Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Book Review: The Silent Land by Graham Joyce


From the back of the book: When Jake and Zoe are buried under a flash avalanche while skiing in the French Pyrenees, they miraculously dig their way out from under the snow—only to discover the world they knew has been overtaken by an eerie and absolute silence. With their phones cut off, and the village evacuated of every living soul, the young married couple begin to witness strange, unsettling events neither one can ignore. And as the days wear on, they are forced to confront frightening possibilities as they attempt to survive and escape the silent land they now inhabit.
 .....................................................................

A lot of people look at me like I have three heads when I say that I think Stephen King is one of the best writers of our generation. I know why--his writing is graphic, and sometimes it's hard to get past that graphic horror. BUT. The man can write. If you haven't already read 11/22/63, please read it. It's one of a very small handful of books that I can read over and over. But back to the point--I respect Stephen King as an author and a literary critic, and he's recommended several Graham Joyce novels. So, when I saw that our local library actually had several Graham Joyce novels (the stock at my local library is abysmal), I decided to give The Silent Land a try first, only because I liked the cover best. I totally love a good book cover design, and this is one of the best I've seen in awhile. Yep, I went there...I judge books by their covers.

Anyway, it took me a bit to really get into the book--I felt like I was stuck on the first chapter for days. But once I did get into it, it was a quick read that I really enjoyed. I hadn't read anything about The Silent Land prior to reading it, but I think that it's probably been marketed as a supernatural thriller, which I would say is not exactly correct. I figured out the "twist" easily, and I think a good portion of readers will be able to do the same. Although there are elements of suspense and drama, it's really about Jake and Zoe, and their relationship--the secrets, the special moments, the frustration, and the love between them in the midst of a very Twilight Zone esque situation. And it was that relationship part that I really loved the most. It was that part that made me still enjoy every minute of the book even after I figured out the twist. 

Also? There's an appropriate conclusion. Hallelujah on toast! Overall? Best book I've read in 2013 so far:


10 comments:

  1. Your recommendations are 90% of my reading list.... I have loved every book you have liked a lot. Now if I can just sit down and read one of the many I have added and not moved on with... How do you do it?

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  2. I needed a good rec! I just finished Dark Places by Gillian Flynn in 2 days. Her books can totally suck me in.

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  3. I needed a good rec! I just finished Dark Places by Gillian Flynn in 2 days. Her books can totally suck me in.

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  4. You know...all your recommendations go on my Amazon wish list ;) And every time I need a new book, I check out your blog! Just so you know...these reviews don't go unnoticed!

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  5. Yay another book to add to my TBR! Thanks!

    I agree with you about Stephen King. He's an awesome writer and I just love his stories. I'm not at all a re-reader, but I could very much re-read 11/22/63 and plan to. It would definitely come with me if I were stranded on a deserted island :)

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  6. YAY! love these reviews! Adding this to my list!

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  7. Love these reviews! adding this to my list!

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  8. Hi, Meredith! I haven't read much King because the one and only of his books that I read when I was a teenager was Cujo. It scared me so bad, I couldn't go there again! Maybe I should try him again, eh?
    Anyway, I went to look at your list of books that you've read and after a quick perusal, didn't see any of Dean Koontz's there. I would recommend that you try his "Odd Thomas" series of books to start with. Koontz is a very talented writer and he has an interesting sense of humor which comes out in all his books. I really love them and there is always a strong understanding of good and evil and evil is always evil. It is never portrayed as something that we can cuddle up to and ignore the reality of what it truly is.
    I'm from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, but right now I live in San Rafael, Guatemala due to my husband's job. I read a lot and I love my Kindle because I can download books to my heart's content. I'm going to look more closely at your book lists and see what new things I can find to get lost in.
    I came to your site via Ruth Simon's GraceLaced book study of "Because He Loves Me". There was a link to your blog from there.
    Thanks for being out here in the blogosphere!
    Dios te bendiga, Connie in Guate

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi, Meredith! I haven't read much King because the one and only of his books that I read when I was a teenager was Cujo. It scared me so bad, I couldn't go there again! Maybe I should try him again, eh?
    Anyway, I went to look at your list of books that you've read and after a quick perusal, didn't see any of Dean Koontz's there. I would recommend that you try his "Odd Thomas" series of books to start with. Koontz is a very talented writer and he has an interesting sense of humor which comes out in all his books. I really love them and there is always a strong understanding of good and evil and evil is always evil. It is never portrayed as something that we can cuddle up to and ignore the reality of what it truly is.
    I'm from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, but right now I live in San Rafael, Guatemala due to my husband's job. I read a lot and I love my Kindle because I can download books to my heart's content. I'm going to look more closely at your book lists and see what new things I can find to get lost in.
    I came to your site via Ruth Simon's GraceLaced book study of "Because He Loves Me". There was a link to your blog from there.
    Thanks for being out here in the blogosphere!
    Dios te bendiga, Connie

    ReplyDelete
  10. So I just finished reading this book and I loved it! Great recommendation, thank you!! Hope you all are doing well!

    ReplyDelete

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