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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
I found the characters unlikeable, particularly Jackson Brodie. I wasn't keen on him in Case Histories but gave book #2 a chance in case I warmed to him. I really wanted to like this series!
Solid, but in this case I think the story adapted for tv was better than the original here.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
These books are just so good. Can't put them down unless I absolutely must.
I enjoyed this book, although not as much as the first in the Jackson Brodie series, Case Histories.
Kate introduces us to a variety of new characters, with Martin and Louise standing out most for me. Martin's character is a strange mix of kindness, loneliness and sadness. Despite his success as a writer, his wealth and fame do not bring him everything his heart desires. Kate delves deeply, perhaps too deeply at times for readers who don't like his character, into Martin's thoughts and it's not the most pleasant or more fascinating place to be. Louise, by contrast is strong, fiery and smart. Jackson describes her very clearly as "his type" and she voices her attraction to him also. I found her ruminations about her 14 year old son to echo Jackson's worries about his young daughter Marlee from Case Histories. Both accounts from parents who perhaps know too much were fascinating.
The plot in this book was a little thin and convoluted. It also wasn't what I expected in terms of character development, particularly with Jackson, who didn't feature prominently enough in the narrative in my opinion. His relationship with his girlfriend and a little about his life if France are shared. However, I had been hoping for more of Jackson... until the point in the book where he revealed that he had had sex with his girlfriend while she was asleep admitting: "Technically it was rape of course". I'm shocked and disgusted quite frankly with good old Jackson for that revelation. His girlfriend, Julia, is portrayed as having had a very high sex drive for a lot of the novel and I felt that Jackson downplays what he has done in light of that, somehow implying her only complaint if she had known, was that she hadn't been awake to enjoy it! But then he also likens it somewhat to necrophilia. Sick B**stard is what comes to mind when reading this! This really left me confused about Jackson. From what I've read so far in this series Jackson is a flawed person who has suffered a lot of loss in his life, but also done a lot of good, a hero of sorts. While his sex drive and his apparent attraction to almost every young woman he meets is evident, I found this to be really disturbing and just to mention, in case anyone is unclear: IT'S NOT OK TO HAVE SEX WITH SOMEONE WHO IS SLEEPING HEAVILY AND HASN'T CONSENTED TO IT!
So yes this one was a mixed bag for me. Not as good as I had hoped for in light of the first in the series, but it still has some of Kate's sparkle and lots of layers like the Matryoshka doll set that she weaves into the story. Jackson's sexual exploits however have cast a shadow over him for me and perhaps that's exactly what Kate intended... illustrating perhaps how endemic misogyny is even amongst "the good guys".
Kate introduces us to a variety of new characters, with Martin and Louise standing out most for me. Martin's character is a strange mix of kindness, loneliness and sadness. Despite his success as a writer, his wealth and fame do not bring him everything his heart desires. Kate delves deeply, perhaps too deeply at times for readers who don't like his character, into Martin's thoughts and it's not the most pleasant or more fascinating place to be. Louise, by contrast is strong, fiery and smart. Jackson describes her very clearly as "his type" and she voices her attraction to him also. I found her ruminations about her 14 year old son to echo Jackson's worries about his young daughter Marlee from Case Histories. Both accounts from parents who perhaps know too much were fascinating.
The plot in this book was a little thin and convoluted. It also wasn't what I expected in terms of character development, particularly with Jackson, who didn't feature prominently enough in the narrative in my opinion. His relationship with his girlfriend and a little about his life if France are shared. However, I had been hoping for more of Jackson... until the point in the book where he revealed that he had had sex with his girlfriend while she was asleep admitting: "Technically it was rape of course". I'm shocked and disgusted quite frankly with good old Jackson for that revelation. His girlfriend, Julia, is portrayed as having had a very high sex drive for a lot of the novel and I felt that Jackson downplays what he has done in light of that, somehow implying her only complaint if she had known, was that she hadn't been awake to enjoy it! But then he also likens it somewhat to necrophilia. Sick B**stard is what comes to mind when reading this! This really left me confused about Jackson. From what I've read so far in this series Jackson is a flawed person who has suffered a lot of loss in his life, but also done a lot of good, a hero of sorts. While his sex drive and his apparent attraction to almost every young woman he meets is evident, I found this to be really disturbing and just to mention, in case anyone is unclear: IT'S NOT OK TO HAVE SEX WITH SOMEONE WHO IS SLEEPING HEAVILY AND HASN'T CONSENTED TO IT!
So yes this one was a mixed bag for me. Not as good as I had hoped for in light of the first in the series, but it still has some of Kate's sparkle and lots of layers like the Matryoshka doll set that she weaves into the story. Jackson's sexual exploits however have cast a shadow over him for me and perhaps that's exactly what Kate intended... illustrating perhaps how endemic misogyny is even amongst "the good guys".
