Bungalow 2
by Danielle Steel
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Book Reviews of Bungalow 2
Book Review: Bung - new LOW for Steel ***SPOILERS****
Summary: 2 Stars
In the interest of not beating a dead horse or only repeating the same monotony complaint other reviewers have covered - I'd rather talk about the other problems with this book. Not to say it wasn't monotonous (it was) and that alone made it a 'scan' read. A book you don't read every single word on the page but rather scan paragraphs for some dialogue or action that is doing the job of moving the story forward.
Tanya the perfect mother and wife has the perfect husband. And he encourages her to go live out her perfect fantasy in her career. Assures her he has things under control. Step one for disbelief when Steel sets this same husband up to fall into her best friends arms within three months of her being gone. My husband and I have a similar (though not perfect because it is reality) relationship as this couple. He went to work out of country for nine months and I was safe. I know without a shadow of a doubt in a reverse situation, I would not come home to find him sleeping with my best friend. Especially in such a short time span. So stop telling us it was perfect and start explaining to your reader how the marriage had actually broken down. Give us some real reasons to believe that this man would do this. Don't just make one of the main plot elements completely out of character for your characters with no reasoning. And the only reasoning to progress this plot was the big C. Really? That is the best you can do after all these years Ms Steel? Perhaps your retirement should come soon.
Furthermore, Tanya's first boyfriend didn't like kids. We all got that drilled repeatedly into our thoughts. But her kids were not kids. Not even close. They were all three in college! That is young adults. What man would be too frightened to relate to them at all? I mean he couldn't even carry on a conversation with them? This suave, debonair, classy man whom works with young actors and actresses all the time, could not make a normal conversation with two college kids when they attempted to start one? That doesn't even make sense. At all.
Predictable. Sappy. Over told. Repeated. Could forgive all those faults, might even enjoy some sap. Can not forgive how you just built a story to do everything you wanted it to do but did not build your characters or their reality into the plot at all.
Bungalow 2 is the biggest fail I've ever read from Danielle Steel. And this is sad because some of her earlier work was pure magic. But readers reading this for the first time would never be inspired to read the real Danielle Steel. I even asked myself if this was a bad ghostwriter. I can't believe the same author to give us Kalidescope and Thurston House wrote this garbage.
Book Review: Too Little Too Late
Summary: 1 Stars
Did you ever watch a movie that was so drawn out, you felt like writing the plot yourself, just to get on with it? If so, then don't bother reading this book, as it was clearly not one of Danielle Steel's best. In fact, a teenager in a creative writing class could have finished it in less time, and probably with a better twist, as this book offered no surprises and was more predictable than watching Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park.
I must have read 200 pages of how Tanya, the talented, unselfish mother and housewife preferred her average, everyday life to the glamour of Hollywood before anything happened. And Steel hinted at the turning point so much that when the expected finally occurred, the rest of the story just fell into place, offering too little too late.
Her characters were just as dull as the plot. Tanya was too perfect, her husband was too predictable, her neighbor and former best friend was too convenient and straight from a soap opera, the Hollywood men in her life were too stereotypical, and her children were too accommodating, except for Megan who was a selfish brat and the most unrealistic of them all.
Most teens, even self-centered ones, would probably be mad at their mothers for not jumping at an offer from Hollywood, instead of sulking because Mom left during their senior year. And while disgruntled teens come in handy for secondary plots, Megan's problems resolved by themselves.
It would have been better if she got pregnant by one of the actors in her mother's screenplay, or if she somehow adjusted while her more good-natured twin unexpectedly livened up the plot. But instead, Tanya's life went on in a way that turned the ups and downs of a successful career, unfaithfulness, divorce, broken romances, an Oscar win, and the finding of a new soul mate into a straight line of dull and predictable events.
Book Review: Haven't I seen this film before?
Summary: 2 Stars
Admittedly, I am a Danielle Steel fan. I first discovered her books in 1993 and have read several since then.
When I initially heard the title of the book "Bungalow 2", I began to wonder if I had suddenly missed out on "Bungalow 1". Obviously, after reading more into the storyline, I discovered this title refers to the "on location" set that the lead character, Tanya Harris, has left her family for. A devoted wife and mother, Tanya is branching out from her San Francisco suburb and taking on Hollywood's grit and grime to create the screenplay she's always dreamed of.
The book meanders a bit, but eventually fleshes itself out around Chapter 10. The irony of the matter seems to lie in the character, Tanya's previous occupation: an author of short stories. It seems Danielle should've channeled her main character's past to create a tighter, leaner, and overall stronger piece. I almost became too bored to finish the story altogether!
You won't see any TV movies from what ultimately came across as a romantic "mad libs" of sorts. Replace these names and faces and you have every other Danielle Steel book she's written before. They're eating caviar and replacing old romances with newfound ones.
The problem here seems to stem from the lack of depth overall. Plot is repeated, ad nauseam, to the point where you're mentally tired of the characters' life and plight. Steel chooses to use tears and repetition to endear you to the protagonist instead of facts, dialogue and detail. Even when she does tend use detail, it streams along in meandering paragraphs that easily gloss over specifics.
This rambling piece of literature is definitely not one of Danielle Steel's best works.
Book Review: Worst book ever
Summary: 1 Stars
I only gave it a star because it wouldn't let me give 0 stars.
I know one doesn't read romance novels for sophisticated plots and intricate character development, but...
This is the most boring romance novel ever. The first half of the book just talks about how much she loves her life, how good-looking everyone is, how rich they are, how they never have any fights, how they get along beautifully, how the children never misbehave, etc.
Then the husband bangs the next door neighbor and dumps her, and no one seems to mind.
She finally meets The One in the last chapter.
Boring.
More annoyingly, is they keep talking about how sophisticated and intelligent she is, and yet never show us how sophisticated and intelligent she is. There's no witty dialogue or banter... not even the cheesy kind most romances provide you with. They don't even tell you much about what she is writing, what it is about. They just tell you it is very sophisticated and deep.
Boring. This book sucked. There are no good sex scenes, either, to make up for the lack of plot.
Book Review: what a fantasy
Summary: 3 Stars
A suburban housewife on the brink of an empty nest is coerced into taking a job as a Hollywood screenwriter which includes a 2-bedroom bungalow at a luxury hotel, a limo and driver, room service, a jetted tub, cashmere bathrobes, TiVO, and a kitchenette stocked with all her favorite snacks PLUS she eventually wins an academy award along with the man of her dreams. If this isn't escapist fiction I don't know what is. It's the first Danielle Steel I've read in more than 30 years so I can't compare it to her other books, but I was surprised at how sloppy the writing was considering what a successful writer Steel is. Continuity lapses and blatant repetition were somewhat annoying, but it was still an enjoyable read. The dialog was smart and believable. I also liked that the details of the lovemaking were left to the imagination--no graphic sex scenes here. The outcome is predictable and the whole thing is more than a little contrived. But oh what a beautiful fantasy. If you are looking for serious reading, don't bother. But if you are in the mood for an unlikely daydream, enjoy--I sure did.