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A review by eshalliday
Redder Days by Sue Rainsford
2.0
I didn't mark this novel down as a ⅖ stars because it's - as others point out in their great, very articulate reviews here - the kind of book that refuses to draw the reader by the nose and the kind of book that builds its 'horror' through suggestion rather than explicit scenes (although we do have a few of those described). I rated it low because I felt that Rainsford really could have done more with this fantastically imagined set-up and such vivid, compelling characters.
I rated 'Follow Me to Ground' very highly and so, was very excited for this release, but, having just finished the novel, I have to admit I'm disappointed. I didn't want Rainsford to spell things out and tie up loose ends, as you might put it, but I did want her to explore more fully the issues that she sets up here with this wonderfully original world she has created. I don't want to present any spoilers, so I'll just say that it seems to me as if Rainsford has tried to include almost TOO MUCH here. There are too many suggestions to follow, rather than delving deeper into a few connotations of 'the Storm' and 'red'. I yearned for a more profound exploration of, say: motherhood; or female subversion; or mother-daughter relationships; or women's ties with Nature, tides, animals; or misogyny; or blood symbolism. Gosh, the author could have done so much with any one or combination of a few of these themes. Instead, I feel that Rainsford threw too much in the pot when this novel was cooking. Really promisingly meaty motifs are obfuscated by too many other themes and the effect is that this novel feels like it just scores the surface of a lot of issues, rather than investigating and exploiting and laying bare one or two (or three) main ideas.
Watered down? Is that what I mean? Maybe that's too strong. Spread too thin. That's what I feel the issue is with 'Redder Days'. I'm only so disappointed because I know that Rainsford is an excellent writer. Touches here in this book prove that she is, as does her debut. I'm disappointed because I can almost see the other book that this could have been, and it would have been so rich and so fulfilling. When an exceptional writer like Rainsford doesn't deliver what you know they COULD have delivered, I feel doubly disappointed, because this idea and this world she created was just so full of potential for really meaningful, deep exploration of important ideas.
I rated 'Follow Me to Ground' very highly and so, was very excited for this release, but, having just finished the novel, I have to admit I'm disappointed. I didn't want Rainsford to spell things out and tie up loose ends, as you might put it, but I did want her to explore more fully the issues that she sets up here with this wonderfully original world she has created. I don't want to present any spoilers, so I'll just say that it seems to me as if Rainsford has tried to include almost TOO MUCH here. There are too many suggestions to follow, rather than delving deeper into a few connotations of 'the Storm' and 'red'. I yearned for a more profound exploration of, say: motherhood; or female subversion; or mother-daughter relationships; or women's ties with Nature, tides, animals; or misogyny; or blood symbolism. Gosh, the author could have done so much with any one or combination of a few of these themes. Instead, I feel that Rainsford threw too much in the pot when this novel was cooking. Really promisingly meaty motifs are obfuscated by too many other themes and the effect is that this novel feels like it just scores the surface of a lot of issues, rather than investigating and exploiting and laying bare one or two (or three) main ideas.
Watered down? Is that what I mean? Maybe that's too strong. Spread too thin. That's what I feel the issue is with 'Redder Days'. I'm only so disappointed because I know that Rainsford is an excellent writer. Touches here in this book prove that she is, as does her debut. I'm disappointed because I can almost see the other book that this could have been, and it would have been so rich and so fulfilling. When an exceptional writer like Rainsford doesn't deliver what you know they COULD have delivered, I feel doubly disappointed, because this idea and this world she created was just so full of potential for really meaningful, deep exploration of important ideas.