A review by katebelt
Hieroglyphics by Jill McCorkle

2.0

2 stars for the excellent writing. I've enjoyed this author's novels before and totally expected to love this one. I love slow paced books, character driven, with good writing. The plot is driven by some true, historical events. The story reflects points of view from 4 different generations, including couples, a young adult, and a child. There's also a dog whose only purpose is to be cuddled and hugged for comfort. Then we have a host of auxiliary characters not important to the story. I found it extremely difficult keeping track of who was who and their relationship, if any. I read a physical copy and definitely would not recommend it as an audiobook. Despite being character driven, none were well developed, and I did not resonate with any of them. I nearly abandoned the book 2/3 into it, then skipped to the last couple of chapters, finding a surprising twist, but it did not redeem the book. I can understand how it got its title, but it reads like a writer's notebook, full of various and sundry beautifully written, inspired jottings.