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rmtbray's review
2.0
Despite all the critics who say how developed, how sophisticated this book is, I just found it quite... basic? amaturish? naive? I felt it simply was trying too hard. I also felt that there were two very separate parts to the novel- one was a developement/constant description of the characters thoughts and feeling (more complaints about this later) and woven (not very well) between these descriptions were whole passages about Indian activities that seemed simply lifted from the travel diaries Smith says she kept. The two components didn't seem to be merged at all well!
And now my thoughts on the characters themselves- I found them pretty two dimensional, especially the 'baddy'/pompous git Mr Digby. Teresa was a pretty clear Mary Sue (despite not really being liked by many people, apart from those who could see how pure and simply charming she was.) I felt really sorry for Ruth, who Smith seemed to set up as a counterpoint to Teresa's 'genuiness,' making her shallow and false... she was actually the character I connected most with and who I wanted to learn more about, but there was no chance for learning what she was like, only for being told by Smith/the narrator, who was very, very annoyingly omniscient and insisted on telling what every single person thought at a given time... I also ended up feeling that Ruth was betrayed by the author, she had a lightning moment of clarity and love- then bam, no more chance of that (I won't say any more so I won't spoil it).
So basically, this book and I didn't gel! But despite that it was still an OK read, even if part of the reason for that was me being to complain about it and pin point what I thought was wrong a lot!
I'm wavering between 2 & 3 stars, I'll think about it!
And now my thoughts on the characters themselves- I found them pretty two dimensional, especially the 'baddy'/pompous git Mr Digby. Teresa was a pretty clear Mary Sue (despite not really being liked by many people, apart from those who could see how pure and simply charming she was.) I felt really sorry for Ruth, who Smith seemed to set up as a counterpoint to Teresa's 'genuiness,' making her shallow and false... she was actually the character I connected most with and who I wanted to learn more about, but there was no chance for learning what she was like, only for being told by Smith/the narrator, who was very, very annoyingly omniscient and insisted on telling what every single person thought at a given time... I also ended up feeling that Ruth was betrayed by the author, she had a lightning moment of clarity and love- then bam, no more chance of that (I won't say any more so I won't spoil it).
So basically, this book and I didn't gel! But despite that it was still an OK read, even if part of the reason for that was me being to complain about it and pin point what I thought was wrong a lot!
I'm wavering between 2 & 3 stars, I'll think about it!
balancinghistorybooks's review
4.0
The endpapers of Emma Smith’s The Far Cry are gorgeous – my favourites yet, I think. I knew next to nothing about this novel, and wasn’t sure what to expect from it. The Far Cry has a broad and sweeping plot, in which a young girl named Teresa Digby goes to India with her father, in order to escape the impending arrival of her overbearing mother from America. They go to stay with Teresa’s elder half-sister Ruth, and her husband, Edwin Tracy. Teresa is a complex construction, emotionally realistic and believable in everything she says and does. Ruth is formidable and mysterious, and Edwin is the kindest of the characters by far.
Smith has crafted her writing beautifully, and her turns of phrase are lovely. She writes descriptions with such clarity, and her ardent appreciation for nature is clear from the very start. The sense of place is so well described that it almost feels claustrophobic at times, particularly with regard to the Indian vistas. It presses in upon its characters, and the things which befall them along the way. I was swept away in the story, and found it very difficult to put The Far Cry down. It was a marvellous companion for an enormous Channel Tunnel delay which I was stuck in, and I would absolutely adore to read more of Smith’s work.
Smith has crafted her writing beautifully, and her turns of phrase are lovely. She writes descriptions with such clarity, and her ardent appreciation for nature is clear from the very start. The sense of place is so well described that it almost feels claustrophobic at times, particularly with regard to the Indian vistas. It presses in upon its characters, and the things which befall them along the way. I was swept away in the story, and found it very difficult to put The Far Cry down. It was a marvellous companion for an enormous Channel Tunnel delay which I was stuck in, and I would absolutely adore to read more of Smith’s work.
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