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A review by yetilibrary
Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald
2.0
I read this for the 2022 BookRiot Challenge.
It is short--I believe it's still the shortest novel to win the Booker Prize.
It wasn't bad, but I didn't really like it. It was difficult to get into, and it's one of those books where it doesn't so much end as it just stops. Offshore has a meandering plot that came to an abrupt stop, and left me unsatisfied.
Also, knowledge of boats on my part would've been helpful. The novel mostly takes place aboard boats, and when Fitzgerald uses various terms (for boat parts, for sailing, etc.) it's entirely appropriate but also disorienting for a landlubber like me. It kept taking me out of the story. (YMMV.)
Here's what I did like: Fitzgerald creates wonderful characters, and is an author who can draw a character well, very quickly. It's a shame the novel is so short, because those characters were so lovely to spend time with, and it's also a shame the ending felt so abrupt; I wanted a bit more closure for them. I even checked to see if Fitzgerald revisited any of these characters in a later novel, and it doesn't look like she did.
tl;dr Wandering plot, unsatisfying ending, but tremendous characters I'll miss.
It is short--I believe it's still the shortest novel to win the Booker Prize.
It wasn't bad, but I didn't really like it. It was difficult to get into, and it's one of those books where it doesn't so much end as it just stops. Offshore has a meandering plot that came to an abrupt stop, and left me unsatisfied.
Also, knowledge of boats on my part would've been helpful. The novel mostly takes place aboard boats, and when Fitzgerald uses various terms (for boat parts, for sailing, etc.) it's entirely appropriate but also disorienting for a landlubber like me. It kept taking me out of the story. (YMMV.)
Here's what I did like: Fitzgerald creates wonderful characters, and is an author who can draw a character well, very quickly. It's a shame the novel is so short, because those characters were so lovely to spend time with, and it's also a shame the ending felt so abrupt; I wanted a bit more closure for them. I even checked to see if Fitzgerald revisited any of these characters in a later novel, and it doesn't look like she did.
tl;dr Wandering plot, unsatisfying ending, but tremendous characters I'll miss.