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A review by cindypepper
Trust Exercise by Susan Choi
2.0
1.5 stars, rounded to 2 stars:
Yeah, this didn't work for me.
I wanted to like it! I'm all about unreliable narration that is questioned and re-examined (see: Rashomon, Fates and Furies), but something about this didn't land for me.
The first part starts off languidly, as the narrator paints each scene, no matter how micro the action, with numerous layers of prose that serve to remind us of the possible dubiousness of the narration. The slow-cooked pacing didn't work for me; I felt like everything that happened was bogged down in the questioning.
By the time we got to the second part, the big reveals were, again, buried in a way that tested my patience rather than piqued my curiosity. I tired of the meta-questioning.
On its own, the final act should be satisfying as hell, but everything leading up to it obscured whatever satisfaction could have been had.
Yeah, this didn't work for me.
I wanted to like it! I'm all about unreliable narration that is questioned and re-examined (see: Rashomon, Fates and Furies), but something about this didn't land for me.
The first part starts off languidly, as the narrator paints each scene, no matter how micro the action, with numerous layers of prose that serve to remind us of the possible dubiousness of the narration. The slow-cooked pacing didn't work for me; I felt like everything that happened was bogged down in the questioning.
By the time we got to the second part, the big reveals were, again, buried in a way that tested my patience rather than piqued my curiosity. I tired of the meta-questioning.
On its own, the final act should be satisfying as hell, but everything leading up to it obscured whatever satisfaction could have been had.