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sfcohen 's review for:
The Sandcastle Girls
by Chris Bohjalian
I find Chris Bohjalian kind of a mixed bag - I either love one of his books or it falls completely flat. Unfortunately, this one is in the latter category. This novel, set (mostly) at the time of the Armenian genocide a century ago, is clearly an important story. I couldn't get into the style of the storytelling, though - frequent cuts to follow different characters in different locations, plus the framing of a contemporary author who's researching the history - for me it didn't really sustain the narrative.
Ironically, and painfully, the novel is set in a city that was at the time something of a haven and is now a synonym for tragedy: Aleppo. That only made it harder to read.
Ironically, and painfully, the novel is set in a city that was at the time something of a haven and is now a synonym for tragedy: Aleppo. That only made it harder to read.