Take a photo of a barcode or cover
Publication Date: February 18, 2020
Saint X is a strange book. It has so many long, wordy, overly done passages, in my opinion, that my will to keep reading was taxed. But behind that "too much" was a story that I could not put down. I enjoyed the character study aspect of the book, despite that the main character, Claire, and her older sister, Alison, were so unlikable. I wanted to know what happened to Alison and that is what kept me going, even though portions of the book were a slogfest. I think this speaks to how much I enjoyed the parts of the book that I did enjoy.
Seven year old Claire, her parents, and her eighteen year old sister are on a winter vacation to the island of Saint X. Beautiful, popular Alison has so much going for her, everything really, but she's so unhappy with it, so miserable with her good fortune, that she seems determined to muck it up by breaking up with her longtime boyfriend that she loves, drinking and smoking with the two young men who work at the resort where the family stays, sneaking out at night, sneaking off during the day, flirting and teasing a male visitor and all the while, seeing everything through a lens of disdain and disgust. As the book goes on, and we are seeing so much through Claire's eyes, I realize that Alison's attitude has rubbed off on Claire, in the saddest of ways. Claire wasn't beautiful or popular and was a bit strange but she seemed to feel the same disdain for everyone and everything around her.
This is a story of how much Alison's life and especially her death, affected so many people, even people who didn't know her or barely knew her. For a long time Claire was able to set aside the mystery of Alison's death but when she is twenty-five, she enters a taxi and the driver is one of the two resort workers, both who were suspects briefly, of the murder of Alison. This starts Claire on a path of total obsession with this man, an obsession which destroys her not very happy life.
This book is dark and dreary and sad so I was surprised by how the ending became something good and hopeful. It could have been a quick read if not for the places that bogged me down like quicksand. I know not everyone will enjoy this book but I did, despite the drawback of wordiness. Thank you to Celadon Books/Macmillan and Edelweiss for this ARC.
Saint X is a strange book. It has so many long, wordy, overly done passages, in my opinion, that my will to keep reading was taxed. But behind that "too much" was a story that I could not put down. I enjoyed the character study aspect of the book, despite that the main character, Claire, and her older sister, Alison, were so unlikable. I wanted to know what happened to Alison and that is what kept me going, even though portions of the book were a slogfest. I think this speaks to how much I enjoyed the parts of the book that I did enjoy.
Seven year old Claire, her parents, and her eighteen year old sister are on a winter vacation to the island of Saint X. Beautiful, popular Alison has so much going for her, everything really, but she's so unhappy with it, so miserable with her good fortune, that she seems determined to muck it up by breaking up with her longtime boyfriend that she loves, drinking and smoking with the two young men who work at the resort where the family stays, sneaking out at night, sneaking off during the day, flirting and teasing a male visitor and all the while, seeing everything through a lens of disdain and disgust. As the book goes on, and we are seeing so much through Claire's eyes, I realize that Alison's attitude has rubbed off on Claire, in the saddest of ways. Claire wasn't beautiful or popular and was a bit strange but she seemed to feel the same disdain for everyone and everything around her.
This is a story of how much Alison's life and especially her death, affected so many people, even people who didn't know her or barely knew her. For a long time Claire was able to set aside the mystery of Alison's death but when she is twenty-five, she enters a taxi and the driver is one of the two resort workers, both who were suspects briefly, of the murder of Alison. This starts Claire on a path of total obsession with this man, an obsession which destroys her not very happy life.
This book is dark and dreary and sad so I was surprised by how the ending became something good and hopeful. It could have been a quick read if not for the places that bogged me down like quicksand. I know not everyone will enjoy this book but I did, despite the drawback of wordiness. Thank you to Celadon Books/Macmillan and Edelweiss for this ARC.