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A review by sinceremercy
The Scottish Boy by Alex de Campi, Trungles
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I really enjoyed the first section of the book (of four). I loved Iain; Harry, while notably flawed, seemed like a good guy and like he was ripe for character development throughout the story. Unfortunately, after the first part I was gradually disappointed.
I really didn't mind the modern style of writing. However, the portrayal of the attitude towards gay men bothered me from a historical-cultural standpoint. What really bothered me however is that Harry didn't get the character development he needed. Continually, he would do something terrible to Iain, they would be distant for a while, but then when they got back together they would essentially rush to a sex scene to break the tension instead of communicating, resolving the problem, and becoming a stronger character and relationship for it. This was the worst when they have their biggest falling out, are separated for a long time, and then things are solved by Harry asking a third party to tell Iain he still loves him. When Iain comes back, Harry is not interested in apologies; he just wants to have sex. But I, as the reader, wanted an admission of wrongdoing and a sense that they had actually grown stronger for it, not for the situation to be resolved off screen by a third party. From the second part on, there's a heavy tilt towards erotica, to an extent I found a Little bit excessive but really wouldn't have minded except that it comes at the expense of actual character development.
The fourth part of the book was draining to read because it was incredibly obvious what was going to happen, but it took ages to get there while skipping past everything that happened which to me felt extremely significant— to the point that, although they get their happily ever after eventually, it doesn't feel earned to me. Alys as a character felt abandoned by the author, not just Harry. And Harry spends a large portion of the fourth section doing things he would have found morally repugnant at the outset, but now that he's found Iain again it's all fine and everyone can just pretend it didn't happen?
Frustrating read, because it seemed like so much wasted potential.
I really didn't mind the modern style of writing. However, the portrayal of the attitude towards gay men bothered me from a historical-cultural standpoint. What really bothered me however is that Harry didn't get the character development he needed. Continually, he would do something terrible to Iain, they would be distant for a while, but then when they got back together they would essentially rush to a sex scene to break the tension instead of communicating, resolving the problem, and becoming a stronger character and relationship for it. This was the worst when they have their biggest falling out, are separated for a long time, and then things are solved by Harry asking a third party to tell Iain he still loves him. When Iain comes back, Harry is not interested in apologies; he just wants to have sex. But I, as the reader, wanted an admission of wrongdoing and a sense that they had actually grown stronger for it, not for the situation to be resolved off screen by a third party. From the second part on, there's a heavy tilt towards erotica, to an extent I found a Little bit excessive but really wouldn't have minded except that it comes at the expense of actual character development.
The fourth part of the book was draining to read because it was incredibly obvious what was going to happen, but it took ages to get there while skipping past everything that happened which to me felt extremely significant— to the point that, although they get their happily ever after eventually, it doesn't feel earned to me. Alys as a character felt abandoned by the author, not just Harry. And Harry spends a large portion of the fourth section doing things he would have found morally repugnant at the outset, but now that he's found Iain again it's all fine and everyone can just pretend it didn't happen?
Frustrating read, because it seemed like so much wasted potential.