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A review by lisabage
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I liked the writing, and the characters are so realistic you would expect to see them on the streets of Minneapolis. The story was strong for the first half, and then the pandemic hit, and then George Floyd. I appreciate that she tried to incorporate such timely and dramatic events, but it wasn't successful for me. It felt forced and the original tension and development got lost. Each event was well done, just not cohesive to the original story.
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After mentioning Tantalus to describe a difficult customer (which I now know is a myth where a man is punished by standing in water that recedes when he tries to drink and under fruit just out of reach, basis of the word tantalize).
“Severed from its roots, unable to taste the starlight.”
Talking about an uprooted tree.
Interesting connection to the main story about a ghost trapped in a bookstore.
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After mentioning Tantalus to describe a difficult customer (which I now know is a myth where a man is punished by standing in water that recedes when he tries to drink and under fruit just out of reach, basis of the word tantalize).
“Severed from its roots, unable to taste the starlight.”
Talking about an uprooted tree.
Interesting connection to the main story about a ghost trapped in a bookstore.
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When I creep into our bed, there is the joy and relief of a person entering a secret dimension. Here, I shall be useless. The world can go on without me. Here I shall be held by love.