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A review by silverthane
Beside the Sea by Véronique Olmi
1.0
The story is a narrative told by a mother who takes her two children to the seaside for a holiday. It quickly becomes apparent that she is not the best mother in the world; she can't organise anything properly, shes gets flustered very easily and doesn't have two pennies to rub together. Her children are, on the whole, a pain in the neck and she is almost completely unable to cope with their behaviour.
The story effectively highlights the difficulties faced every day by single mothers and the frustration she feels at their povety however there is a much darker thread throughout the story.
The mother is scared of life, suffers from mental illness and has had her abilities as a mother openly questioned by the authorities. She is close to the edge and the events of the story are a build up to the terrible ending.
I could be specific and mention what happens but if you think about it long enough its not difficult to come to the correct conclusion.
The ending really pained me to read it. I suppose in some ways it is the mark of a good storyteller and writer to be able to terrify the reader so well however the book will only be given one star because, although undeniably powerful, I hated the way this book ended. Not disliked you understand but HATED.
A story truly devoid of hope and, I feel, purpose. Why write a story like that? Does the world need pain and misery in fiction? I don't think so. We have enough of it in reality
The story effectively highlights the difficulties faced every day by single mothers and the frustration she feels at their povety however there is a much darker thread throughout the story.
The mother is scared of life, suffers from mental illness and has had her abilities as a mother openly questioned by the authorities. She is close to the edge and the events of the story are a build up to the terrible ending.
I could be specific and mention what happens but if you think about it long enough its not difficult to come to the correct conclusion.
The ending really pained me to read it. I suppose in some ways it is the mark of a good storyteller and writer to be able to terrify the reader so well however the book will only be given one star because, although undeniably powerful, I hated the way this book ended. Not disliked you understand but HATED.
A story truly devoid of hope and, I feel, purpose. Why write a story like that? Does the world need pain and misery in fiction? I don't think so. We have enough of it in reality