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morandareads 's review for:
Lying Next to Me
by Gregg Olsen
It’s entertaining for the most part. After the first few chapters I wasn’t really engrossed but it grew on me. The problem is really that the writing isn’t that great.
Using first person narration should give us insights into the thought process of each character. Instead he issues the characters to “tell” us the story. This is much less interesting. He tries to make the narrators seem unreliable but really.. they’re not. People who lie to themselves have fractured inner voices and he doesn’t show that well at all. This makes the narration seem muddled, unfocused, and somewhat lazy. At times some of the narrators seem like sociopaths but then also like loving spouses. This seems more sloppy than it does realistic. I just didn’t believe the characters feelings and that essential to building up an unreliable narrator. I may not believe any of their words or stories but I need to believe their feelings and emotions. It didn’t work for me here.
I’m also a bit tired of the cheating spouses and murderous revenge plots. If you’re going to go with a trope at least do it well. Overall, not well written but somewhat entertaining.
Using first person narration should give us insights into the thought process of each character. Instead he issues the characters to “tell” us the story. This is much less interesting. He tries to make the narrators seem unreliable but really.. they’re not. People who lie to themselves have fractured inner voices and he doesn’t show that well at all. This makes the narration seem muddled, unfocused, and somewhat lazy. At times some of the narrators seem like sociopaths but then also like loving spouses. This seems more sloppy than it does realistic. I just didn’t believe the characters feelings and that essential to building up an unreliable narrator. I may not believe any of their words or stories but I need to believe their feelings and emotions. It didn’t work for me here.
I’m also a bit tired of the cheating spouses and murderous revenge plots. If you’re going to go with a trope at least do it well. Overall, not well written but somewhat entertaining.