A review by louisekf
All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

dark mysterious sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

 This could have been a really great book, but for me, it was merely a decent book. I almost gave up on it at around 55%, but so many people loved it that I pushed on, skimming a bit, to get to the end. Whitaker had a great start, but then it really, really dragged in the middle. All The Colors of the Dark is overly long, at about 600 pages; a good editor could have done wonders for it by cutting it down to a more manageable length. 
 
The two main characters, Patch and Saint, were well-drawn individuals. We don’t really get enough on the third main character, Misty, to say the same about her. There’s also a great side character, Sammy, who owns an art gallery in the small Missouri town where much of the action takes place. (I kept wondering how there could be a viable art gallery in a place that could barely sustain a movie theater, but oh well.) I’m glad I didn’t DNF midway because then I wouldn’t have met Charlotte, a feisty character I loved. 
 
This is not a thriller, although there are a couple of “action scenes” here and there, and there’s definitely a mystery. It’s more of a literary character-driven drama. 
 
Another thing a good editor should have caught was a glaring Britishism, even though the book takes place in the United States. (The author is British/English.) The phrase “fell pregnant” was used a few times; this phrase is not used in the US. We say “I/she got pregnant” or “I am/she is pregnant.” (I checked the published audiobook and these phrases were still there, just as in my review copy of the book). 
 
There is a lot of talk of religion in this book, specifically certain Christian religious beliefs. That’s something I don’t care for in my reading, but other people may not have the same issue. It overlays a lot of the story. 
 
The audiobook, which I thank my public library for, is narrated by the wonderful Eduardo Ballerini, but even he couldn’t save this one. It was just too long and meandering. 
 
Thank you to NetGalley and Crown for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings