Book Review - Eleanor and Abel

Eleanor and Abel by Anette Sanford


My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars


While a cute read, easy to finish in a sitting and uncomplicated - this is not one of my favorite books. Its apparent that the writer's traditional genre is short stories. The concept of the book - finding love even at an old age is a good one. However the writing is mediocre. The wry wit does not make up for the lack of character development. The storyline felt like a short story that had outgrown its bounds and at one point there is a desperate attempt to create conflict by adding an additional character, which only served to water the plot down further.


I actually read this for a book club formed by Wentworth Miller fans. He had mentioned the book in an interview. I don't remember the exact wording, but the gist was that it would make a good movie. I do not disagree, the concept is there and the basic characters all exist in such a way that someone could option this book and make a fantastic heartwarming romance of it. It would make a better movie than book. I wonder how someone goes about optioning it...?


Anyway......
Some of my friends really enjoyed the book for the pure pleasure of reading. It is not that I did not enjoy it at all. Its is that I could never get past the 70 year old heroine seemingly having the emotional maturity of a 14 year old.