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A review by jess__armstrong
Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford
2.0
I’ve reflected a lot on this book since finishing it, and as to why I found it as underwhelming as I did. I thought it started strong, the premise of an alternative reality was really intriguing, and the opening scene Spufford creates in the first chapters is equally vivid and devastating.
What I found most puzzling was that, while the start of the story is firmly rooted in the aftermath of a (somewhat embellished) historical event, the rest of the novel makes absolutely no reference to it. In fact, I would go as far as to say that, to me, there is no convincing connection between the historical and present day narratives which follow from it - you could just as easily read the novel without its opening event.
The prose was a bit elaborate for me (the word ‘golden’ irritatingly appears in nearly every section for some reason?), but Spufford creates some complex characters and includes some important British social commentary on class, spectator sport, and mental health.
I really wanted to like this book so much more than I ended up doing; I feel it had such an original and clever premise, but for me this didn’t carry through to the rest of the story, which made it quite a let down.
What I found most puzzling was that, while the start of the story is firmly rooted in the aftermath of a (somewhat embellished) historical event, the rest of the novel makes absolutely no reference to it. In fact, I would go as far as to say that, to me, there is no convincing connection between the historical and present day narratives which follow from it - you could just as easily read the novel without its opening event.
The prose was a bit elaborate for me (the word ‘golden’ irritatingly appears in nearly every section for some reason?), but Spufford creates some complex characters and includes some important British social commentary on class, spectator sport, and mental health.
I really wanted to like this book so much more than I ended up doing; I feel it had such an original and clever premise, but for me this didn’t carry through to the rest of the story, which made it quite a let down.