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njsmith 's review for:
Remarkable Creatures
by Tracy Chevalier
A very slow story that dragged, with little interest en route and no real high point. The plot was fairly obvious, with nothing to grip or surprise the reader. Aspects of the writing were extremely repetitive, with certain facts being stated a number of times - when reading such a short book I can, believe it or not, retain information. This gave the book a patronising air, as did the excess amount of information about the period and it's social norms, which was constantly restated. But even more patronising was the number of times it had to be explained to the reader exactly how important the fossil discoveries by this woman actually were - we get it, we know, in fact the point is undermined by the author feeling the need to justify the book to such an extent.
The book is not particularly well written, with simple language in stilted sentences that are quick to read but not to be savoured. The dialect of Mary (half of the book is narrated by her) is inconsistent to say the least, sounding as if it has been written 'normally' and then a few words (almost) consistently altered to give the impression of a dialect and a few bewildering sentences thrown in for good measure. There are also many overdone sea-based similes; I know the novel is set on the coast but surely the characters do not think in 'sea-terms' all of the time. And the quality and language of the sex scene was nauseating; no heat, no feeling, just more horrendous lightning talk.
The only redeeming feature of this novel is that it brings two little known but important historical figures to light. It is always good to generate interest in important subjects and their beginnings, as well as the people who were involved and the problems they faced. Maybe I would have preferred to read a non-fiction account instead, but for those who would not this book is perhaps the way forward. (Also, one of the characters could not be PERSUADED to read any Jane Austen, even if she'd set one of her books in Lyme Regis - intentional or not it made me smile).
The book is not particularly well written, with simple language in stilted sentences that are quick to read but not to be savoured. The dialect of Mary (half of the book is narrated by her) is inconsistent to say the least, sounding as if it has been written 'normally' and then a few words (almost) consistently altered to give the impression of a dialect and a few bewildering sentences thrown in for good measure. There are also many overdone sea-based similes; I know the novel is set on the coast but surely the characters do not think in 'sea-terms' all of the time. And the quality and language of the sex scene was nauseating; no heat, no feeling, just more horrendous lightning talk.
The only redeeming feature of this novel is that it brings two little known but important historical figures to light. It is always good to generate interest in important subjects and their beginnings, as well as the people who were involved and the problems they faced. Maybe I would have preferred to read a non-fiction account instead, but for those who would not this book is perhaps the way forward. (Also, one of the characters could not be PERSUADED to read any Jane Austen, even if she'd set one of her books in Lyme Regis - intentional or not it made me smile).