In a Perfect World
October 29, 2009
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Posted by Heather
In a Perfect World
In a Perfect World
Written by Laura Kasischke
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial; 1 edition (October 6, 2009)
Language: English
It seems like I’ve been reading a lot of end-of-the-world/dystopian type novels this year. I’m not sure why, other than I love the freaking heck out of them! I guess there is something appealing about reading about people living in the face of the end or difficult circumstances or things of that ilk. It’s just fun, people! Crazy!
Kasischke’s book, In A Perfect World, in another in a proud line of such end of the world tales. Jiselle is finally the bride, after being the bridesmaid six times. She has married pilot Mark Dorn – handsome pilot, widower, and father of three. Jiselle gets to quit her job as a flight attendant and leave behind all the irritation and grumbling from the job. Ever since the outbreak of the Phoenix flu, passengers have become even harder to handle (and put up with) than ever. She moves into Mark’s beautiful log cabin and begins to help him raise his three precious children.
Marriage, and instant motherhood, are not all they are cracked up to be. Jiselle finds she is frequently alone with Mark out on flights and she’s lonely. She thinks the children hate her. And the Phoenix flu, once thought of as a passing threat, will change everything about the life Jiselle thought she had into something more life altering – and threatening – than she ever dreamed.
I am sooooo close to finishing this one. I would have finished last night, but we HAD TO carve pumpkins – daughter’s emphasis. I feel that I can give my opinion on the novel at this point though. As a parent whose children have had the DREADED swine flu, I can say that this is one freaky read. The basic abandonment of America by the global community was unsurprising and saddening. The descent of Jiselle’s own life is depressing when used with this pandemic as a counter point. This novel is more than a dystopian look at a potential future for our world; Jiselle’s struggle for her identity when faced with the new life she has chosen is also sobering. It is a power look at the choices women face when entering an already established family especially in those situations when the children dislike the new interference to their lives. The family dynamic is the main focus of this story and, even though I feel like the Phoenix flu angle takes away from that main focus at times, it still makes for a compelling and interesting story. If you like a story that focuses on the difficulties of the dysfunctional family dynamic and learning about yourself in new and challenging endeavors with perhaps a little bit of apocalyptic, end of the world as we know it type stuffs, I recommend you grab a copy of In A Perfect World.
From what I hear and what I’ll know in a few chapters, there is a somewhat ambiguous ending, which are either hit or miss with me, but wanted to forewarn you. If you don’t like those type of endings, you may want to think twice. I know some readers love them and some hate them. I can go either way and will probably update this review with a note once I finish it.
Thanks to the publisher for supplying my copy of this book, to TLC Blog Tours for their general AWESOMENESS and you, for reading! To see other reviews of In A Perfect World, check out these other sites:
Monday, October 12th – Starting Fresh
Wednesday, October 14th – BookNAround
Thursday, October 15th – Book Club Classics!
Monday, October 19th – A Reader’s Respite
Friday, October 23rd – The Book Nest
Monday, October 26th – Galleysmith
Monday, November 2nd – Word Lily
Tuesday, November 3rd – Books on the Brain
Thursday, November 5th – Write Meg
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Categories: Books
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Tags: 2009, blog tour, book review, Book Reviews, Books, dystopian, in a perfect world, laura kasischke, tlc
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Family dynamics and a dystopian spin – sounds like a great read!
And reading it now would be pretty scary since my province has just been hit by the second wave of H1N1 – people are going absolutely nuts. If a person sneezes in public you can see and feel the terrified glances and instant tension.
.-= Joanne´s last blog ..Giveaway ♦ It’s Beginning To Feel A Lot Like … Halloween! =-.
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I’ve been reading a lot of dystopia as well, lately, maybe it’s the impending gloom of winter? :O) This sounds fun but I ma save it for a day when I’ve been less inundated with scary, end of the world ideas!
.-= Pam´s last blog ..BTT: Blurbage. =-.
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This sounds like one that both my husband and I would enjoy!
.-= Kathy´s last blog ..Review: Dead Until Dark =-.
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This sounds like a book that I would enjoy. Thanks for the great review too.
.-= diane´s last blog ..168 – The Time of My Life; Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi =-.
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Too funny. I love dytopian type novels as well. They are just so fun! Which sounds odd.
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I really want to read this one too. I’ve also been on a dystopian kick lately. I’m not sure what it is about them either. In a strange way, I think they give us hope. Our country is going through quite a bit right now, and reading books like this allows us to see that things could be much worse!
.-= Jenn’s Bookshelves´s last blog ..Review & Blog Tour: The Cutting by James Hayman =-.
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Ooh! This one sounds YUMMY! Totally fabulous and like one I really need to read.
.-= Andi´s last blog ..Life Sucks, by Jessica Abel =-.
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Sadly, I really disliked this book. I love dystopias, but felt this one was badly written and inflammatory. I didn’t buy the characterization.
.-= Amanda´s last blog ..Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld =-.
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I’ve been all over the dystopian/end-of-the-world ficton lately, too! This is the fourth (or fifth?) novel along that vein I’ve read in the past few months… I think I need to take a breather after this one, though.
I’m more than halfway through In A Perfect World in preparation of my own tour date next week, and it’s totally freaking me out! Kasischke does a remarkable job of juxtaposing all the chaos in the world with the chaos in Jiselle’s own life. And you’re right — one of the scariest things about the novel is the harsh anti-American sentiment. Yikes! I’ll probably finish this weekend… great review!
.-= Meg´s last blog ..Random things that make me happy =-.
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I’m glad you’re enjoying the book, Heather! Thanks for telling us what you think of it so far.
I’m totally going to get my hands on this book because I think I would really like it.
Thanks for being on this tour! Great review for not having quite finished the book yet.
.-= trish´s last blog ..Horrible Dare Accepted and Declared Completed =-.
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I love me some dystopic/post-apocalyptic novels! This one sound right up my alley. It’s not a YA book, is it? Haven’t seen it on the shelves, but that doesn’t mean much. It’s getting crazy busy at work and I can’t keep up with all the product coming into the store. I’m definitely adding this to my list.
.-= Les in NE´s last blog ..The Birthing House =-.
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This sounds really good; given the current scare, this is probably one of the more believable dystopian themes I’ve seen.
.-= Lisa´s last blog .."Heart West: True Stories of Mail-Order Brides on the Frontier" =-.
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