Reviews

Death and the Seaside by Alison Moore

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keeshuisman's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

strawb3rr1's review

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2.0

The story is a bit boring and slow. Not much happens most of the time except characters eating, sleeping, or looking at things, while occasionally vaguely strange things occur. There are random chapters where nothing at all happens, like the chapter where a character goes on and on about literary references to death and the sea. The only reason I finished it was because it was very short, and it was just intriguing enough for me to want to see if there would be an interesting conclusion. The “twist” (if you can even call it that) at the end was weirdly executed; somehow too obvious yet too obtuse at the same time.

lafee's review

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2.0

A weird one this, trying so very hard to be postmodern but just not quite hitting the mark. A story within a story that trips itself up by being both over-complicated and too simple at once. The relationships and the dialogue throughout felt forced, and the ending fell flat. I just didn't get it.

amythereader's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

dragoneyes451's review against another edition

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4.0

I received an ARC of this, and it's a quick read. I suppose I'd liken it to Gillian Flynn with more psychodrama and less thriller. It contains stories within the story that weave themselves together, ending in a way you're expecting but yet not expecting. I gave this 4 stars, but in reality it would be 3.5. Perhaps it is just the British way of writing, but when it started off I was reminded of A Casual Vacancy and it took me a few pages to really get into it.

wendoxford's review against another edition

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5.0

Didn't like it...then I did.. A spiders web of deceptions and stories within stories, past and present all coalescing. Or is it simpler of more complex? For a short novel this had me in a page turning spin. Every character is irritating and yet the devil is in the descriptive detail.
I was there in this story or its parallel reality and/or fictions. The book ends suddenly but just in the right way, half-expected yet completely unexpected. Haunting and deceptively dense. Feel it will continue to slap me around the face for a while to come!