Cradle and All (Alex Cross Novels) [マスマーケット]

It moved me to do something I have never done before. Write an online review to warn others. Please, please, please do not subject yourself to this book. This book is beyond awful and deserves no stars. Several things in this book trully irritated me. I have read other James Patterson books and found them entertaining and normally I like good vs. evil plot lines. However, this book was so terrible I struggled to finish it and nearly broke my 27 year rule of never leaving a book unfinished, figuring that even the most tiresome and mundane of books may have at least one redeeming quality concealed within it's pages.

First, allow me to comment that I had figured out the two virgin plot line about two chapters after Patterson introduced the second virgin and spent the rest of the book being bored nearly to tears waiting for Patterson to get around to confirming my theory.

Second, Patterson seems to have overlooked simple biology in this one. The medical procedures required to monitor a pregnancy would not leave a hymen intact, even if the hymen had been there to begin with. Ask any woman who has ever had a pelvic exam and they will confirm this for you. In addition, at one point after the birth a doctor mentions that one of the girls is no longer a virgin. How exactly does he know this??? The only possible way that a doctor can tell that woman has not had sex is if the hymen is intact, which actually is far from foolproof. However, allowing that Patterson is not a gynecologist and that popular "wisdom" puts forth that an intact hymen equals a virgin I was willing to accept for the purpose of this book that the doctors were willing to say the intact hymen meant these girls were virgins. If this is the case then I can only assume that when the doctor says that the girl is not a virgin after she gives birth be means that her hymen is no longer in tact. All I can say is what did he expect, that the baby would liquefy, pass through hymen, and be reconstituted. Of course her hymen is not intact, a baby just came through there.

In addition to these inaccuracies Patterson has managed to write a book that will offend Christians and non-believers alike. Christians are sure to be appalled by the sexualizing of the story of the Immaculate Conception and non-believers are likely to be turned off by the overly dogmatic drivel spouted at regular intervals.

These are only two of the aspects of the book that have prompted me to give it such a low review. I would rather have read the back of a cereal box, at least that is accurate. I myself think that the premise of a modern reaction to a Biblical miracle could be not only a truly compelling story but also a great way to examine issues of faith, tolerance, and the role the media plays in our collective morality. This book however, failed to be any of this and on top of that was a miserable excuse for a mystery/suspense novel. I am going to guess that many of the higher reviews are being written by younger readers since as a young teen I too enjoyed reading books that seemed "naughty". The pseudo-pornographic "nightmare" sex scene and teen-age angst ridden Kathleen are likely to appeal to teens, however, grown-ups I would recommend you find a better way to waste your time.

As you may or may not know, Cradle And All is a rework of Patterson's 2nd novel called Virgin. Most likely if you read Virgin within the past few years and remember the ending you probably won't want to read Cradle And All -- even though there are differences between the two versions. But if you haven't read Virgin or read it like I did(when it first came out in 1980)and don't remember the outcome, you're in for a real treat. After reading an advance reader copy of Cradle And All, I'm sure that most Patterson fans will find many of the qualities that have made them devour his previous books. In typical Patterson fashion the plot moves along at a break-neck pace, the chapters are very brief with each ending on a note that makes you want to quickly turn the page, and the characters--while not developed in great depth--are interesting. While I'm not a particularly fast reader, I read this book in two days. Be prepared to be glued to your favorite reading place until you finish Cradle And All! You'll definitely enjoy this book.

I've been hooked on James Patterson since I read KISS THE GIRLS. He typically does a wonderful job with character development and suspense. CRADLE has all of the Patterson elements: notoriously short chapters, quickly defined characters, alternating first and third person narration. All in all this is a decent read.

The storyline revolves around the question of how the world would react to the news of a modern-day immaculate conception. Anne Fitzgerald is called in by the Archdiocese to provide an objective investigation into a reported virgin pregnancy. She walks in expecting an easy assignment and instead ends up testing her own faith. Along the way, we're introduced to Nicholas Rosetti, a strong priest sent in to unravel the mystery of two young women claiming to be virgins despite their pregnancies. He believes one will bear the saviour of man, the other will bear the child of satan. The story moves rather slowly through most of the book; it focuses on outlining the media frenzy building around one of the virgins as well as the scapegoating endured by the other virgin. The last quarter of the book builds to a quick climax with an ending that makes the reading worthwhile. It also leaves the question: when is the sequel? Overall, I enjoyed the book. It's a very quick, easy read (at just over 300 pages, I polished this off in a few hours), it addresses some rather heavy spiritual issues, but it delivers a story without being "preachy". I wouldn't qualify this as one of Patterson's best works; it's more like "Patterson-Lite". The novel exemplifies his earlier abilities, but overall, I enjoyed it.