. I also don't like having to wade through tedious details to find the good parts.
ReplyDeletethen I've saved you!
Delete