Savages

Rating:
Summary: Could not put it down!
Review: Follow the cardboard corporate wives as they hack through jungle-- becoming savages in a savage land! The prologue was funny in a groaner kind of way. Then we move on to meet the ice queen, the athlete, the slut, the nice one, and the 'career' woman. There's another female character early on who the others think of as a 'female male' (apparently she goes so far as to feel unapologetic about liking her job), but she's killed off early. Actually, it's a rather ruthless little romp. A great deal of people we've only just been introdued to are hacked off the plot at the beginning. This was probably a bad choice -- none of the dead characters were interesting or likable (not that 'our heroines' are either, mind you) and the reader is left mostly bewildered as to why we went through the rigimorale of having chunks of the story told from their point of view at all. The depiction of the native population is cringe-worthy. Who said this was the best book they'd ever read? What on earth have you been reading? I have a friend who studies romance 'literature' and is endlessly fascinated by the messages these books give to women both overtly (escapism, romance, etc.) and covertly (women who like sex, like Suzy in this book, are products of messed up childhoods and don't come by their desires honestly -- it's a sham! She's really a scared little girl inside, as in fact, are all the women in this book). Is that what you mean, that it's interesting as a deconstructive exercise? I probably won't be reading this book a second time or Conran's other 'blockbusters' for the first time. I don't normally review books at Amazon, but I was frankly stunned by how many people gave this thing high marks and praised it heavily. Even though parts of this book were funny in a read aloud and laugh sort of way there's not enough to justify the 50 cents I paid for this thing used.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating
Review: From the back cover I quickly realised that this book is a MUST! and I was not mistaken. From the second chapter, you start feeling the peril into which the women will find themselves in, amongst the lush tropical vegetation and the unbearable heat. It is a story which keeps you awake till the end, having sometimes grisly details which make your skin rise. Hope that this book have a sequel or at least a similar story will be invented. Excellent book!!!

Rating:
Summary: Burried Treasure
Review: I found this book at the grocery store in the cheap isle. ... That was a STEEL!! In more ways than one. I thought it looked interesting. And I was sooo right. I couldn't put this very big, very long book down. I was entangled with the lives of these women. It embedded itself in my soul. I hope Ms. Conran new that she has a treasure here. I would say they need to make a movie out of it...but they could NEVER do it justice. I am a future screenwriter/director. And I would have to make it at LEAST a mini series. But even then....not even Speilburg could do it. Anyhow...this isn't a suggestion, its a MUST! You have to read it. It will be well worth your time.

Rating:
Summary: Please, you must read this ONE!
Review: I have read this book 4 times and I am buying another copy today! This book should have been made into a movie YEARS AGO! The setting is even more realistic today, with so many Corporate trips it is easy to imagine these women on this island. Wonderful book!

Rating:
Summary: Stunningly realistic!
Review: I just finished Savages for the second time. The first time was about ten years ago and my children (now grown) remember me reading exciting parts of the book to them. This time I would have had to read the whole book to them. I work for a company where we are taken on staff trips. I can recognize each chacter in the book and on staff. I love this book and would so enjoy a sequel to it.

Rating:
Summary: Thrilling
Review: It's been sometime since I've read this book but I remember it well. Both my mother who is 72 and myself have read it and I am now recommending it to my cousin in Germany to read. This story revolves around the wives of several businessmen who accompany them on a business trip to a remote location somewhere on an island. I don't remember where. The husbands end up being murdered by a group of terrorists attempting to take over the country and the wives end up trying to survive on this island by themselves. This was wonderful, a real page turner!

Rating:
Summary: LT's review of Savages by Shirley Conran
Review: The book is a real page turner if you like adverture and suspense. It takes place on an island off the coase of Australia and puts the reader in an environment of contrasting culture, modern day society clashing with jungle savagery. It brings out how modern people can revert to a savage to survive. On the down side (if there is one), I would like to see how the experiences change the lives of the survivors. There are many stories that could be written from the plots and sub-plots to which Shirley Conran exposes the reader. All in all its a book that will appeal to the feminist or the hard core combat reader. Thanks for the chance to express my views.

Rating:
Summary: Slow Start But Good Story
Review: This book was a little slow at the start but the story was very good once they were on the island. The ending was too abrupt for my taste and I would like to see Ms. Conran write a sequel. I read this many years ago and wanted it to continue past the ending to see how their lives would be changed by the experiences they endured and survived. Perhaps it is childish but I for one like to see the guilty parties punishied for their actions. Ms. Conran, why don't you think about writing a sequel?

Rating:
Summary: This is the best book I have ever read!!
Review: When I first started reading Savages, I didn't think I would even finish it, because the first part of the book was a little slow. Wow. I am so glad I kept reading. This has got to be my all-time favorite book. I read the book more than two years ago, and I still think about the characters and their situations to this day. I haven't read a book as intriguing since I read Savages, and I doubt I will be able to find anything remotely as intense. I wish there were more stories like this one and as well-written as Shirley Conran has done.