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Who recommends: Lori, Julie, JW
Who discommends: Shelley
HEART OF GOLD by Sharon Shinn. Another recommend. It's a tough topic, about racial and class differences. The Indigo group is matriarchal, and have three different castes. The men in the high caste are just beginning to do things like go to college and have careers before marriage. The Guldens are generally poorer, being crowded out by the Indigo group, and are patriarchal. The hero is an Indigo male and a scientist, the heroine, an Indigo female whose grandfather had gone to live with the Guldens. Her mother was a rebellious Indigo of good family, and her lover is a rebel Gulden. It's interesting, because both sides have definite negative aspects. The wealthy Indigo females arrange marriages for their daughters and keep their sons in a more familiar (to us) female role. The Guldens give their women no rights; a woman without a man to care for her is in big trouble. The book was a bit slow to catch on, and I have some questions about the background of the world, but it did get moving, and, in the end, worked quite well for me. I guess in some ways the racial/class issues seemed a bit simplistic, at least to start.--Lori (26 Apr 00)
I am having trouble with Shinn's HEART OF GOLD. I appreciate her handling of the social issues, but am not connecting enough with the main characters to make the novel work for me. I am putting it aside for awhile to see if starting it again later will help alleviate the feeling that I am slugging trough it.--Shelley (28 Apr 00)
Boy I hate to do this, but after seeing Shelley's note (above) I have to admit ... I just finished HEART OF GOLD and was disappointed. I'm not really sure why ... :( I couldn't get into the characters either and I think the social/race issue bothered me. Something just did't work for me. I was bummed. I'm not saying don't buy it or read it. We all know not everything works for everyone. I'll be anxious to hear other views.--Julie (29 Apr 00)
I think this was one of the first books I managed this year. A fast, enjoyable read. Some romance, but not as intense as in some of her other books.--JW (24 Jan 01)
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