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booksbyel 's review for:
The Wych Elm
by Tana French
I would have given this book three stars if it hadn't been for the last two chapters. This Wych Elm turned out to be more of a character study than the mystery thriller I expected.
(I wrote the majority of this review when I was around chapter 10/13).
First I just want to say that I love Tana French's writing style. It is easy to read and it always pulls me into the story. However, that being said, the Wych Elm is not by favorite book written by her.
To start, the main character, Toby, is insufferable. He wants to have the attention focussed on him and feels like he always needs to contribute something:
He also has difficulties emphasizing with others. About homeless people he says:
All in all, his personality makes it very difficult to sympathize with him.
The other characters also become less likeable the further the story progresses, though this is not necessarily due to Tana French's writing but due to the story itself (if that makes sense). For me, this unlikeableness of the characters (or suspects because that is what they are) put me off. I usually don't mind when suspects are unlikeable when the story is written from the perspective of the detectives like the Dublin Murder Squad series (which I loved).
Unfortunately, it takes a long time, around 190 pages in my edition, before they find the skull. Everything before that is character building for Toby, which I personally think could have been shorter. After they find the skull the story becomes way more interesting.
(I wrote the majority of this review when I was around chapter 10/13).
First I just want to say that I love Tana French's writing style. It is easy to read and it always pulls me into the story. However, that being said, the Wych Elm is not by favorite book written by her.
To start, the main character, Toby, is insufferable. He wants to have the attention focussed on him and feels like he always needs to contribute something:
"I felt like I needed to make some kind of mark on this conversation", he thinks while his entire family is being questioned about the skull in the backyard.
He also has difficulties emphasizing with others. About homeless people he says:
"They could have gotten jobs. The recession is over; there isn o reason for anyone to be stuck in the muck unless they actually choose to be."
All in all, his personality makes it very difficult to sympathize with him.
The other characters also become less likeable the further the story progresses, though this is not necessarily due to Tana French's writing but due to the story itself (if that makes sense). For me, this unlikeableness of the characters (or suspects because that is what they are) put me off. I usually don't mind when suspects are unlikeable when the story is written from the perspective of the detectives like the Dublin Murder Squad series (which I loved).
Unfortunately, it takes a long time, around 190 pages in my edition, before they find the skull. Everything before that is character building for Toby, which I personally think could have been shorter. After they find the skull the story becomes way more interesting.