Sunday 31 May 2015

The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton

OH MY GAWD!!! I HAVE FINALLY FINISHED THIS!!!!

Excuse the caplocks. I have been struggling through this book since January. It and I were not destined to be together. And like far to many people out there in the world, I was not prepared to give up (it also had something to do with the fact that I need to read a book based on a true story for the reading challenge I am doing and I was not going to give up and have to start another. Besides, I bought this one - I don't have another book based on a true story that I haven't read.).

Although I don't mind reading historical accounts, this one had the feel of a wikipedia entry on most occasions. There were parts that I did enjoy reading, and there were some things I did find interesting, but on the whole, I put off picking up this book at every opportunity. Even setting exam papers seemed more appealing. Having said that though, once I got reading, it was less painful.  Especially when I began speed reading it just to get done.

I would only recommend this to someone who has a special interest in The Great Train Robbery. Crichton did go to a lot of trouble to research the robbery and used court transcripts etc. to put it together. It seemed to be a very thorough account of a very cocky robbery. Other than that, perhaps a reader interested in England in the mid 1800s would find it interesting.

This is the 28th book I have read for the 2015 TBR Pile Reading challenge.
I gave this 2 very generous stars on Goodreads. While I don't think this book was for me, I think there are some people out there who would really enjoy it - those who like reading encyclopedias for fun (I am related to one. If you disagree with this rating, blame him.)

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