≡ Libro Gratis Dig John Preston 9780141016382 Books

Dig John Preston 9780141016382 Books

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Dig John Preston 9780141016382 Books

This book, one I highly anticipated reading, is an unfortunate example of choreographed marketing hype. From whom...The publisher, the publishing industry, the press, colleagues? I don't know, but the novel, based on true remarkable events, is more like a self-published $0.99 bid for pay dirt than even average fiction of any genre. I am a lifelong fan of good archaeological novels, which are few and far between....an example of one of the best in recent years is The Egyptologist. I expected writing, research, characterization, and overall novelization of similar quality. The Times Literary Supplement called The Dig "a masterpiece in Chekhivian understatement." Think instead of understatement to the point of minimal substance on every level.

The setting had everything going for it -- a genuine, major archaeological discovery and subsequent huge dig in England during 1939, just as the country was entering WWII, with major archaeologist rivals racing to be part of it, yet having to work with the fragile property owner and irrelevantly, her small son. Disappointingly, the author did not step up to this plate of opportunities with the dramatic story he could have told.
I was so surprised by the weakness and superficiality of this book, I went to Wikipedia to check the event out. My advice: read the Wikipedia facts instead of "The Dig." True, the former doesn't delve into the lives, circumstances, and personalities of the several principal players, as it's not a novel. But, essentially, the novel does little more, except on the most superficial level. Moments of intriguing potential come and go. Cherry-picked minutiae suddenly appears without reason or value. The story's characters are moved from scene to scene by the author, who offers little insight into their their motivations, thoughts or reactions. A little more work goes into Peggy, one of the archaeologists, but it is tantalizingly little.

Upon finishing the book, I felt sympathy for the chief archaeological players, Stuart and Peggy Piggott, Basil Brown and Stuart Phillips who were real, complex, and very accomplished leaders in their field, and came through either as slightly dotty treasure hunters or over-ambitious academics looking to go down in history. This would have been a one star review...I gave it two stars only because I learned of an extraordinary archaeological event.


Tags : Dig [John Preston] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. In the long hot summer of 1939 Britain is preparing for war. But on a riverside farm in Suffolk there is excitement of another kind: Mrs Petty,John Preston,Dig,Penguin UK,0141016388,Fiction General,General & Literary Fiction

Dig John Preston 9780141016382 Books Reviews

Extremely disappointed. The historical story and characters deserved to be conveyed more interestingly. The narrative became so boring I skimmed much of the last third of the book.
All of the romantic allusions with none of the consumation. As though a bastard of Charles Dickens wrote a treatment for the Disney Channel.
Very well written though- that's why I hung in there hoping for one of the characters to bare her teeth.
It was an interesting story but a bit wan.
Although an interesting plot line, the writing was unimaginative. There were two many quotes like a term paper. Sad I paid $9.99 for it!
I was greatly disappointed, given a glowing WSJ published review.

It was a straight line plot that hinted at suspense when in fact there was none. The characters were not developed and the actions truncated.
Like some Greek plays, this is a story in which one feels like a good portion of the action is happening offstage. The characters do not reveal much about what they are thinking to other characters, so there seem to be many missed opportunities. Also there are historical and geographic details the reader is simply expected to know. As a reader, i felt rather left out.
The plot of this novel is firmly anchored in the historical facts relating to the incredible finds at the Sutton Hoo shipburial. This quiet, magisterially told story manages to develop characterizations that are complex, involving and moving despite their being based on real people. The drama in the story comes from the archeological discoveries (again, sourced in the real, almost unbelievable, facts). While the plot is far from being a thriller in conventional terms, and the characters are not given easy or romantic lives, the novel's realism gives it a modern resonance despite its historical setting. The writing is usually simple and direct, rising to near poetic passages. In one passage, two characters. who in another novel would fall in love and run away with each other, stroll into the night and listen to the plaintive lovecall of a Nightingale, a call which goes unanswered. I enjoyed reading this imaginatibe and believable depiction of a famous excavation and found the evocation of the people involved almost heartbreaking. This novel is an easy read, but is likely to haunt the reader long after the last page is turned.
This book, one I highly anticipated reading, is an unfortunate example of choreographed marketing hype. From whom...The publisher, the publishing industry, the press, colleagues? I don't know, but the novel, based on true remarkable events, is more like a self-published $0.99 bid for pay dirt than even average fiction of any genre. I am a lifelong fan of good archaeological novels, which are few and far between....an example of one of the best in recent years is The Egyptologist. I expected writing, research, characterization, and overall novelization of similar quality. The Times Literary Supplement called The Dig "a masterpiece in Chekhivian understatement." Think instead of understatement to the point of minimal substance on every level.

The setting had everything going for it -- a genuine, major archaeological discovery and subsequent huge dig in England during 1939, just as the country was entering WWII, with major archaeologist rivals racing to be part of it, yet having to work with the fragile property owner and irrelevantly, her small son. Disappointingly, the author did not step up to this plate of opportunities with the dramatic story he could have told.
I was so surprised by the weakness and superficiality of this book, I went to Wikipedia to check the event out. My advice read the Wikipedia facts instead of "The Dig." True, the former doesn't delve into the lives, circumstances, and personalities of the several principal players, as it's not a novel. But, essentially, the novel does little more, except on the most superficial level. Moments of intriguing potential come and go. Cherry-picked minutiae suddenly appears without reason or value. The story's characters are moved from scene to scene by the author, who offers little insight into their their motivations, thoughts or reactions. A little more work goes into Peggy, one of the archaeologists, but it is tantalizingly little.

Upon finishing the book, I felt sympathy for the chief archaeological players, Stuart and Peggy Piggott, Basil Brown and Stuart Phillips who were real, complex, and very accomplished leaders in their field, and came through either as slightly dotty treasure hunters or over-ambitious academics looking to go down in history. This would have been a one star review...I gave it two stars only because I learned of an extraordinary archaeological event.