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A review by dani_bugz
Foreign Soil by Maxine Beneba Clarke
2.0
So I am the first person to give this less than 3 stars... maybe it comes down to just not liking short stories (that's up to you after you read my reasoning).
Firstly, I hated the the language used - both dialogue and the rest of the text. I understand that Beneba Clarke is trying to capture accents, and I admire her bravery in incorporating it into her first published novel. But it just didn't work for me. I was incredibly frustrated by it all, particularly when I finally get the hang of it and manage to ignore the mispelt words and lack of apostrophes to indicate the shortening of words (here becomes 'ere NOT simply ere) when suddenly it ends and brings about the next story! This leads on to my next point, however, so I will leave it for now. Voice and accent changes can be accomplished in a much less jarring manner than the way Beneba Clarke has done in this collection.
I do have to congratulate her on her voice changes from story to story. Much as I hated the way she managed it, she didn't get caught up in any one voice and that is a very admirable skill for an author. This is partly why my rating is 2 stars instead of 1. Unfortunately, I just didn't like the way she achieved it. As I previously mentioned, I would finally get the hang of an excerpt and then have to start the grueling process again with the next chapter. It was a major part of my inability to get through the last two chapters of the book.
Well anyway, after I slogged through the jarring writing style and mispelt words, I came to enjoy some of the characters and storeylines. Some were quite clever and evocative, making me really feel for the characters. I particularly loved Hope, Shu Yi and Gaps in the Hickory. However, with the exception of Gaps in the Hickory, I felt they were very incomplete. I felt as if I had come to enjoy the characters, shown and empathised with the conflict, and then they ended. Perhaps this is simply due to their being short stories with a limit on words, but I was left wanting. Foreign Soil was one such story where I really enjoyed the chapter, turned the page while subconsciously believing/hoping for another chapter and was bitterly disappointed. That one could have been the first chapter of a novel in and of itself, and I would have likely read the whole thing!
Again, Gaps in the Hickory was something special. Despite my earlier criticisms, I loved the characters, felt the plight of each character and truly enjoyed the story in general. Pretty much, this story was the gold hiding in wait for us to dig through the rest of the book. Sadly the next one let me down and I had to put the book away... However this story redeemed the author in my eyes, largely contributing to the 2 instead of a 1 star rating.
So there were bits that I enjoyed, though as a whole I was unhappy with this book. However if you enjoy 'litty' short stories with lots of voice, definitely give it a go!
Firstly, I hated the the language used - both dialogue and the rest of the text. I understand that Beneba Clarke is trying to capture accents, and I admire her bravery in incorporating it into her first published novel. But it just didn't work for me. I was incredibly frustrated by it all, particularly when I finally get the hang of it and manage to ignore the mispelt words and lack of apostrophes to indicate the shortening of words (here becomes 'ere NOT simply ere) when suddenly it ends and brings about the next story! This leads on to my next point, however, so I will leave it for now. Voice and accent changes can be accomplished in a much less jarring manner than the way Beneba Clarke has done in this collection.
I do have to congratulate her on her voice changes from story to story. Much as I hated the way she managed it, she didn't get caught up in any one voice and that is a very admirable skill for an author. This is partly why my rating is 2 stars instead of 1. Unfortunately, I just didn't like the way she achieved it. As I previously mentioned, I would finally get the hang of an excerpt and then have to start the grueling process again with the next chapter. It was a major part of my inability to get through the last two chapters of the book.
Well anyway, after I slogged through the jarring writing style and mispelt words, I came to enjoy some of the characters and storeylines. Some were quite clever and evocative, making me really feel for the characters. I particularly loved Hope, Shu Yi and Gaps in the Hickory. However, with the exception of Gaps in the Hickory, I felt they were very incomplete. I felt as if I had come to enjoy the characters, shown and empathised with the conflict, and then they ended. Perhaps this is simply due to their being short stories with a limit on words, but I was left wanting. Foreign Soil was one such story where I really enjoyed the chapter, turned the page while subconsciously believing/hoping for another chapter and was bitterly disappointed. That one could have been the first chapter of a novel in and of itself, and I would have likely read the whole thing!
Again, Gaps in the Hickory was something special. Despite my earlier criticisms, I loved the characters, felt the plight of each character and truly enjoyed the story in general. Pretty much, this story was the gold hiding in wait for us to dig through the rest of the book. Sadly the next one let me down and I had to put the book away... However this story redeemed the author in my eyes, largely contributing to the 2 instead of a 1 star rating.
So there were bits that I enjoyed, though as a whole I was unhappy with this book. However if you enjoy 'litty' short stories with lots of voice, definitely give it a go!