Reviews

Astonishing Splashes of Colour by Clare Morrall

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lothika's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

4.0

megankgates13's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.75

ragsrags's review

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5.0

Writing, as an act, tends itself towards solidity. Putting words down reflects a certain process of thought, of decisiveness, of clarity. There is a tangibility that is impossible to deny; at any point in time, one can hold up a sheaf of papers, all filled in.

As a novelist, as a storyteller, this quality of presence grows in strength. A storyteller is a guide in a dark cave, carrying the only source of light and choosing what to illuminate and what not to. The act of illumination can rouse feelings of excitement and power in the storyteller; it can create too much eagerness within to ensure that the reader has seen. But little attention is given to the capricious nature of the light, the frustration of the dancing flame that leaves more in shadow than in light.

In that sense, Clare Morrall has achieved something that I would love to as a novelist - a sort of slippery, shadowy story that moves forward, slips back, slides across, doubles back, restarts but not quite, and then blows everything out of the window to then just do it again. As storytelling craft, this sense of unreliability that extends beyond just a narrator and seeps into everything is a finely attuned skill. The quality of absence, not just loss, is sharpened to a point.

'Astonishing Splashes of Colour' is a devastating book, superbly written and crafted. So much in the book is unreliable - motives, memories, actions, behaviours, stories - that it left me scrambling to find my footing and questioning whether things are as they seem. At the same time, so much under the surface is reliable and rock-steady - love, loyalty, family. The two are beautifully, meticulously woven together into the messy mesh of life. Rarely has a Western story about a family left me feeling so breathless and so hollowed out as this one has.

sloatsj's review against another edition

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2.0

Splashy, yes. Astonishing? No.

I imagine a lot of people figured out early on in this book what the surprises would be. I'd like to think the plot was constructed as a stage for synaethesia, but even that seems hardly fleshed out.

Unfortunately my sympathy for the character, Kitty, didn't go very far, despite what are admittedly some pretty big troubles. Aside from her, the other characters seemed underdeveloped. They came with labels: the husband is "sanity in a can," the oldest brother "the successful author," another one "the slow brother with a heart of gold," etc.

The family blow-out scene halfway through read like farce, with the two main combatants throwing barbs at each other like "Typical" (of you), and "Surprise, surprise." It was like a theater piece with actors who can't act, who stand still and read their lines.

The wind-down was overly drawn out, and marred by overstated reconciliations. (Remember the end of The Wizard of Oz (movie), where everyone appears at Dorothy's bedside? That's it in a nutshell.) And I found the metaphor in the last lines almost embarrassing: "I look at the ceiling and see a tiny spider rushing along with an appearance of purpose. Does it know where it's going? I think. Or where it's come from?"

Two stars from me, one of which is for concept.

ldv's review against another edition

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5.0

It's so good! It's the kind of book in which I get fully engaged with the character that I miss her when the book is finished. I love the way the author makes the character lovable. I don't know really how to explain it. With Good in Bed, I had many times where I disliked the main character for her character flaws and weaknesses. I judged her. In Colour, I never ever felt that way. I wanted to help the other characters understand the protaganist and not judge her. The novel swallows you into itself, so that you're part of it, not a spectator. And the story, or at least the main character, is fresh and original so that you want to keep reading.

It would make an excellent book club book because there's so much to discuss -- I could even use it in school, because there's no sex or swearing or anything, but it's 'clean' in a way that I didn't even notice it was until I actually thought about it, which is very welcome and rare.