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A review by irismaybooks
Flatlands by Sue Hubbard
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Flatlands was a hauntingly beautiful read, Hubbard's style of writing was so simple and yet so incredibly poetic.
She did a fantastic job of differentiating between the two main characters' perspectives, mainly the seamless switch between first and third perspectives. I also found the concept of it being written as Freda's journal years and years later, with her being an old woman reminiscing on the past, to be a very intriguing format of exploring these characters and the memories of Freda's life. The characters themselves were wonderfully developed, and it truly feels as though no word is wasted when it comes to explaining their pasts, thoughts and emotions.
At first whilst reading, I was quite concerned at how late into the book the main characters actually met since it is a book centred around their friendship, however by the end I realised that this is just to show how fleeting the relationship the two of them had was. How they only knew each other for such a brief period of time, and made such a huge impact on the other's life. It was beautiful and incredibly impactful to read, watching these two characters who have lead relatively lonely lives up to this point find a genuine, albeit unconventional, friendship in one another during the tragedies of war, despite how opposite their upbringings had been.
I found the authors way of addressing sensitive topics, such as mental illness, sexual exploration and abuse to be very respectful, and very real in how the characters reacted after the fact. In particular, I found Freda's reaction to being sexually assaulted by her host father, to be very raw and very relatable as someone who has been in a similar position at that age, and I think the author did a fantastic job of balancing the line between making it feel real whilst being considerate to victims of the same circumstances.
The author was very skilful in how she interwove Philip and Freda's lives together, and I adored learning about them both. My only complaint is that, despite it is supposed to only be a brief friendship, I would have loved to see more of the two interacting. I would have loved a more in depth exploration of their relationship and how they both interacted with each other before they parted ways in their lives.
Overall a very beautiful, very haunting book, and I absolutely adored it.
She did a fantastic job of differentiating between the two main characters' perspectives, mainly the seamless switch between first and third perspectives. I also found the concept of it being written as Freda's journal years and years later, with her being an old woman reminiscing on the past, to be a very intriguing format of exploring these characters and the memories of Freda's life. The characters themselves were wonderfully developed, and it truly feels as though no word is wasted when it comes to explaining their pasts, thoughts and emotions.
At first whilst reading, I was quite concerned at how late into the book the main characters actually met since it is a book centred around their friendship, however by the end I realised that this is just to show how fleeting the relationship the two of them had was. How they only knew each other for such a brief period of time, and made such a huge impact on the other's life. It was beautiful and incredibly impactful to read, watching these two characters who have lead relatively lonely lives up to this point find a genuine, albeit unconventional, friendship in one another during the tragedies of war, despite how opposite their upbringings had been.
I found the authors way of addressing sensitive topics, such as mental illness, sexual exploration and abuse to be very respectful, and very real in how the characters reacted after the fact. In particular, I found Freda's reaction to being sexually assaulted by her host father, to be very raw and very relatable as someone who has been in a similar position at that age, and I think the author did a fantastic job of balancing the line between making it feel real whilst being considerate to victims of the same circumstances.
The author was very skilful in how she interwove Philip and Freda's lives together, and I adored learning about them both. My only complaint is that, despite it is supposed to only be a brief friendship, I would have loved to see more of the two interacting. I would have loved a more in depth exploration of their relationship and how they both interacted with each other before they parted ways in their lives.
Overall a very beautiful, very haunting book, and I absolutely adored it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and War
Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, and Self harm
Minor: Animal death and Death of parent