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A review by lilygc
Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday
3.0
The beginning of this book was good- engaging, tender, upsetting, raw. The second story/novella was a slog and considering the subject matter it really shouldn’t have been, but I guess the purpose it was intended to serve in terms of the overall structure of the book -almost- justified it. I agree with other reviewers who have noted this book may have worked better if the second part had been interwoven with a continuation of the first. The third and final bit, or coda, was painful and despite being extremely brief felt like it took ages to finish. Sure it tied things together I guess but I didn’t find it necessary.
Most of the writing, especially in the first part “Folly” was exquisite with many rich and interesting themes and ideas scattered throughout. However the end of the book, for me at least, did not serve to skewer things together or make anything feel cohesive. Ultimately, though the structure was kind of cool and I had some “I see what you’re doing there” moments it felt pretentious and heavy handed. This book was frustrating. The more obviously personal/autobiographical parts were lovely and although I get the purpose for the rest, and those parts were still....interesting- I think this book would have been much stronger if the author hadn’t tried to do so many different things and had stuck with what was working.
Most of the writing, especially in the first part “Folly” was exquisite with many rich and interesting themes and ideas scattered throughout. However the end of the book, for me at least, did not serve to skewer things together or make anything feel cohesive. Ultimately, though the structure was kind of cool and I had some “I see what you’re doing there” moments it felt pretentious and heavy handed. This book was frustrating. The more obviously personal/autobiographical parts were lovely and although I get the purpose for the rest, and those parts were still....interesting- I think this book would have been much stronger if the author hadn’t tried to do so many different things and had stuck with what was working.