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A review by andipants
Habits of the House by Fay Weldon
1.0
I really didn't like this book. I probably wouldn't have finished it, except that it's the only audiobook I brought on a weekend trip, and I didn't want channel surf on the radio. In the entire ensemble cast, there wasn't a single character who wasn't petty, selfish, short-sighted, arrogant, or spiteful, and sometimes all of these things at once. I can understand wanting to portray realistic, flawed characters, but to make them relateable, they can't be wholly irredeemable, and these characters mostly were. At their best, some were occasionally inoffensive; when that's the best you can say about a person, it's pretty damning.
Mechanically, the writing mostly wasn't bad, but there were some long-winded expository moments. There were also some things repeated several times from different characters' points of view, which became repetitive, since no new information or insight was being provided. Additionally, there was some occasional weirdness where it wasn't entirely clear whether a character was speaking aloud, or simply thinking something; I suspect this may have been an issue with the audiobook reader, more than the text, but without seeing it, I can't be sure. Overall though, I was bored and disliked everyone. Would not recommend.
Mechanically, the writing mostly wasn't bad, but there were some long-winded expository moments. There were also some things repeated several times from different characters' points of view, which became repetitive, since no new information or insight was being provided. Additionally, there was some occasional weirdness where it wasn't entirely clear whether a character was speaking aloud, or simply thinking something; I suspect this may have been an issue with the audiobook reader, more than the text, but without seeing it, I can't be sure. Overall though, I was bored and disliked everyone. Would not recommend.