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A review by tricky
White Horses by Rachael Treasure
2.0
Melody ‘Drift’ Wood along with her father (Split Wood) make a living by droving cattle along the rural Western Australian highways. Their life is simple and uncomplicated until celebrity surfer Kai goes missing at sea. The town is quickly descended upon by journalists and Kai’s posse of supporters all looking for an answer to his disappearance and the influx turns the quiet routine on its head. To further complicate matters Melody is sexually assaulted and her father’s inner demons continue to rage out of control. Yet, Melody is not alone she has a strong group of women who support her and guide her through the good and difficult times.
I have to be honest and admit I really struggled with this novel. One of the issues was the blurb that announces that Melody is brutally sexually assaulted and while reading you are waiting for this event to happen and guess who the culprit is. Mind you when all is realised and revealed, there is no surprise as it is a very ugly male character. It was disappointing as it is almost a cliché as to how the profession and the way the character had been portrayed. One of the other issues I had was with the dialogue as in some sections it was overly formal. Mind you, I did love the use of Australian colloquialisms sprinkled throughout the book as it certainly has some unique phrases.
The strength of the book lies in the central character Melody who has to overcome several hurdles in her journey to enlightenment. I say that as Melody seems to have no driving force except to find herself. The opportunities that open up for Melody are gifted to her or an idea is suggested by those around her. While I found Melody to be a character who was vulnerable, flawed and able to develop resilience she just seemed to coast along without any real purpose until the end.
The other characters are interesting and form some interesting counterpoints. Melody’s main love interest Eli/Kai, well he is just a complete selfish git! The whole needing to find oneself at the expense of others just did not work for me regardless of how ripped his abs are! I am not sure why so many people felt disposed to help him in this quest given he did not display any redeeming qualities. The other kind of character is ‘the Planet’ and its regenerative agriculture practices. It came across as a bit hippy cultish and I was kind of waiting for everyone to break out in group singing session after dinner.
Despite all the negatives that I have, Treasure can write. Her descriptions, the pacing are wonderful but it was just elements of the story that I struggled with. This was just not a book for me but I am sure others will love it.
I have to be honest and admit I really struggled with this novel. One of the issues was the blurb that announces that Melody is brutally sexually assaulted and while reading you are waiting for this event to happen and guess who the culprit is. Mind you when all is realised and revealed, there is no surprise as it is a very ugly male character. It was disappointing as it is almost a cliché as to how the profession and the way the character had been portrayed. One of the other issues I had was with the dialogue as in some sections it was overly formal. Mind you, I did love the use of Australian colloquialisms sprinkled throughout the book as it certainly has some unique phrases.
The strength of the book lies in the central character Melody who has to overcome several hurdles in her journey to enlightenment. I say that as Melody seems to have no driving force except to find herself. The opportunities that open up for Melody are gifted to her or an idea is suggested by those around her. While I found Melody to be a character who was vulnerable, flawed and able to develop resilience she just seemed to coast along without any real purpose until the end.
The other characters are interesting and form some interesting counterpoints. Melody’s main love interest Eli/Kai, well he is just a complete selfish git! The whole needing to find oneself at the expense of others just did not work for me regardless of how ripped his abs are! I am not sure why so many people felt disposed to help him in this quest given he did not display any redeeming qualities. The other kind of character is ‘the Planet’ and its regenerative agriculture practices. It came across as a bit hippy cultish and I was kind of waiting for everyone to break out in group singing session after dinner.
Despite all the negatives that I have, Treasure can write. Her descriptions, the pacing are wonderful but it was just elements of the story that I struggled with. This was just not a book for me but I am sure others will love it.