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laterry75 's review for:
The Accomplice
by Lisa Lutz
It is has been 10 years since Gillian Flynn released "Gone Girl." If you're wondering what she's been doing since then, I'd like to share my theory: she has jumped into Calvin & Hobbes transmogriphication device and turned into Lisa Lutz.
All kidding aside, Lisa Lutz creates some of the most believable, unlikable female protagonists in fiction today.
Likeability is a big thing for me. I have many theories. Call me some time and we can discuss. But it short, I think it's perfectly acceptable to have a flawed human being as a protagonist who makes it difficult to like them. A gifted writer can create that character and still make the reader want said character to succeed -- the Amy Dunne effect.
More often than not, a writer will create that character and they're such a PITA that the reader (me, in this case) can't identify with the character and wants them to fail in a spectacular fashion -- the Katniss Everdeen effect.
Lutz's Luna Grey manages to out Amy Dunne even Amy Dunne. I may have to change my theory titles. She is a complicated woman with ghosts and bad decisions in her past. Those things shape her actions and decisions in a way that is very understandable.
In fact, this entire book is filled with characters like that -- people that you can identify with and understand. They have character traits you will recognize in yourself and your friends. They make decisions with the best of intentions and create chaotic cascade events. While the plot of The Accomplice is a fantastic thriller, the decisions that got the characters there are similar to the ones we make everyday -- do I return this call? What happens if I avoid this person? Should I try and help?
Pick it up when you've got time, because you won't want to put it down.
All kidding aside, Lisa Lutz creates some of the most believable, unlikable female protagonists in fiction today.
Likeability is a big thing for me. I have many theories. Call me some time and we can discuss. But it short, I think it's perfectly acceptable to have a flawed human being as a protagonist who makes it difficult to like them. A gifted writer can create that character and still make the reader want said character to succeed -- the Amy Dunne effect.
More often than not, a writer will create that character and they're such a PITA that the reader (me, in this case) can't identify with the character and wants them to fail in a spectacular fashion -- the Katniss Everdeen effect.
Lutz's Luna Grey manages to out Amy Dunne even Amy Dunne. I may have to change my theory titles. She is a complicated woman with ghosts and bad decisions in her past. Those things shape her actions and decisions in a way that is very understandable.
In fact, this entire book is filled with characters like that -- people that you can identify with and understand. They have character traits you will recognize in yourself and your friends. They make decisions with the best of intentions and create chaotic cascade events. While the plot of The Accomplice is a fantastic thriller, the decisions that got the characters there are similar to the ones we make everyday -- do I return this call? What happens if I avoid this person? Should I try and help?
Pick it up when you've got time, because you won't want to put it down.