Over-hyped

We all know the old saying about not judging a book by its cover, but I'm increasingly finding out that it's equally important not to judge by the blurb or advertising or promotion. This was certainly the case with Hungarian Dances by Jessica Duchen, which I've just finished struggling through.

The background is a bit strange. One of my favourite sites when it comes to record companies is Onyx, and their most recent release just happens to be titled Hungarian Dances too. I fell for the tie-in, hook, line, sinker. Having downloaded the music from the iTunes Store I actually searched out the book too.

Fortunately, the music is fine. The book, though, is pretty terrible. It's a simplistic attempt to weave generational connections a shared talent for music. Also dropped into the mix are loss, family secrets, racial prejudice and Hungarian history. All a bit of a mess, really, and not to be recommended.

Now it's back to my continuing progress through John Updike's Rabbit books. I'm half way through the last of the four novels, so should be kept occupied into next week at least. When that's finished I must try really hard not to fall for hype when I go on the search for my next read.