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A review by lottifus
The Great Godden by Meg Rosoff
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
well-written guilty pleasure summer read about what happens when you trap a bunch of beautiful dysfunctional rich people in the middle of nowhere. I initially didn’t care for the protagonist and her* constant put-downs of women who supposedly aren’t as ‘dark and complex’ as her (I am failing to see the complexity) due to their physical attractiveness. it grew on me as it unfolded into more of a story about the family as a whole and how the location shapes them, to the lighthouse style.
would be a 3 star if I could make my mind up about the twist - I wish there had been more of a build up, still a ‘wait what?’ moment but one that would encourage me to look back on the events leading up to it with a new perspective. it’s not quite a great godden but it’s a pretty good godden.
*edit: the protagonist’s gender isn’t specified. I assumed they were female because of the girl on the cover, the semi-autobiographical feel to the book and, perhaps, because their observations about the other characters remind me of my own ‘not like other girls’ phase. interested to see whether this is clarified, or made even more ambiguous, in the second book.
would be a 3 star if I could make my mind up about the twist - I wish there had been more of a build up, still a ‘wait what?’ moment but one that would encourage me to look back on the events leading up to it with a new perspective. it’s not quite a great godden but it’s a pretty good godden.
*edit: the protagonist’s gender isn’t specified. I assumed they were female because of the girl on the cover, the semi-autobiographical feel to the book and, perhaps, because their observations about the other characters remind me of my own ‘not like other girls’ phase. interested to see whether this is clarified, or made even more ambiguous, in the second book.