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theliterateleprechaun 's review for:
The Baker of Lost Memories
by Shirley Russak Wachtel
The story’s momentum failed to keep me hooked and my emotional journey with Lena and Pearl became lackadaisical and eventually disinterest caused it to peter out.
I appreciated the scenes where Wachtel gave me room for reflection and time to understand her characters’ world, but those were overshadowed by time spent waiting for something (dare I say it considering the setting) meaningful. The continuous use of flashbacks and florid descriptions caused me to lose focus and my connection to the characters.
For example, at the beginning, the girls are on a camp-out in the backyard. From the time they climb into the sleeping bags until the next mention of the camp-out, there are 640 words. Most of these words are descriptive flashbacks. After pages and pages of backstory, I had lost interest in what would happen at the camp-out.
I’m a big historical fiction reader and noted that Wachtel was skilled in imparting the heartbreaking nature of this catastrophic history and in showing how it transformed her characters and generations following. There’s no doubt this is due to her parent’s legacy. I appreciated a well-researched novel, the ease with which I slipped into the setting, the focus on the importance of family, and the resilience of her well-crafted characters.
Unfortunately, I wanted more. Faster.
I was gifted this copy by Little A and was under no obligation to provide a review.
I appreciated the scenes where Wachtel gave me room for reflection and time to understand her characters’ world, but those were overshadowed by time spent waiting for something (dare I say it considering the setting) meaningful. The continuous use of flashbacks and florid descriptions caused me to lose focus and my connection to the characters.
For example, at the beginning, the girls are on a camp-out in the backyard. From the time they climb into the sleeping bags until the next mention of the camp-out, there are 640 words. Most of these words are descriptive flashbacks. After pages and pages of backstory, I had lost interest in what would happen at the camp-out.
I’m a big historical fiction reader and noted that Wachtel was skilled in imparting the heartbreaking nature of this catastrophic history and in showing how it transformed her characters and generations following. There’s no doubt this is due to her parent’s legacy. I appreciated a well-researched novel, the ease with which I slipped into the setting, the focus on the importance of family, and the resilience of her well-crafted characters.
Unfortunately, I wanted more. Faster.
I was gifted this copy by Little A and was under no obligation to provide a review.