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mybookishhedgemaze's review
dark
informative
sad
tense
fast-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
If I were rating this on the story alone, I'd probably give "The Lamplighters" 4/5 stars. As it is, three feels generous.
Aside from the contrived metaphors and similes...some so painfully forced I had to pause and laugh over them in disbelief or embarrassment, which destroyed any immersion the writer may have been trying to achieve...the over-used or ill-suited onomatopoeia, and the vague insinuations of supernatural influence or encounters, the gratuitous swearing was a literary turn-off. Using the infamous f-bomb as a noun, adjective, and verb isn't clever or original, it's actually the complete opposite and gives the distinct impression that the character or, more accurately, the *writer* is shockingly illiterate and at a loss for intelligent narrative.
Add to that the vast panoply of locker-room slang and insults, random and poorly executed stream-of-consciousness (or perhaps very well *executed* in an entirely different sense), senseless red herrings, bland, predictable plot twists, and the ever-changing character perspectives and metronomic swinging from decade to decade...all of this made for an impressively tiresome book. My Mum and I are thrilled to be done with it!
I *will* say that Arthur's poem was hauntingly lovely, but that's all I really can say.
Aside from the contrived metaphors and similes...some so painfully forced I had to pause and laugh over them in disbelief or embarrassment, which destroyed any immersion the writer may have been trying to achieve...the over-used or ill-suited onomatopoeia, and the vague insinuations of supernatural influence or encounters, the gratuitous swearing was a literary turn-off. Using the infamous f-bomb as a noun, adjective, and verb isn't clever or original, it's actually the complete opposite and gives the distinct impression that the character or, more accurately, the *writer* is shockingly illiterate and at a loss for intelligent narrative.
Add to that the vast panoply of locker-room slang and insults, random and poorly executed stream-of-consciousness (or perhaps very well *executed* in an entirely different sense), senseless red herrings, bland, predictable plot twists, and the ever-changing character perspectives and metronomic swinging from decade to decade...all of this made for an impressively tiresome book. My Mum and I are thrilled to be done with it!
I *will* say that Arthur's poem was hauntingly lovely, but that's all I really can say.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Toxic friendship