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A review by gwalt118
The Lola Quartet by Emily St. John Mandel
3.0
Station Eleven was a five-star read for me when I read it years ago, so I was excited to dive into another one of Mandel’s novels.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, but not nearly as much as I thought I would. I’m excited for next week’s conversation with fellow book clubbers, because I usually end up liking books more after I talk with that group of incredibly smart humans. This book is marketed as a literary suspense thriller. While I certainly found it literary (those aspects were my favorite), I didn’t find it particularly suspenseful or thrilling. I didn’t get sucked into the novel like I usually do with suspenseful novels and thrillers. I didn’t feel like there was a huge plot twist, and it wasn’t difficult to see how it would end. The ending felt sort of anti-climactic to me.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I certainly enjoyed this book. I loved the questions that Mandel raises about morality, memory, and the loss of innocence. Particularly the evolution – or not – of the characters’ views of morality made me think about my own opinions on some plot points, which I always enjoy. Mandel is such a literary writer, and I think this novel is unique in the way she tries to weave literary elements into a more mysterious plotline.
Reading this novel has motivated me to explore Mandel’s backlist more. Embarrassingly, I didn’t realize how many books were on her backlist, and they all seem to be different. She’s an adventurous writer, and I am a huge fan of that.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, but not nearly as much as I thought I would. I’m excited for next week’s conversation with fellow book clubbers, because I usually end up liking books more after I talk with that group of incredibly smart humans. This book is marketed as a literary suspense thriller. While I certainly found it literary (those aspects were my favorite), I didn’t find it particularly suspenseful or thrilling. I didn’t get sucked into the novel like I usually do with suspenseful novels and thrillers. I didn’t feel like there was a huge plot twist, and it wasn’t difficult to see how it would end. The ending felt sort of anti-climactic to me.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I certainly enjoyed this book. I loved the questions that Mandel raises about morality, memory, and the loss of innocence. Particularly the evolution – or not – of the characters’ views of morality made me think about my own opinions on some plot points, which I always enjoy. Mandel is such a literary writer, and I think this novel is unique in the way she tries to weave literary elements into a more mysterious plotline.
Reading this novel has motivated me to explore Mandel’s backlist more. Embarrassingly, I didn’t realize how many books were on her backlist, and they all seem to be different. She’s an adventurous writer, and I am a huge fan of that.