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A review by melc
A Little Trickerie by Rosanna Pike
Did not finish book. Stopped at 19%.
I couldn't get on with the stylistic choices of this novel at all as they all made the plot feel superficial to me and trite even though it was often dealing with very serious themes.
Firstly, the present tense made everything feel very immediate, but I don't think this meshed well with the type of storyline which at least for the first 70 pages I read lacked any tension and was more introspective. The confronting present tense felt incongruous and I would have preferred a more reflective style.
Second, I couldn't get on with Tibb's narrative voice. Why was she so naive? Her life experience said otherwise, with her vagrancy lifestyle with her murderous, do anything to survive mother surely had led her to witness all sorts of things. I get that she was quite young at the beginning of the novel when she experienced all of this, but surely she would have been more streetwise.
And then in contrast there was the wise Ivo, only a couple of years older but sagely helping Tibb understand and make sense of her experiences and what she encountered moving forwards.
This is a plot device that is used often, but in this case it just didn't stand up for me and was just annoying. Not to mention how quickly and easily the partnership between Tibb and Ivo began which again lacked depth and nuance and felt too convenient.
Finally, I don't get on with short chapters when serious emotional themes are being dealt with. It constantly takes me out of the moment and makes the pacing feel out of sorts with the subject matter.
Too be honest, this author has talent but has taken it down a gimmicky road in my opinion that just didn't culminate in a book that worked for me.
Firstly, the present tense made everything feel very immediate, but I don't think this meshed well with the type of storyline which at least for the first 70 pages I read lacked any tension and was more introspective. The confronting present tense felt incongruous and I would have preferred a more reflective style.
Second, I couldn't get on with Tibb's narrative voice. Why was she so naive? Her life experience said otherwise, with her vagrancy lifestyle with her murderous, do anything to survive mother surely had led her to witness all sorts of things. I get that she was quite young at the beginning of the novel when she experienced all of this, but surely she would have been more streetwise.
And then in contrast there was the wise Ivo, only a couple of years older but sagely helping Tibb understand and make sense of her experiences and what she encountered moving forwards.
This is a plot device that is used often, but in this case it just didn't stand up for me and was just annoying. Not to mention how quickly and easily the partnership between Tibb and Ivo began which again lacked depth and nuance and felt too convenient.
Finally, I don't get on with short chapters when serious emotional themes are being dealt with. It constantly takes me out of the moment and makes the pacing feel out of sorts with the subject matter.
Too be honest, this author has talent but has taken it down a gimmicky road in my opinion that just didn't culminate in a book that worked for me.