Book Review: The Architect

And now for something completely different…

We’ve gone from the sublime to the ridiculous…or from flowery prose to gritty suspense…from artistic beauty to a psychological thriller.  Or something like that.  But, seriously, it’s about an architect for crying out loud.  How could I not read it??

To be completely honest, I checked this book out last summer.  And probably renewed it at least once.  Ieven started reading it.  But, unfortunately, I never finished it.  Or at least I don’t think I did.  Took me close to 200 of the 289 pages (not counting the blank ones in between chapters) to come to a part I didn’t remember reading before.  So either I finished the book in my sleep, or I got 2/3 of the way through a book and gave up.  Trust me, I realize neither possibility makes me look good.

I’ve never read any of Keith Ablow’s books before and I may never read another one, but this was certainly brain candy at its finest.  Full of cliche’ and straight-out-of-Hollywood dialogue, this book was neither challenging nor enlightening.  But it was fun.  And sometimes, that’s exactly the point.

While most of the “good guys” in the story were fairly predictable and pedantic, I found the characterization of the “bad guy” – the architect, of course – fascinating.  Not merely in the description of his professional abilities – the descriptions of the incredible structures he designed, the ability to create such beauty out of raw material,  the artistic eye that saw beyond the picture and into his clients’ souls – but also in the mind of the sociopath he was.  And though the ending was trite, it was satisfying.

So now, I think, it’s time for me to get into something meatier, something more meaningful.  No more wading in the shallow end.  It’s time to dive in and go deep.  I’ve got a whole stack of books waiting to be read and the promise of a whole week with no husband to keep me company.  Bring it on!