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kimberlyjgav 's review for:
Tilt: A Novel
by Emma Pattee
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really, really wanted to like this.
The premise pulled me right in: A 9-months pregnant woman has to walk across Portland, OR after a massive earthquake ravages the city. Along the way, she experiences the best and worst of humanity. But there was just something about this that didn't sit right.
Instead of walking home, or to a hospital, or to an emergency shelter at the Convention Center, she walks toward the worst of the damage trying to find her husband - a proverbial needle in a haystack. Because bridges and roads are destroyed, she has to take a long, circuitous route to get there. Because phones are down, she's not even sure that's where he still is. It seems the logical meeting place for them would be . . . oh, I don't know? Where they live??
But on she walks, hugely pregnant, injured, with bloodied feet, and no food or water on a 90-degree day simply because "she needs to find him." It just felt unrealistic and illogical.
There are also some moments that just dragged, like when she has to lift a blanket to identify a body. There's suspense and then there's endless prater while you think, "OMG JUST LIFT THE BLANKET!"
And then there's the ending.After all that, it just ends with a bunch of questions left unanswered. An epilogue was desperately needed (my opinion of course - I know some people will love the ending).
Also, and I say this knowing full well this is a story about a massive disaster of unimaginable scale, the narrator of the audio book was just so freaking monotone whiny and fretful. Even BEFORE the earthquake when she's shopping for a crib, she sounds like the most fragile, worried, sad person on the planet. Even in the flashbacks. It became . . . a lot.
Maybe this was a book better read than listened too? Or maybe I just wasn't in the right headspace for this? Regardless, this seems to be a popular book so I'm obviously in the minority.
The premise pulled me right in: A 9-months pregnant woman has to walk across Portland, OR after a massive earthquake ravages the city. Along the way, she experiences the best and worst of humanity. But there was just something about this that didn't sit right.
Instead of walking home, or to a hospital, or to an emergency shelter at the Convention Center, she walks toward the worst of the damage trying to find her husband - a proverbial needle in a haystack. Because bridges and roads are destroyed, she has to take a long, circuitous route to get there. Because phones are down, she's not even sure that's where he still is. It seems the logical meeting place for them would be . . . oh, I don't know? Where they live??
But on she walks, hugely pregnant, injured, with bloodied feet, and no food or water on a 90-degree day simply because "she needs to find him." It just felt unrealistic and illogical.
There are also some moments that just dragged, like when she has to lift a blanket to identify a body. There's suspense and then there's endless prater while you think, "OMG JUST LIFT THE BLANKET!"
And then there's the ending.
Also, and I say this knowing full well this is a story about a massive disaster of unimaginable scale, the narrator of the audio book was just so freaking monotone whiny and fretful. Even BEFORE the earthquake when she's shopping for a crib, she sounds like the most fragile, worried, sad person on the planet. Even in the flashbacks. It became . . . a lot.
Maybe this was a book better read than listened too? Or maybe I just wasn't in the right headspace for this? Regardless, this seems to be a popular book so I'm obviously in the minority.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence, Medical content, Grief
Minor: Gun violence, Pandemic/Epidemic