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onnapnewo's review
2.0
I wanted to like this book more than I did, but the plodding and repetitive writing made it difficult to finish the book. It seems like almost everything is told to the reader three times — first the character’s frame of mind is described, then a line of dialogue, then some kind of follow-up re-describing what we just heard. Many of the scenes are interminable to get through because we’re told everything at least three times. Though these scenes are slightly less confusing than the few in which dialogue is simply described, like the one at the beginning of the chapter with Mike and Harriet’s tryst. Whole chapters are devoted to characters who are clearly about to be killed, or to one character having one emotional beat.
Not a single verb in this book is unaccompanied by an adjective to make sure there is no ambiguity or confusion anywhere. Characters are described as “whispering in fear” in case you weren’t sure “Oh my god, what do we do?” was an expression of fear. Another character is described as “strutting with bravado” in case you might have thought there was any other way to strut. Though at least these are clear uses of language — at one point someone is described as throwing an “easy to telegraph punch”, which genuinely left me confused for a few minutes. I think they meant “easily telegraphed” considering the character dodged it effortlessly.
There’s also an added subplot involving a rabid dog which is promising at the start, but instead ends with no impact on the plot, only serving to add another gruesome scene of violence in a book already stuffed with them. About twenty pages before the end, someone whose boyfriend was murdered plans to commiserate with her friend whose boyfriend was also murdered about “their lost loves and tattered clothing”, in that order.
This book is a truly bizarre, often impregnable, weirdly verbose novel that was ultimately pretty disappointing. I know most of the reviews on this site are glowing, and maybe I expected more from it than I should have, but it was ultimately pretty underwhelming.
Not a single verb in this book is unaccompanied by an adjective to make sure there is no ambiguity or confusion anywhere. Characters are described as “whispering in fear” in case you weren’t sure “Oh my god, what do we do?” was an expression of fear. Another character is described as “strutting with bravado” in case you might have thought there was any other way to strut. Though at least these are clear uses of language — at one point someone is described as throwing an “easy to telegraph punch”, which genuinely left me confused for a few minutes. I think they meant “easily telegraphed” considering the character dodged it effortlessly.
There’s also an added subplot involving a rabid dog which is promising at the start, but instead ends with no impact on the plot, only serving to add another gruesome scene of violence in a book already stuffed with them. About twenty pages before the end, someone whose boyfriend was murdered plans to commiserate with her friend whose boyfriend was also murdered about “their lost loves and tattered clothing”, in that order.
This book is a truly bizarre, often impregnable, weirdly verbose novel that was ultimately pretty disappointing. I know most of the reviews on this site are glowing, and maybe I expected more from it than I should have, but it was ultimately pretty underwhelming.
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