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joeynedland 's review for:
The House of Doors
by Tan Twan Eng
House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng is the classic mold of historical fiction - hoity-toity, somewhat compelling plot, but by affect pretty boring. It follows a repartee narrative between Willie Somerset Maugham, a noted English author, and Lesley Hamlyn, the wife of Willie's friend Robert and his host for a visit to Penang. The story follows Willie taking in Lesley's story of romance, affairs, and murders, and his decision to turn it into a story of his own. Sounds sexy and exciting! It's not. I just never found the whole conceit compelling, and Eng's prose is way too cute. Many people find this quote to be deeply moving and beautiful:
"That night, side by side, we drifted among the galaxies of sea-stars, while far, far above us the asterisks of light marked out the footnotes on the page of eternity."
Come ON. Half of the chapters end with stuff like that. In the end, I think it's an effective piece of historical fiction, done in by its adherence to historical events (i.e., never really came to life as an engaging story).
"That night, side by side, we drifted among the galaxies of sea-stars, while far, far above us the asterisks of light marked out the footnotes on the page of eternity."
Come ON. Half of the chapters end with stuff like that. In the end, I think it's an effective piece of historical fiction, done in by its adherence to historical events (i.e., never really came to life as an engaging story).