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3.11 AVERAGE
3.11 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked the first bit of this when it was about the science facts.
Once it was about the character I got bored.
Once it was about the character I got bored.
This novel plodded along like university lectures then I suppose a bell rung somewhere as evidenced by the abrupt endings.
This was my first St Aubyn novel and I think I’ll heed his work as titled by another of his works - Never Mind.
This was my first St Aubyn novel and I think I’ll heed his work as titled by another of his works - Never Mind.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Double Blind by Edward St. Aubyn is an ambitious, current issue-driven novel. The novel is relatively slim considering the wide range of topics it managed to cover, from climate change to physical and mental illnesses, to parenthood and the confines of monogamy. The novel is set, as is typical of St. Aubyn’s books, within the delicious world of the British intellectual upper class. In my opinion, St. Aubyn parodies this specific yet widely covered class of people just as well as any of the greatest classical authors. His subtle digs and metaphors are brilliant, and I found myself rereading sentences over and over to capture their full meaning. (One of my favorites: Seeing them was like watching someone you love climb aboard the wrong train and then having to run down the platform trying to warn them of their mistake as the train draws of our the station.)
I could easily see this novel following in the footsteps of his Patrick Melrose series as I felt the book ended rather abruptly and left a lot of loose ends not quite tied up. This book was ambitious as could have easily turned out as a dizzying, fumbled collage of hot button issues in the hands of a less talented writer, while this book left me only wanting more.
**side note, I read the Patrick Melrose novels (4 novels spanning from 1992 - 2006 now collected into one volume, plus a ‘final’ one published separately in 2011) before I had a bookstagram, but it’s easily in my top 10 novels of all time and I highly recommend reading it prior to Double Blind!
I could easily see this novel following in the footsteps of his Patrick Melrose series as I felt the book ended rather abruptly and left a lot of loose ends not quite tied up. This book was ambitious as could have easily turned out as a dizzying, fumbled collage of hot button issues in the hands of a less talented writer, while this book left me only wanting more.
**side note, I read the Patrick Melrose novels (4 novels spanning from 1992 - 2006 now collected into one volume, plus a ‘final’ one published separately in 2011) before I had a bookstagram, but it’s easily in my top 10 novels of all time and I highly recommend reading it prior to Double Blind!
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challenging
medium-paced
Very flat ending. No plot resolution. Complicated prose that didn't really add anything. There was potential for an interesting commentary on wilding and friendship and neurology but it didn't happen...
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated