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A review by livres_de_bloss
The Whistling by Rebecca Netley
2.0
I was excited to read this but, my gosh, am I ever disappointed.
The writing in this book is dreadful. The sentence fragments, bizarre choice of words, incorrect grammar, and wildly inappropriate period dialogue was so jarring, I opened a note to capture some of the more bizarre quotes:
“I keep house here.”
[odd way of saying “I’m the housekeeper.”]
“How long since the last one left?”
[re: previous nanny. Fragment. People do not talk like this, especially in 1860!]
“I am accustomed to the response it brings.”
[re: facial scars. Very odd choice of phrasing]
“My sisters death took her very hard.”
[Say what?]
Mary did not smile but there was a flicker of something I moulded into pleasure.
[This doesn’t even make sense.]
Mary glanced back up and seemed to assess me and then, the smallest curve of pleasure crept on to her lips.
[Odd way of saying “She smiled”. Even if it was a hint of smile, there are many clearer ways this can be described.]
“Was it you who made the preparations to my room?”
[Odd phrasing of “Did you get my room ready?” At this stage, it seems like the author is deliberately, and badly, trying to pad sentence dialogue.]
“I am sad to learn of what happened to William. I have wondered what the accident was by which he died.”
[Another sentence fragment and exceptionally clunky dialogue choice. People do not talk like this. It doesn’t even make sense and reads like a bad translation!]
The house was small and homely, smelling of something newly baked.
[vague and manages to make fresh baking feel utterly bland]
“Does she often speak with no sense when she is in sleep?”
[Does she often talk in her sleep?]
I stopped capturing stupid sentences around page 40 for my own sanity. Part of my day job is editing copy and this was beyond triggering. I don’t know if the author was trying (and failing spectacularly) at being “arty”, but so many sentences were fragmented and awkward, the meaning was utterly lost!
The language choices in this book were straight out of elementary school: everything was bland, non-descript, and dull.
Overuse of basic, non-descriptive words: I am sad. This is sad. That is sad.
Also, vibrating. A whole host of people and objects were “vibrating”, usually directing this at the MC.
The characters were cardboard and boring. No one had any personality, they weren’t described in detail so the faceless dolls were apt as that’s pretty much exactly how I pictured them. The relationships did not feel genuine. No one behaved in a manner fitting to the period. Actions, speech, items, and behaviour were historically inaccurate to the point of distraction.
The MC was an idiot. She was so unsympathetic: meddling, condescending, and self-obsessed. Yet, somehow, at the same time entirely void of characterization or personality.
I wondered what had so early drawn her displeasure but perhaps it was jealousy of my elevated status or the fact that my occupancy would cause extra work.
[re: asking a low-ranking staff member something she’s been told not to discuss. Hmmm, maybe it’s because you’re a nosy cow that has lived here for five minutes and is already putting on airs and trying to stir the pot?
The internal monologuing and lack of self-awareness of the MC is tedious as hell.
There was no sense of time or place in this book. It could have been set in any time period in any place. The setting of a (fake?!) Scottish island was underutilized when it could have featured so prominently and been a key part of the story. What a wasted opportunity.
The ending was ridiculous and rendered most of the book (and the tedious stream of consciousness of the MC) irrelevant. Given how slow and clunky the book was, the ending would have had to have been pretty spectacular to make it worthwhile and it wasn’t.
Perhaps there is a good book here and in the hands of a more adept writer, could have been flushed out…
Oh, wait! It already has! This book is a badly written mash-up of The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell, The Nesting by CJ Cooke, The Story Keeper by Anna Mazzola, and Florence and Giles by John Harding
Read these books instead and give this a miss.
Once again, I am appalled by the lack of competency in the editing and publishing arenas. Given how many talented writers have already written this story (as above), publishing drivel like this just dilutes the genre and lowers the bar: the world doesn’t need more mediocrity. Ugh.
The writing in this book is dreadful. The sentence fragments, bizarre choice of words, incorrect grammar, and wildly inappropriate period dialogue was so jarring, I opened a note to capture some of the more bizarre quotes:
“I keep house here.”
[odd way of saying “I’m the housekeeper.”]
“How long since the last one left?”
[re: previous nanny. Fragment. People do not talk like this, especially in 1860!]
“I am accustomed to the response it brings.”
[re: facial scars. Very odd choice of phrasing]
“My sisters death took her very hard.”
[Say what?]
Mary did not smile but there was a flicker of something I moulded into pleasure.
[This doesn’t even make sense.]
Mary glanced back up and seemed to assess me and then, the smallest curve of pleasure crept on to her lips.
[Odd way of saying “She smiled”. Even if it was a hint of smile, there are many clearer ways this can be described.]
“Was it you who made the preparations to my room?”
[Odd phrasing of “Did you get my room ready?” At this stage, it seems like the author is deliberately, and badly, trying to pad sentence dialogue.]
“I am sad to learn of what happened to William. I have wondered what the accident was by which he died.”
[Another sentence fragment and exceptionally clunky dialogue choice. People do not talk like this. It doesn’t even make sense and reads like a bad translation!]
The house was small and homely, smelling of something newly baked.
[vague and manages to make fresh baking feel utterly bland]
“Does she often speak with no sense when she is in sleep?”
[Does she often talk in her sleep?]
I stopped capturing stupid sentences around page 40 for my own sanity. Part of my day job is editing copy and this was beyond triggering. I don’t know if the author was trying (and failing spectacularly) at being “arty”, but so many sentences were fragmented and awkward, the meaning was utterly lost!
The language choices in this book were straight out of elementary school: everything was bland, non-descript, and dull.
Overuse of basic, non-descriptive words: I am sad. This is sad. That is sad.
Spoiler
at one point, someone is describing the death of a family member and the most the MC can respond with is “That is sad”.Also, vibrating. A whole host of people and objects were “vibrating”, usually directing this at the MC.
The characters were cardboard and boring. No one had any personality, they weren’t described in detail so the faceless dolls were apt as that’s pretty much exactly how I pictured them. The relationships did not feel genuine. No one behaved in a manner fitting to the period. Actions, speech, items, and behaviour were historically inaccurate to the point of distraction.
The MC was an idiot. She was so unsympathetic: meddling, condescending, and self-obsessed. Yet, somehow, at the same time entirely void of characterization or personality.
I wondered what had so early drawn her displeasure but perhaps it was jealousy of my elevated status or the fact that my occupancy would cause extra work.
[re: asking a low-ranking staff member something she’s been told not to discuss. Hmmm, maybe it’s because you’re a nosy cow that has lived here for five minutes and is already putting on airs and trying to stir the pot?
The internal monologuing and lack of self-awareness of the MC is tedious as hell.
There was no sense of time or place in this book. It could have been set in any time period in any place. The setting of a (fake?!) Scottish island was underutilized when it could have featured so prominently and been a key part of the story. What a wasted opportunity.
The ending was ridiculous and rendered most of the book (and the tedious stream of consciousness of the MC) irrelevant. Given how slow and clunky the book was, the ending would have had to have been pretty spectacular to make it worthwhile and it wasn’t.
Perhaps there is a good book here and in the hands of a more adept writer, could have been flushed out…
Oh, wait! It already has! This book is a badly written mash-up of The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell, The Nesting by CJ Cooke, The Story Keeper by Anna Mazzola, and Florence and Giles by John Harding
Read these books instead and give this a miss.
Once again, I am appalled by the lack of competency in the editing and publishing arenas. Given how many talented writers have already written this story (as above), publishing drivel like this just dilutes the genre and lowers the bar: the world doesn’t need more mediocrity. Ugh.