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readerinthedale 's review for:
O Caledonia
by Elspeth Barker
challenging
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An impeccably composed novel. Elspeth Barker constructs incredible sentences which hang in the readers mind. An exploration of the isolation and loneliness of the fringe feminine experience. Janet is at war with the expectations of girlhood and coming of age, and her inability to conform to either of these. She feels the strain of being a precocious child, and inexplicable figure amongst her siblings who all manage to fit the expectations held of them. Interposed with these emotionally brutal experiences and the raw exploitation of young girls are glorious descriptions of the landscapes of North-Eastern Scotland.