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Disclaimer: I won this book in a Goodreads FirstReads giveaway.
The more days pass since reading Flora , the lower I want to make my rating for this book.
The main characters, Helen and Flora, are trapped in a house together for a summer during the final months of World War II. The story is told from the perspective of an older Helen looking back. But, the story is told in the present tense in the first person, making for a weird cognitive dissonance in hearing ten-year-old Helen's voice seamlessly blended with commentary from older Helen. I actually was not aware of this until the middle of the book, but even after realizing what was going on, I was still rubbed the wrong way by this technique.
The setting is way too stagnant, and that judgement is coming from someone who loves Jane Austen books. Flora reminds me of a Jane Austen novel with all the good bits of Austen removed. Flora and Helen sit around the house and go about their lives. Innocuous, unremarkable events happen with little bits of anecdotal commentary. For me, Flora felt like it really failed to make any sort of overreaching statement. It just seemed to be a collection of little lessons and questions for the reader. On the cover, a blurb from Ann Patchett says, "A beautiful examination of character and the far-reaching repercussions of our actions." Frankly, I have no idea where she pulled this statement from. There is a single, bigger scene at the end that this blurb applies to, but that's about it.
I think part of Flora's failure to comment on any large, encompassing ideas lies in the lack of symbol. This book focuses on character, and never relies on any descriptive prose or symbolism. From what I remember, there were two parts that effectively use symbol to comment on a character, and they were excellent. The problem is, there were only two parts that did so. Maybe this is a personal preference on my part, but I think symbolism is an effective, beautiful way to comment and reflect, and Flora was really missing that.
Lastly, the ending was poorly handled. Helen shows absolutely no realistic emotion here, and the final scene happens abruptly and then is gone. The author barely commented on the most significant event here, and I was really disappointed. I think Godwin was trying to say, "take what I've already given you and pull whatever you think is there out of this," but for me that strategy was totally ineffective.
By writing this review a few days after finishing this, my initial prediction of this book leaving no lasting effect on me was correct. I gave it two stars because this book pulled me in just enough to keep me from quitting.
The more days pass since reading Flora , the lower I want to make my rating for this book.
The main characters, Helen and Flora, are trapped in a house together for a summer during the final months of World War II. The story is told from the perspective of an older Helen looking back. But, the story is told in the present tense in the first person, making for a weird cognitive dissonance in hearing ten-year-old Helen's voice seamlessly blended with commentary from older Helen. I actually was not aware of this until the middle of the book, but even after realizing what was going on, I was still rubbed the wrong way by this technique.
The setting is way too stagnant, and that judgement is coming from someone who loves Jane Austen books. Flora reminds me of a Jane Austen novel with all the good bits of Austen removed. Flora and Helen sit around the house and go about their lives. Innocuous, unremarkable events happen with little bits of anecdotal commentary. For me, Flora felt like it really failed to make any sort of overreaching statement. It just seemed to be a collection of little lessons and questions for the reader. On the cover, a blurb from Ann Patchett says, "A beautiful examination of character and the far-reaching repercussions of our actions." Frankly, I have no idea where she pulled this statement from. There is a single, bigger scene at the end that this blurb applies to, but that's about it.
I think part of Flora's failure to comment on any large, encompassing ideas lies in the lack of symbol. This book focuses on character, and never relies on any descriptive prose or symbolism. From what I remember, there were two parts that effectively use symbol to comment on a character, and they were excellent. The problem is, there were only two parts that did so. Maybe this is a personal preference on my part, but I think symbolism is an effective, beautiful way to comment and reflect, and Flora was really missing that.
Lastly, the ending was poorly handled. Helen shows absolutely no realistic emotion here, and the final scene happens abruptly and then is gone. The author barely commented on the most significant event here, and I was really disappointed. I think Godwin was trying to say, "take what I've already given you and pull whatever you think is there out of this," but for me that strategy was totally ineffective.
By writing this review a few days after finishing this, my initial prediction of this book leaving no lasting effect on me was correct. I gave it two stars because this book pulled me in just enough to keep me from quitting.