vivakresh 's review for:

Small World by Laura Zigman

1.0

reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Cloyingly sweet and sentimental writing, one-dimensional characters, almost no plot but when something happens or is revealed it’s so obvious and predictable, and maybe the one interesting character/plot twist is just stuck on at the end. Having heard of the horrors at the Fernald, I was surprised to get no acknowledgment in the book. Also having watched the documentary about “crip camp” where disabled children could have a fun and inclusive summer camp experience, I was surprised the author didn’t mention the camp as a real place in the acknowledgment section. Also the back and forth  between third person and second person narration was annoying, and calling the mother by her name throughout seemed awkward—also not acknowledged by the narrator as a choice, so I wondered if that was what the sisters really called their mom or if that was an authorial (bad) choice. Finally, the little “small world” (ie Next Door) found poems were so terrible, I found myself skipping them entirely as I read each chapter. I will say it was an interesting idea for a novel and I related to the New England Jewish sister vibes and details, but the idea was executed so badly I can hardly give the author credit for it.