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A review by c8_19
The Revolution of Marina M. by Janet Fitch
tense
slow-paced
2.0
Why is this so long? Why is Marina such a tedious creature? Why are all the likable characters relegated to the sidelines?
This is one of those books where things happen, yet it also feels like nothing is happening. There's so much exposition. And, from a technical critique, I enjoyed Fitch's style. I won't knock that.
It's just that, at a certain point, readers need to see choices being made and momentum. Too often we were plodding along with angsty Marina, who consistently fell into a pattern of poor judgment. Am I looking for a character who does the right thing every time? No, but am I looking for a character whose grey existence doesn't become annoying? Yes.
I do feel like most of my grief has to do with unlikable characters and pacing. That being said, there are a number of other things this author executed well. I had no issues feeling the desperation and grittiness of the life these people were living and the difficult decisions they had to weigh. The emotions and moods really shone through. Which was something that made me wrestle with sticking with this book because, on the one hand, I wanted to see the characters get out of these very serious situations, but, on the other, I was constantly wishing for a new MC.
Apparently, this is only part one of I don't know how many installments, but I cannot imagine picking up part two and willingly going along with Marina for 800 pages more.
This is one of those books where things happen, yet it also feels like nothing is happening. There's so much exposition. And, from a technical critique, I enjoyed Fitch's style. I won't knock that.
It's just that, at a certain point, readers need to see choices being made and momentum. Too often we were plodding along with angsty Marina, who consistently fell into a pattern of poor judgment. Am I looking for a character who does the right thing every time? No, but am I looking for a character whose grey existence doesn't become annoying? Yes.
I do feel like most of my grief has to do with unlikable characters and pacing. That being said, there are a number of other things this author executed well. I had no issues feeling the desperation and grittiness of the life these people were living and the difficult decisions they had to weigh. The emotions and moods really shone through. Which was something that made me wrestle with sticking with this book because, on the one hand, I wanted to see the characters get out of these very serious situations, but, on the other, I was constantly wishing for a new MC.
Apparently, this is only part one of I don't know how many installments, but I cannot imagine picking up part two and willingly going along with Marina for 800 pages more.