A review by aasplund
Hold the Dark by William Giraldi

4.0

This was a difficult book for me and the decision to give it 4 stars is something I'm still not entirely sure about. There were a lot of things to like about this book. There were also a lot of things to critique. I'm still not sure of my overall feelings - was this interesting and dark and mysterious, or was it difficult to stay focused on and strangely written and too philosophical, rather than full of action? I still don't know and it's a bit frustrating to be this unsure about a book.
What I am sure about is that this book intrigued me and bored me and I was not at all expecting the ending, but I was kind of upset about the ending. It was perfect and it was also dissatisfying. Many characters were written very very well (like the cop - he was a bit of a stereotype, but excellent to read and easy to get attached to) and some were flat and uninteresting (like the narrator - not my favorite. Also, why is he even there?!). The story was wonderful to follow, but also got off on tangents a lot and had some strange and unresolved tiny side plots and diversions.
Read this if you want a book that will confuse and frustrate and frighten you a bit.