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3.05 AVERAGE
3.05 AVERAGE
Loved the style, enjoyed how the narrative was propelled and how snippets of past and present were woven together. Couldn't help but feel the end 1/5th lacked some impact.
Well written, of course, but I ultimately wasn’t satisfied or really that invested
Hmm, nicely written, but it was too long for the story. I think it would have worked best as a novela. Also it felt like Swift was trying to lead us along the path of a twist or a revelation as if was a crime genre novel but there wasn't one. I don't mind that there wasn't one, it's just the expectation that didn't work. I also had issues with the sensitive, thinking, feeling narrator, George, who was a policeman turned private detective. Of course there are sensitive, thinking, feeling private detectives, but I felt Swift was trying too hard with all the cooking stuff to make George that kind of man.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Too dull, spare and cliched to get very far through. I may have missed out on something profound; but I doubt it.
Maybe it is just the mood I have been in this summer, but this is another abandoned book. I tried, I really tried but I just completely lost interest.
For one thing, it tries too hard to be "catchy" or something. It is told entirely in flashbacks, as a single day rolls along. And interesting idea, to be sure, but layered on top of that is a first person, almost stream of consciousness writing style that wants to pull you into the store as it slowly (ever ever so slowly) gets unfolded.
But I didn't care enough about the players to be all that interested in the story. This is one book that, perhaps given the right frame of mind, I could find interesting. But for right now, I gave up after about 75 pages.
For one thing, it tries too hard to be "catchy" or something. It is told entirely in flashbacks, as a single day rolls along. And interesting idea, to be sure, but layered on top of that is a first person, almost stream of consciousness writing style that wants to pull you into the store as it slowly (ever ever so slowly) gets unfolded.
But I didn't care enough about the players to be all that interested in the story. This is one book that, perhaps given the right frame of mind, I could find interesting. But for right now, I gave up after about 75 pages.
I struggled to finish the book. It’s full of purple prose to make up for the lack of a plot. There is no story, no twist, no revelation. It flips back and forth in time at random and arbitrary times with zero warning. This was not a fun book to read. It was a chore.
there's a good story in here, i think. but damned if i could find it.
Coming straight after Oscar Wao, this book had a lot to live up to. It's a strange novel, in that there was never a point I really felt I enjoyed it. But it was sinister and encompassing, and very interesting. It's narrated by George, a failed cop turned private detective, as he tries to deal with a serious crime committed by one of his clients, and his personal feelings towards her. It's confessional, it's complex and confused, and undoubtably human. Another really good read.
mysterious