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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
Just when I was getting bored with all the talk, talk, talk, this book really took off. Satisfying in the end... but not my favorite of her novels.
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A lot of members of my bookclub thought this book was slow, but I loved it. I also enjoyed reading the acknowledgements where it was revealed that in the 1940s, a body was actually found in a Wych Elm.
I can't rate this book. My audible downloaded funny and I listened to the second half of the book and not the first. I had a hard time getting into it and now I know why. Very disappointed.
This was a tedious read. So many times I wanted to put it down for good... but then I felt compelled to pick it up again because surely it was meant to get better? Seriously, my time with this book could not be for naught?
By page 141 I had to reread the book jacket. Doesn't this story have something to do with a skull in a witch elm tree? We don't even get to the tree until around page 200. That is almost HALFWAY into the book when we finally get to the mystery!
French, a writer I admire who can write one hell of a mystery to end all mysteries, asks quite a bit from her readers with this one. Maybe she feels she's earned it. But every inch of this novel felt like work. Each chapter is easily 5-10 pages too long. There are too many scenes where people just talk and talk and TALK in a way that doesn't always advance the story along in a meaningful way...
Look, there are elements here that I think really could have really taken off if the story was significantly streamlined. Particularly her theme around who we are versus how others see us and the actions that we don't take often have more consequences than those we do. She also exposes Irish culture around bullying (nearly every character here is bullied in some way or bullies others), how it can become an almost integral part of society the longer it is left unchecked. But for all these interesting ideas that get presented, I kept wondering if it was possible to keep what's here but reconfigure and tighten the chapters so that the story maintains a level of urgency and tension? Because I felt like that was what was missing for me. The scope of the storytelling appeared to be too sprawling, stretched too thin for a mystery or thriller.
The most aggravating aspect of the novel, however, is main character Toby. He's insufferable, there's no way around it. I can take an unlikeable character as long as I'm given something to root for here, which essentially is Toby's recovery from his violent beating at the beginning of the story, but he starts off as a jerk and stays a jerk for much of the book. He claims right at the top that he's known as a charmer. There's almost nothing charming about Toby, who is French fooling. Every inner thought of his is negative and judgmental. I wonder if this story could have worked in third person versus first if this might have solved some of those troubles... he's almost too much of an unreliable narrator for us to even care about him.
But then again almost everyone in this book, especially cousins Susanna and Leon, is a jerk who does jerky things to one another. Except for girlfriend Melissa, who is portrayed as nothing less than a saint. I don't even know what the attraction is between Toby and his girlfriend; we are given only pleasantries within their relationship, no inside jokes, no shared memories, no lingering tension or any insight that they've had somewhat of a stable and intense bond.
Only when Uncle Hugo shows up do things slightly pick up for the better. Hugo is neither saintly nor a jerk - he's simply dying of cancer and wants to live out the rest of his remaining months with some shred of dignity and in his family home full of the laughter of others. He's easily the most interesting character, a genealogist who studies the family bonds and connections of others while maintaining a cool facade around his own siblings and nieces & nephews, never having a family or home of his very own. He's likable and aloof - the favorite uncle who lets you get away with things but to whom you can confide in. And he does have a major secret. French should have made Hugo the main character here and shifted the story around to focus on him much more than Toby. This way I think we might have seen a different side to every character instead of simply being on the receiving end of Toby's misery and judgmental viewpoint.
So why did I stick with this? I very much wanted to see how she pulled this together. And French does. She ultimately doesn't "wow" me, but I do feel as though I went through the gauntlet here. A mystery exposed and solved, perhaps not in the way that made total sense to me, but the tone is chilling and eerie.
By page 141 I had to reread the book jacket. Doesn't this story have something to do with a skull in a witch elm tree? We don't even get to the tree until around page 200. That is almost HALFWAY into the book when we finally get to the mystery!
