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ibarradas 's review for:
Evenings and Weekends
by Oisín McKenna
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Did I like this book? It’s complicated. At first, I felt boredom and even anger at myself for not putting it down. But then I cried on the last page because of the words in there. So, there might be something there.
"Evenings and Weekends" had the ingredients for my taste: raw, socially aware, focused on human relationships. However, the first 3/4 could’ve been half as long (or less). The "complex" relationships turned out to be complex, but in a soap opera style.
The only good part about those soap opera-like interconnected stories is that it made me thing about growth: these characters had moved from their small town (still near London - this is important to me, not to the story) to London... years had passed... yet they were all still living in the past. Despite their new London experiences, their inner circle remained too much the same and they did not evolve.
I kept reading to find out what one character had done to another, and I even feared the reveal. It wasn’t as awful as I’d imagined (thankfully?), but the build-up was heavily based on sexuality and it might have been more impactful if focused on humiliation. They’re connected, of course, but because the characters indeed didn’t evolve since high school and all secrets and dramas lasted and remained unspoken. Basically, I couldn’t like the characters.
The last chapters, though, were much better. Beautifully written, powerful, and concise (!) - even if their thoughts and feelings were described - proving that more thoughts don’t need more words, and more words don’t mean more quality.
Recommendation: Depends entirely on the reader.
"Evenings and Weekends" had the ingredients for my taste: raw, socially aware, focused on human relationships. However, the first 3/4 could’ve been half as long (or less). The "complex" relationships turned out to be complex, but in a soap opera style.
The only good part about those soap opera-like interconnected stories is that it made me thing about growth: these characters had moved from their small town (still near London - this is important to me, not to the story) to London... years had passed... yet they were all still living in the past. Despite their new London experiences, their inner circle remained too much the same and they did not evolve.
I kept reading to find out what one character had done to another, and I even feared the reveal. It wasn’t as awful as I’d imagined (thankfully?), but the build-up was heavily based on sexuality and it might have been more impactful if focused on humiliation. They’re connected, of course, but because the characters indeed didn’t evolve since high school and all secrets and dramas lasted and remained unspoken. Basically, I couldn’t like the characters.
The last chapters, though, were much better. Beautifully written, powerful, and concise (!) - even if their thoughts and feelings were described - proving that more thoughts don’t need more words, and more words don’t mean more quality.
Recommendation: Depends entirely on the reader.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual assault
Minor: Drug use, Sexual content, Abortion