The Writing on the Wall: A Novel
by Lynne Sharon Schwartz
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Book Summary Information
Author: Lynne Sharon SchwartzEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-05-16
ISBN: 1582433003
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Counterpoint
Book Reviews of The Writing on the Wall: A Novel
Book Review: Great Book.... but didn't like the ending
Summary: 4 Stars
This book was excellent and I had a hard time putting it down. Schwartz took the setting of September 11 as a back-drop for a fascinating story about the narrator's very troubled life. It was very interesting to hear about September 11 from a New Yorker's viewpoint, and visualize how different individuals coped. But what was even more intriguing to me was learning about Renata's (the narrator) life story. The author nicely weaves Renata's history in between chapters from the current day. The narrator is quite lovable with her quirky way of using foreign languages to explain certain concepts and her various folders with different life stories saved up in them. (SPOILER ALERT!) Honestly what keeps me from giving it 5 stars is the lack of a neat and tidy ending. The reader is just left wondering what happened to Renata's niece and whether it truly is the girl she found wandering around after September 11. The author leaves open the possibility that Renata very well could have found her, but then just leaves it at that. At the ending of the book - although equipped with information enough to pursue further investigation into the girl's true identity - Renata just seems to let it drop. It aggravated me so much that I searched out whether the book has a sequel. Perhaps that is something the author plans down the line, but not having such an essential question answered by the time I finished the book is frustrating. I realize that perhaps the author meant to leave us wondering or left it to the reader to make their own conclusion. I realize some readers might even like this type of ending. But for me personally, it just felt like the story wasn't quite finished.
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