French, a writer I admire who can write one hell of a mystery to end all mysteries, asks quite a bit from her readers with this one. Maybe she feels she's earned it. But every inch of this novel felt like work. Each chapter is easily 5-10 pages too long. There are too many scenes where people just talk and talk and TALK in a way that doesn't always advance the story along in a meaningful way...
Look, there are elements here that I think really could have really taken off if the story was significantly streamlined. Particularly her theme around who we are versus how others see us and the actions that we don't take often have more consequences than those we do. She also exposes Irish culture around bullying (nearly every character here is bullied in some way or bullies others), how it can become an almost integral part of society the longer it is left unchecked. But for all these interesting ideas that get presented, I kept wondering if it was possible to keep what's here but reconfigure and tighten the chapters so that the story maintains a level of urgency and tension? Because I felt like that was what was missing for me. The scope of the storytelling appeared to be too sprawling, stretched too thin for a mystery or thriller.
The most aggravating aspect of the novel, however, is main character Toby. He's insufferable, there's no way around it. I can take an unlikeable character as long as I'm given something to root for here, which essentially is Toby's recovery from his violent beating at the beginning of the story, but he starts off as a jerk and stays a jerk for much of the book. He claims right at the top that he's known as a charmer. There's almost nothing charming about Toby, who is French fooling. Every inner thought of his is negative and judgmental. I wonder if this story could have worked in third person versus first if this might have solved some of those troubles... he's almost too much of an unreliable narrator for us to even care about him.
But then again almost everyone in this book, especially cousins Susanna and Leon, is a jerk who does jerky things to one another. Except for girlfriend Melissa, who is portrayed as nothing less than a saint. I don't even know what the attraction is between Toby and his girlfriend; we are given only pleasantries within their relationship, no inside jokes, no shared memories, no lingering tension or any insight that they've had somewhat of a stable and intense bond.
Only when Uncle Hugo shows up do things slightly pick up for the better. Hugo is neither saintly nor a jerk - he's simply dying of cancer and wants to live out the rest of his remaining months with some shred of dignity and in his family home full of the laughter of others. He's easily the most interesting character, a genealogist who studies the family bonds and connections of others while maintaining a cool facade around his own siblings and nieces & nephews, never having a family or home of his very own. He's likable and aloof - the favorite uncle who lets you get away with things but to whom you can confide in. And he does have a major secret. French should have made Hugo the main character here and shifted the story around to focus on him much more than Toby. This way I think we might have seen a different side to every character instead of simply being on the receiving end of Toby's misery and judgmental viewpoint.
So why did I stick with this? I very much wanted to see how she pulled this together. And French does. She ultimately doesn't "wow" me, but I do feel as though I went through the gauntlet here. A mystery exposed and solved, perhaps not in the way that made total sense to me, but the tone is chilling and eerie.
Interesting, well done book. Somewhat lacking in the thing I love most about the Dublin Murder Squad, but worth reading.
Ugh. Rating this is hard.
I really liked the first half of the book, which is a character study of a man suffering a brain injury, PTSD, and the looming death of a beloved uncle. I didn't mind that the inevitable discovery of a long-dead body happened nearly halfway through the novel. I'm just not sure I cared for the pace of the plot after that or the novel's conclusion.
I was gearing up to give this for or five stars, but the final chapters really too the wind from my sails. I would recommend this book though to others who enjoy more psychological mysteries. Your mileage may vary.
I really liked the first half of the book, which is a character study of a man suffering a brain injury, PTSD, and the looming death of a beloved uncle. I didn't mind that the inevitable discovery of a long-dead body happened nearly halfway through the novel. I'm just not sure I cared for the pace of the plot after that or the novel's conclusion.
I was gearing up to give this for or five stars, but the final chapters really too the wind from my sails. I would recommend this book though to others who enjoy more psychological mysteries. Your mileage may vary.
I didn't love this as much as the Dublin Murder Squad series. I liked it but more in the sense that it is fun to think about and try to analyze and less because I really enjoyed the story. It is good, better than the average book you pick up, but because I'm comparing it to her other books that I loved, I feel more lukewarm about it.
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated