Review: Green
She was born in poverty, in a dusty village under the equatorial sun. She does not remember her mother, she does not remember her own name--her earliest clear memory is of the day her father sold her to the tall pale man. In the Court of the Pomegranate Tree, where she was taught the ways of a courtesan...and the skills of an assassin...she was named Emerald, the precious jewel of the Undying Duke's collection of beauties.
She calls herself Green.
The world she inhabits is one of political power and magic, where Gods meddle in the affairs of mortals. At the center of it is the immortal Duke's city of Copper Downs, which controls all the trade on the Storm Sea. Green has made many enemies, and some secret friends, and she has become a very dangerous woman indeed.
Acclaimed author Jay Lake has created a remarkable character in "Green," and evokes a remarkable world in this novel. Green and her struggle to survive and find her own past will live in the reader's mind for a long time after closing the book.
Nauseating, gross, disgusting, sick, violent, pointless, these were among some many words I used while listening to this horrible audiobook. I rarely say this about a book but this book was awful. I kept thinking it would get better if I just gave it a chance. Nope, worse actually. As I continued on, I became even more grossed out, in fact, I even made vomiting motions as certain screens were described. I wanted to take a shower when I was finished with it just to try to wash away all the terrible things this book bombarded me with.
Where did I go wrong when picking out this book to listen to? The description sounds pretty cool, right. Girl pulled from poverty to become a powerful female force to be reckoned with. Sounds like my type of book. Unfortunately not. Although, Green may truly be a force to be reckoned with, she is a terrible character. She has no soul, only revenge in her heart. It never felt like she grew, only became a more skilled fighter and slightly less irritable.
Accompanying her revenge, she also has frequent meaningless sex with multiple women, including a women who resembles more of a panther than a human – those sex scenes were often the ones that induced the vomit motion I mentioned earlier. I don’t particularly have a problem reading about sex but these scenes involved a 15 year old girl having sex with older women, as in the narrator used granny voices for these women type of old. Gross – so no my thing.
This book is not just about sex, there is plenty of violence and killing in it as well. Green is trained to be a fighter at an early age and as she grew older her training is further developed to the point where at 15 she can fight with some of the best female fighters/killers. The author goes to great lengths to develop her character and allow of years to pass as she improves on her skills. As a result, it was easy to believe that Green was capable of doing all the things.
The author does create a very elaborate world and the details are often intricately written. My interest was piqued at the beginning of the book and I could very much envision myself in the character’s shoes. However, that was only in the beginning. The only compliant I can give this book is that the author created very detailed characters, countries, and experiences.
After awhile, Green became physically exhausting for me. There was no good, no joy, no substance, no anything that would have redeemed this story. There were many times where I was wanted to stop listening and if it hadn’t been for my 2012 book challenge goal, I would have stopped. No way was I going to let this book take up so much of my time and not finish it. Overall, I deeply regret making this purchase and cannot recommend this book.
By now, you’ve probably figured out that I’m crazy about books. For me, reading is a much needed break from my hard working 8 to 5 job. When I’m not reading or thinking about reading, you will find me working for a non-profit by day and spending time with my family (my husband and dog) by night. I also enjoy running, walking my dog, movies, music, and coffee.
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