Search This Blog









2023 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (2)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas
- California (12)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (3)
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (1)
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (1)
- Illinois
- Indiana (1)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (3)
- Maryland (2)
- Massachusetts (3)
- Michigan (2)
- Minnesota (1)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri (1)
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada
- New Hampshire (1)
- New Jersey
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (11)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (3)
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania (1)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (4)
- Utah (1)
- Vermont (3)
- Virginia
- Washington (3)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (2)
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.* (1)
International:
- Australia (3)
- Canada (7)
- Chile (1)
- England (21)
- France (2)
- Ireland (2)
-Italy (1)
- Scotland (2)
- South Korea (1)
- Sweden (1)
- The Netherlands (2)
-Vietnam (1)





2023 Build Your Library Reading Challenge







Wednesday, April 04, 2018
Intriguing Setting/Premise Just Not Enough in Caribbean Tale
1:00 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Tourists flock to Furnace Island, a small slice of Caribbean paradise, to soak in the sun and surf. While they appreciate a little local color on their beach vacations, visitors prefer the dark faces of those waiting on them to be rarely seen, their voices never heard. As a maid at the island's sparkling resort, Myrna Burre depends on the foreigners for her livelihood but resents them all the same. They have no clue that her home's real name is Cruffey Island and that it was named for a plantation owner who used slave labor to work his land. Not only are all the island's current residents descendants of those slaves, but the fancy resort where many of them now work is built atop the remains of the plantation that broke their ancestors' backs.

Fingerprints of Previous Owners, a debut novel by Rebecca Entel, offers a story about duality, racism, worth, and identity, enhanced by strong imagery. While I appreciate the author's careful exploration of her themes, I had a difficult time engaging with the tale itself. The characters are bland, the prose is uneven (choppy, fragmented sentences but long, dense paragraphs/chapters), and the plot meanders here, there, and everywhere. In short, the book's boring. Although the action picks up toward the end, not much happens throughout the rest of the story. The only reason I ventured beyond the first couple pages of Fingerprints of Previous Owners is because I had promised to review it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered. I still find the idea/symbolism of a hoity toity American resort built on top of a ruined slave plantation intriguing; I just wish this novel's execution had been better handled. Oh well.
(Readalikes: Hm, I can't think of anything. Can you?)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for language (a couple F-bombs, plus milder expletives), violence, sexual innuendo, and disturbing subject matter
To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of Fingerprints of Previous Owners from the generous folks at Unnamed Press via those at TLC Book Tours. Thank you!
4 comments:
Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.
P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)




Reading
Band of Sisters by Lauren Willig

Listening
Hooked: A Memoir in Crafts by Sutton Foster



Followin' with Bloglovin'



-
-
Audiobook: When in Rome7 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
The White Lady - Jacqueline Winspear12 hours ago
-
On being happy...15 hours ago
-
-
-
-
Top Ten Tuesday-Fall TBR 2.015 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
The Sands of Time 531 day ago
-
Wellness by Nathan Hill1 day ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Books Read in August 20233 days ago
-
Bookish Quote of the Day!!4 days ago
-
The Middle Ground by Jeff Ewing4 days ago
-
Westover, Tara "Educated"1 week ago
-
-
-
I have been reading...1 week ago
-
Reading Recap August 20233 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
6/25/23 Extra Ezra3 months ago
-
-
Weekly Update - What I'm Reading3 months ago
-
-
Dotty Beanie with Ears4 months ago
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?11 months ago
-
-
-
-
-

Grab my Button!



Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ▼ 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
Boring is the worst thing a book can be. Sorry this wasn't better for you!
ReplyDeleteSounds like an agenda book in the guise of a story. I hate when that happens.
ReplyDeleteToo bad the book is boring. That does make for a long read and one that's not enjoyable. :(
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts on this book for the tour.
ReplyDelete