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booksthatburn's review against another edition
From the first page, THE FERRYMAN felt like mint chocolate cotton candy: a novel flavor combination which initially is a heady experience but eventually feels bland in its sameness. It’s startling at first, because it’s a flavor which does not normally belong in cotton candy and seems at first like a cool idea, but ultimately contributes little to the conversation of what makes a tasty dessert. I do not, generally speaking, want the book equivalent of cotton candy, but the writing is gripping and the world was interesting at first.
Ultimately I stopped reading when the bland misogyny became too frustrating. In a world where every marriage is a contract with a time limit (the parties can renew), it makes no sense for the main character to have a level of jealousy and possessiveness that in the real world is cultivated through an assumption of monogamy as a default. I read an ARC and so will refrain from using quotes in case the final version changes substantially, but this was a setup I've read before executed in a way that was frustrating to read.
Ultimately I stopped reading when the bland misogyny became too frustrating. In a world where every marriage is a contract with a time limit (the parties can renew), it makes no sense for the main character to have a level of jealousy and possessiveness that in the real world is cultivated through an assumption of monogamy as a default. I read an ARC and so will refrain from using quotes in case the final version changes substantially, but this was a setup I've read before executed in a way that was frustrating to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Cursing, Toxic relationship, Blood, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Self harm, Suicide, Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Sexual content, Dementia, Alcohol, Drug use, Excrement, Infidelity, and Infertility
thebookcoyote's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
TW/CW: Death of a child, violence, police violence, sex, grief
REVIEW: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily writing an honest review.
The Ferryman is the story of Proctor Bennett, a citizen of a tropical paradise named Prospera. In this paradise, nobody dies – they just get aged back down and given a new life. Everyone is, or is supposed to be, happy, except for the less fortunate who live trapped on an island called the Annex, only visiting Prospera when they are needed to perform manual labor or service work.
Proctor has a good job, a beautiful wife, and a lovely house, but for some reason, the edges of his life start to blur and he starts to sense a wrongness in his perfect world. Is he going crazy, or is something else going on around him that nobody understands?
This was a good book, and I enjoyed reading it. It is more than a little on the long side, and I’m not sure 580 pages was really necessary to get the point across, but Cronin’s writing is good and I didn’t find myself bored. Cronin lets the reader in on things just a little bit at a time so we’re pretty much there with Proctor as he learns what’s going on.
I feel a little iffy about the ending of this one – I think it could have been better. I saw what he was going for, but I would have enjoyed it more if he’d gone in another direction. (I can’t say much more because I don’t want to leave spoilers on the plot!).
In all, though, this was a very interesting science fiction novel and I enjoyed reading it. I would recommend to fans of dystopian fiction and science fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, and Police brutality
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