paulasnotsosecretdiary 's review for:

Forty Rooms by Olga Grushin

3.0

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The concept is strong: telling the life story of the central character through the events that take place in 40 different rooms as she moves through life. I appreciated the way the author changes the way the main character is referred to; she’s in first person in her younger years and third person as she moves away from her true self. However, this is the story of a woman of privilege chasing happiness, which is very much a rich person’s problem; why readers should care about that is not compelling. There are several moments when the main character can find out if she has talent and decides not to take any risks. Although the writing is strong, I found the main character frustrating even as I tried not to impose my own values on her.