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shona_reads_in_devon 's review for:
The Unexpected
by Ellen Wiles
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The Unexpected is a novel that explores unconventional family structures. Kessie and Robin have been friends since they were kids and in their 30s have both been hit by the baby making bug. How to achieve the dream of motherhood without the traditional tools required?
The themes of this book were really interesting. Learning about different anthropological parenting structures across the world was fascinating. And I appreciate the effort to fictionalise this and apply it to a real (imagined) lived experience.
But. This book was just fine for me. Both the main characters were kind of annoying to me. They were both kind of irresponsible, didn't really think anything through. I also thought some of the subjects brought up were quite tokenistic and it was really strange that Brexit was shoe-horned in really awkwardly and for reasons I couldn't quite grasp. Same for the US election.
But the main theme was interesting so maybe I should just read a non-fiction about global parenting structures.
I'm not marking it lower than a 3, most of my issues with this book is that it's not a book I would usually bother to read - it was a book club read - it's not the kind of fiction that really interests me.
The themes of this book were really interesting. Learning about different anthropological parenting structures across the world was fascinating. And I appreciate the effort to fictionalise this and apply it to a real (imagined) lived experience.
But. This book was just fine for me. Both the main characters were kind of annoying to me. They were both kind of irresponsible, didn't really think anything through. I also thought some of the subjects brought up were quite tokenistic and it was really strange that Brexit was shoe-horned in really awkwardly and for reasons I couldn't quite grasp. Same for the US election.
But the main theme was interesting so maybe I should just read a non-fiction about global parenting structures.
I'm not marking it lower than a 3, most of my issues with this book is that it's not a book I would usually bother to read - it was a book club read - it's not the kind of fiction that really interests me.