Good book. Interesting characters and a fun tangle of interconnections.
Good story. Good characters. Although some readers may not like the mental rabbit trails/stream of consciousness/memories, I think it makes it more 'real' - we all think that way and I enjoy it. Lots of small stories which make no sense until she makes it all fit together in the end. Definitely one of my favorite authors.
As I wrote in my review for Atkinson's first Jackson Brodie book, Case Histories, I really enjoyed the crafting of the novel and the characters, but was troubled by the amount of sexism and homophobia built into Brodie's character. The great thing about One Good Turn is that Atkinson has a bunch of interesting, fully-fleshed-out new women characters in the story. I really liked the characters of Gloria and Tatiana, and the way they work together is delightful. And I was particularly excited to meet the character of Louise Monroe, whom we meet again and who kicks ass in the next book.
However, on Jackson's prejudices, things only got worse.
There's more general disdain for women, particularly young women: "He didn't like being at crime scenes and seeing them being run by policewomen only a few years older than his daughter."
He finds a young woman dead in the ocean and there's this: "If she'd been alive he would have automatically thought, what a great body, but in death this judgement was translated into a lovely figure - aesthetic and asexual as if he was contemplating the cold, marble limbs of a statue in the Louvre." This observation simultaneously objectifies the dead girl and glamorizes the violence against her.
Then there's the way he relates to his now-sorta-girlfriend from the previous book, Julia. For example, he "conjure[s] up a picture of Julia's breasts" and then resents that he hasn't seen enough of them recently. But the absolute worst thing, which I can't excuse, is this passage where he admits to himself that he raped her:
It makes sense where someone's misogynist and homophobic that they'd also be transphobic, so we also get this: "E.M. Watson (what kind of a name was that?) was just plain odd: either a badly put together woman or a man in drag. Transvestitism was a mystery to Jackson. He had never in his life worn a single item of female clothing."
It almost pains me because Atkinson is such a gifted writer, but as I said before, this characterization of the books' hero makes it hard for me to justify reading the novels. It might be different if another character or circumstances showed Jackson to be wrong in his prejudices, or if he himself realized at some point what a reactionary asshat he was, but that doesn't really happen and it makes it an uncomfortable read.
However, on Jackson's prejudices, things only got worse.
Spoiler
Take, for example: "Tobias was camper than a Scout jamboree. Jackson had nothing againts gays, he just wished that sometimes they wouldn't be quite so gay, especially when being introduced to him in what had turned out, unfortunately, to be a good old-fashioned macho Scottish pub."There's more general disdain for women, particularly young women: "He didn't like being at crime scenes and seeing them being run by policewomen only a few years older than his daughter."
He finds a young woman dead in the ocean and there's this: "If she'd been alive he would have automatically thought, what a great body, but in death this judgement was translated into a lovely figure - aesthetic and asexual as if he was contemplating the cold, marble limbs of a statue in the Louvre." This observation simultaneously objectifies the dead girl and glamorizes the violence against her.
Then there's the way he relates to his now-sorta-girlfriend from the previous book, Julia. For example, he "conjure[s] up a picture of Julia's breasts" and then resents that he hasn't seen enough of them recently. But the absolute worst thing, which I can't excuse, is this passage where he admits to himself that he raped her:
"Once , he had made love to her while she slept and she'd hardly even twitched when he came inside her, but he didn't tell her about it afterwards because he wasn't sure how she would react. He couldn't imagine her being particularly put out (this was Julia, after all). She would probably just have said, 'Without me? How could you?' Technically it was rape, of course. He had arrested enough guys in his time for taking advantage of drunk or drugged girls. Plus, if he was honest, Julia was such a sound sleeper that there had been a touch of necrophilia about the whole thing."
It makes sense where someone's misogynist and homophobic that they'd also be transphobic, so we also get this: "E.M. Watson (what kind of a name was that?) was just plain odd: either a badly put together woman or a man in drag. Transvestitism was a mystery to Jackson. He had never in his life worn a single item of female clothing."
It almost pains me because Atkinson is such a gifted writer, but as I said before, this characterization of the books' hero makes it hard for me to justify reading the novels. It might be different if another character or circumstances showed Jackson to be wrong in his prejudices, or if he himself realized at some point what a reactionary asshat he was, but that doesn't really happen and it makes it an uncomfortable read.
Not as good as Case Histories, but I like that (so far) this series isn't formulaic. I'll continue to read the Jackson Brodie books!
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It picks up after the first 300 or 350 pages.