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3.12 AVERAGE
3.12 AVERAGE
I don’t think I would’ve been as interested if it weren’t loosely based on Downeast Maine.
I really enjoyed the writing and general vibe, but ultimately I needed more.
This wasn't badly written, for sure, and the story was interesting. However, I have the same problem with this book that I've had with most of this authors books: I make to having around 50-70 pages left and then skim the rest.
Somewhat like the book by the military guy about the EMP charge that brings America to a standstill. I was too distracted, though, to catch the nuances here. "The Arrest" is what the people call the cessation of everything electronic. But I'm really not sure what the book is really about.
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Look, I love a gentle, absurd apocalypse. In Watermelon Sugar is my favorite apocalyptic novel, and it’s barely an apocalypse. But I found The Arrest just kept hovering on the edge of absurdity, too afraid to commit to the bit in any direction.
What we’re left with is a novel both navel-gazing and shallow, in which the protagonist is barely observant of, much less a participant in, the action, most of which happens off-page. I am willing to accept that may be the point of the work… but it just wasn’t to my taste.
I almost gave up at the 100 page mark, but finished out of sheer bloody-mindedness.
What we’re left with is a novel both navel-gazing and shallow, in which the protagonist is barely observant of, much less a participant in, the action, most of which happens off-page. I am willing to accept that may be the point of the work… but it just wasn’t to my taste.
I almost gave up at the 100 page mark, but finished out of sheer bloody-mindedness.
The main character, Journeyman, is such a flunky, for lack of a better word. He's so flat and uninterested in the world that it makes everyone else in the novel, who we see through his eyes, flat and opaque as well. I guess this is a way of dealing with romanticizing the post apocalyptic pastoral life. The community achieves something incredible, but it's all through this flat, incurious lens. Nonetheless, the plot moves and kept me very interested. I guess I just like a little more romance, analysis, and curiosity in my apocalypse.
Lethem sets up an interesting world with this one, with shades of the cozy dystopia you get in the second half of a John Wyndham novel, and then sets a good plot in that world (a variation on the classic A Stranger Comes To Town formula). Unfortunately he goes on to make a mess of the execution, thanks to his choice and handling of the main character. Journeyman is a void at the centre of the book. He doesn’t do anything, doesn’t influence anything and has little impact on what happens in the story. He’s just a vessel for describing what other people are doing. The story happens around him, and I’m not sure events would have panned out any differently if he hadn’t been there at all. The vehicle that drives (excuse the pun) the plot is fantastic, some of the imagery is great, especially at the climax, and Lethem can certainly write, but ultimately this is bit of a nothing book.
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes