A review by katherine_ffrench
Ghosts by Dolly Alderton

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Really interesting to read a book from the perspective of a single childless woman in her 30s who is neither desperate nor overly glamourised. The characters feel really real and fleshed out and I really enjoyed getting to know them. The plot about her father's dementia felt to me like an untapped perspective on an unfortunately almost universal experience. It was heartbreaking and fascinating to read the child's perspective on a parent deteriorating and to explore how this affected her relationship with her mother.

If I had a criticism it would be that, whilst the main character did develop as a person, it was often in the places I wasn't expecting. I found her to be quite judgmental throughout the book, which sometimes involved poignant takes on the world, but sometimes just seemed petty. 

Also lol wtf is with her getting with the guy who calls her a whore and screams at her that she's crazy? I could tell that Alderton was trying to hint that they might get with each other at some point because of all the tension, but I was expecting her to subvert that expectation given that he was such an a-hole, but instead they have a foreplay-less shag and she tries to explain away his behaviour by saying that he was going through a break-up. Hmmm thanks but no thanks.