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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
This is my second go at Tana French and I officially give up. I was annoyed by the ending of In the Woods, or whatever it was called, that I have been avoiding her ongoing series like it carries bubonic plague. I figured, why not try again, but this time on her stand alone? Only, I didn't realize that I was going to spend 200 pages reading about the aftermath of one mystery that isn't even The Plot before the blurbed mystery finally appears on page. Two. Hundred. Pages. "Well, now we'll have a ripping good mystery and it's going to hit like a train!" I thought to myself. Instead, I'm more than a little frustrated by the main character, even though I get it. I get his frustrations and anxieties over his health and what's happening to his uncle and now the house, and I get why Tana French wrote him as a privileged white man with a happy bubble of ignorance around him, but I'm still frustrated. I finally get through some bits that open up some unknown history to Toby and the detectives straight accusing him of murder and decide I have to walk away from the rest of the story. There's still a good 40+% of the book left and I can't stomach more of this, just to get an unsatisfactory ending (yes, I found some spoilers and read them, and no, I am 1000% not surprised it ends that way).
I will say, prior to the whole skull situation, I forgot I was supposed to be reading a mystery thriller and thought this was a nice contemporary fiction about a guy who finds healing through taking care of a dying family member and reconnecting with family or something. I think I would have continued reading that story, but instead it looks like a story about a guy with a touch of amnesia psyching himself into believing he murdered someone and forgot. I'm not as into that plot.
I will say, prior to the whole skull situation, I forgot I was supposed to be reading a mystery thriller and thought this was a nice contemporary fiction about a guy who finds healing through taking care of a dying family member and reconnecting with family or something. I think I would have continued reading that story, but instead it looks like a story about a guy with a touch of amnesia psyching himself into believing he murdered someone and forgot. I'm not as into that plot.
Where do I begin? I hated this book, to put it plainly. I had the murderer figured out before I knew who was murdered, which is understandable as this book is about 250 pages longer than necessary. I always know I’m going to dislike a book if Stephen King has given it any sort of accolade. (His plots are decent, but his writing is wack. Fight me.) The main character had no depth, he was just a self-involved asshole, and his girlfriend was the typical delicate waif that reacts perfectly to everything main character douche-lord says or does for their 3 year relationship. The murder reveal and burglar reveal was as anti-climactic as it could be, not to mention the information dump that was the last chapter. I’m just woefully unimpressed with this book. Seemingly endless tedium.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was almost going to give this book 3 stars because even thought it wasn’t at all the genre I thought it was, it wasn’t a terrible book. Maybe a disappointment for me, but still enjoyable for someone who knew what they were in for. Then, it ended... the ending was too terrible to make this book worth the time invested.
As with every other French book I’ve read, I really enjoyed this read. That said, I can 100% understand why many people don’t.
French is known for crafting very deep, realistic, relatable characters and the characters in The Witch Elm are no exception. But unlike her other books, this one takes character-driven to new heights. It’s almost entirely character building while the plot slowly (very slowly) meanders alongside.
The plot readers do get is incredibly intricate and beautifully crafted, but it takes soooo long for anything to happen that it can be difficult to stay engaged. In a shorter book this pacing may be less problematic, but in a 500+ page work readers shouldn’t have to wait so long to get started, much less for any payoff.
I enjoyed it plenty and I’m glad I read it, but it’s definitely not a book I’d be quick to recommend, especially for readers looking to experience French’s writing for the first time.
French is known for crafting very deep, realistic, relatable characters and the characters in The Witch Elm are no exception. But unlike her other books, this one takes character-driven to new heights. It’s almost entirely character building while the plot slowly (very slowly) meanders alongside.
The plot readers do get is incredibly intricate and beautifully crafted, but it takes soooo long for anything to happen that it can be difficult to stay engaged. In a shorter book this pacing may be less problematic, but in a 500+ page work readers shouldn’t have to wait so long to get started, much less for any payoff.
I enjoyed it plenty and I’m glad I read it, but it’s definitely not a book I’d be quick to recommend, especially for readers looking to experience French’s writing for the first time.