Delicate Condition discussion

What are your thoughts on this novel? I heard a lot of reviewers raving about it. Once again, I didn't see what all the fuss was about.

Pretty bad. Two-dimensional characters working their way through a contrived and derivative plot. The ending is rushed and leaves too many loose ends. For example, Anna's most terrifying experiences are simply glossed over as "hallucinations," but there is never an explanation as to why she should be having hallucinations. I especially hated the hospital-room discussion at the end in which the author Explains It All while throwing in preachy digressions about how badly the health care system treats women.

But my biggest beef is the timeline. Surely I'm not the only reader who takes issue with Anna having a 12- to 15-month pregnancy? Glance back over the story and you'll see that she becomes pregnant in autumn. In chapter 27 “it was mid-April, and then June,” and her due date is “just a month away.” But then it gets cold and snowy again; and when Anna leaves for the hospital in labor she opens the door to a "gust of cold winter air."

Inconsistencies in books infuriate me, and this is one of the worst I've ever encountered. Would love to hear other peoples' thoughts.

Sharon--I definitely degree about the 'Explain it All' part at the end. That always puts me off in novels. Why bother with the rest of the book if you're going to do that? There were several events in this novel that matched some in the novel Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin. That's just not right.

Sharon - the inconsistency (or maybe implausibility?) that bugged me the most was the bodyguard's work schedule. He appeared to have worked round the clock and literally never slept. He stayed watch outside during the day and then at night Anna said he 'stayed in the car'. So that means he either A) stayed alert and awake at night to keep watch on the house and never slept or he... B) slept in the car? Which also makes no sense as that'd be terrible on your back and then no one would be watching the house at night. I thought the book was fun and different but was written quite poorly.