Customer Reviews: Read 28 more reviews...
 Easy read, not thought provoking August 28, 2008
I was looking forward to this book but was disappointed. I found it slow and a little dreary. Very little happens. Not even a great love story. So much of the book was taken up on the boat to India, I kept wondering if they were ever going to get there. After reading so many other gripping books recently, I felt hard done by. I perservered and it had a pleasant ending, although somewhat predictable. Very easy to read but not exciting.
 Average! August 26, 2008
I have to agree with some of the other reviews in that this book isn't brilliant by ANY stretch of the imagination but neither do I think it is rubbish. I have to say I found the end a bit frustrating - some of the descriptions of things were getting tedious and the plot with Guy Glover was really unnecessary. I felt his character was pointless and the book would have been much better had the author focussed more on Tor & Rose. It is as though the author had run out of steam at the end and just wanted to get it finished.. However if you enjoy a beach book / easy read this may be a good one to take away.
Good til the end August 21, 2008
It took me a long time to read this book (due to work stuff), and despite it being very different to the type of book I normally read, I found it quite absorbing. Until the end that is....maybe I should have given more thought to what I expected from the end, as I felt a little disappointed. The story offers a wonderful, generous insight into the lifes of these three women and the language is excellent in parts - particularly when describingthe complex relationships of the characters.
Viva Holloway starts off as a brilliant heroine, but I just feel she ends up massively compromising all she believes in a slightly grand fashion...
 east of the sun August 19, 2008
This book i happen to pick as a holiday read, it was so captivating that i finshed it in 2 days i couldnt put in down! Being half indian i felt that i was there a times,beautifully written i enjoyed it very much didnt want it to end.I am going to read more of Julia's books.
End of Empire August 18, 2008
An enthralling read, fulfilling all the promise of its rear cover. The story follows the experiences of its three young ladies, maybe giving slight preference to Viva who has more soul searching to do than the others. Julia Gregson writes with a nice angle on the psychology of her characters, uncovering their joys and insecurities.
The book is all the more interesting for being set in a period of India's history not usually favoured by writers, the late 1920s. This gives the story an edge which is exploited in the Guy Glover episodes, where attitudes to mental illness and cultural tensions provide thematic issues propelling Viva's story along.
Life in colonial India in the dying days of British Rule is looked at from various angles. This intrigues the reader and stirs a deeper consideration of the life the girls have been plunged as well as the attitudes of the entrenched Brits, those who wanted to do charitable work, and some of the Indians.
Themes do not overwhelm story, and the end is satisfying without too much sentiment. It's one of those where you feel you've got to know three new friends and have enjoyed the experience. A good read.
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