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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
All right summer beach style read but there were too many POV narrators and threads going on for such a fast paced book to really grasp any of the characters in depth. If there had been fewer threads and POVs perhaps the insipid characters could have really flourished as monsters. In fact one of the people I liked least was Nel, and she is dead when the book starts.
I know there are a lot of twists and turns and redherrings but I think it was obvious early on where all this was going. A tale of misogyny in some guises, whilst not getting to the nitty gritty of old witchcraft hate and execution - saying a hobbling psychic in the modern part was supposed to represent all the witches of olde is like saying all those accusations of witchcraft were true. When really it was nonsense cooked up out of misogyny, about local social politics (like the office politics of today) and so on.
Apparently this is set in Northumberland about a recent supposed suicide of artist-photographer-single mother Nel, in the local drowning pool where witches were tortured and in more recent local times women supposedly committed suicide. Many of whom were just disregarded as "whores". Dig deeper and the men involved carried a lot of hate for their women. Even Patrick going off to drown the pregnant cat feels like an extension of it all. And the teenage girl killing herself so that her teacher lover won't get into trouble... just.... wow. Anyone who "loves" you to allow you to do that to yourself really ain't worth killing yourself over. And it all was a bit vague as to what happened to him in the end.
We are made to think Nel was a bad person because her younger sister Julia always velieved shed known her boyfriend had raped her but didn't care. During the book Julia discovers that Nel never knew she had been raped, and is then wracked with guilt and thinks her sister was a fab person. Sorry, I still found her vile and lacking in empathy. How she bullied her sister and sided with all the village kids in humiliating her. How she was making this art project of all these suicides whilst the living relatives, still riddled with grief were living in the village... she just didn't get it. To be honest most of the characters in the story weren't particularly likeable.
Oh what grumbling! It was an all right summer read but not as good as The Girl on The Train, and seemed to fall a bit short of the whole misogyny and witch theme but in fairness this isn't meant to be hard hitting social commentary.
I know there are a lot of twists and turns and redherrings but I think it was obvious early on where all this was going. A tale of misogyny in some guises, whilst not getting to the nitty gritty of old witchcraft hate and execution - saying a hobbling psychic in the modern part was supposed to represent all the witches of olde is like saying all those accusations of witchcraft were true. When really it was nonsense cooked up out of misogyny, about local social politics (like the office politics of today) and so on.
Apparently this is set in Northumberland about a recent supposed suicide of artist-photographer-single mother Nel, in the local drowning pool where witches were tortured and in more recent local times women supposedly committed suicide. Many of whom were just disregarded as "whores". Dig deeper and the men involved carried a lot of hate for their women. Even Patrick going off to drown the pregnant cat feels like an extension of it all. And the teenage girl killing herself so that her teacher lover won't get into trouble... just.... wow. Anyone who "loves" you to allow you to do that to yourself really ain't worth killing yourself over. And it all was a bit vague as to what happened to him in the end.
We are made to think Nel was a bad person because her younger sister Julia always velieved shed known her boyfriend had raped her but didn't care. During the book Julia discovers that Nel never knew she had been raped, and is then wracked with guilt and thinks her sister was a fab person. Sorry, I still found her vile and lacking in empathy. How she bullied her sister and sided with all the village kids in humiliating her. How she was making this art project of all these suicides whilst the living relatives, still riddled with grief were living in the village... she just didn't get it. To be honest most of the characters in the story weren't particularly likeable.
Oh what grumbling! It was an all right summer read but not as good as The Girl on The Train, and seemed to fall a bit short of the whole misogyny and witch theme but in fairness this isn't meant to be hard hitting social commentary.
I really enjoyed this second book. I was not a fan of Girl on the train - I did not like the characters or the plot. This book is worth a read, if you had a similar experience with Girl on the train. The characters are much more interesting, with likability and empathy. The author explores a similar theme of what shapes our previous memories. I really enjoyed this one.
If you liked girl on the train....and I mean the book, not the movie, then you will also enjoy this book. The book is a great story because usually in a murder there is a bad guy on the loose and everyone is out looking for him (or her). In this case its more a series of unfortunate events that take place and involve a lot of different people. So don't get confused with all the changes in character narrative, it will actually start to make sense after a bit.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Interesting, suspenseful and addicting. The ending isn't overly surprising but the journey to get there is fun. This book has a lot of characters and none of them are especially likable. The mix of them, though, paints a picture that sticks in your mind.
Nice second book for the author. There were a few literary leaps of faith, some unexplained motivation of characters that could have done with a little less handwaving, but in the end, I upped it a whole star rating just for the last line of the book. Don't cheat; it won't be nearly as enjoyable if you read it out of order
All I can do is just stare at the wall.
Not nearly as dramatic as Girl on the Train, but definitely a good story, one I became invested in after connecting to Lena of all characters.
I needed to know, for her sake...and I was right.
Not nearly as dramatic as Girl on the Train, but definitely a good story, one I became invested in after connecting to Lena of all characters.
I needed to know, for her sake...and I was right.
I got this out of the library as a "speed read" and that's what I did. Granted it was over Thanksgiving and I was sick, so I had plenty of time to dive in and stay there. It took me a little while to get the characters straight, but I liked the chapters being told by the various people involved (real and imagined). Ahh the tangles of relationships: loves, loyalties, feuds, misunderstandings - rich and complicated.
There’s a quote towards the end of the book which says something to the effect of messed up people mess up other people, and that’s a great way to encapsulate this mess of a book. Compelling mystery? Sure, but you have so much muck to wade through that I’d declare the conclusion not worth the swim.