Scan barcode
A review by tallangryplanet
Out Front the Following Sea by Leah Angstman
adventurous
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Out Front the Following Sea follows Ruth Miner, a curious young woman, as she struggles to survive in the New England of 1689. Ruth's story is heartbreaking, as she deals with being accused of her parents' murder and witchcraft in a town that does not want to see her survive at all and she has to find her way in a terribly lonely world.
I did not enjoy reading most of this book. The reason I'm giving it two stars instead of one is that it did get better in the last few chapters, and that I enjoyed the ending. The story itself was good and it seemed like a great concept (especially knowing the research that went into this book), but the execution did not deliver for me.
The characters were developed weirdly if at all, strong feelings kept constantly appearing out of nowhere (I'm pretty sure the protagonist has deep attachment issues), and it felt like the plot just happened to them, rather than characters having any agency. Ruth seemed like an interesting character at first, and she was, but it felt like she made no progress during the story, as she herself says "the haste from which she could never seem to learn, never seem to untangle from her nature". The only development I would say we see from her is learning to be more hopeful, which is quite something for a 17th century woman, but I don't think it's enough for a protagonist. The rest of the characters, mainly Askook and Owen, are intriguing, but most don't get enough story time for us to really get to understand them, and there are so many terrible people along the book that it was sometimes disheartening.
As I said before, I did think the story was good. The events were nicely interconnected and there weren't any plot holes or particularly improbable parts. However, the writing style kept pulling me out of it. The mix between modern and "ancient" speech and the written portrayal of (often inintelligible) accents were incredibly distracting, and I couldn't figure out what the tone of the story was supposed to be. In the middle of serious scenes the main character would go and say something that tried to be funny but did not land, while other times actions that I believe were supposed to be taken seriously felt like bad jokes.Ruth literally asks if she can be friends with someone she met two sentences ago and who has shown absolutely no indication of wanting to be friends, just because they are both women. Maybe it's supposed to say something about her naivety, but I also don't think we're supposed to read this resourceful young woman as naive.
All in all, I wouldn't recommed this book to just anyone. If you're a fan of historically accurate novels set during real, important events then I think you'd enjoy this story, as despite the flaws mentioned the historical aspects are well done. I personally did enjoy learning more about this time period, the disputes, political and religious, and the way people got by, but it didn't really make it worth the effort of getting through the book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I did not enjoy reading most of this book. The reason I'm giving it two stars instead of one is that it did get better in the last few chapters, and that I enjoyed the ending. The story itself was good and it seemed like a great concept (especially knowing the research that went into this book), but the execution did not deliver for me.
The characters were developed weirdly if at all, strong feelings kept constantly appearing out of nowhere (I'm pretty sure the protagonist has deep attachment issues), and it felt like the plot just happened to them, rather than characters having any agency. Ruth seemed like an interesting character at first, and she was, but it felt like she made no progress during the story, as she herself says "the haste from which she could never seem to learn, never seem to untangle from her nature". The only development I would say we see from her is learning to be more hopeful, which is quite something for a 17th century woman, but I don't think it's enough for a protagonist. The rest of the characters, mainly Askook and Owen, are intriguing, but most don't get enough story time for us to really get to understand them, and there are so many terrible people along the book that it was sometimes disheartening.
As I said before, I did think the story was good. The events were nicely interconnected and there weren't any plot holes or particularly improbable parts. However, the writing style kept pulling me out of it. The mix between modern and "ancient" speech and the written portrayal of (often inintelligible) accents were incredibly distracting, and I couldn't figure out what the tone of the story was supposed to be. In the middle of serious scenes the main character would go and say something that tried to be funny but did not land, while other times actions that I believe were supposed to be taken seriously felt like bad jokes.
All in all, I wouldn't recommed this book to just anyone. If you're a fan of historically accurate novels set during real, important events then I think you'd enjoy this story, as despite the flaws mentioned the historical aspects are well done. I personally did enjoy learning more about this time period, the disputes, political and religious, and the way people got by, but it didn't really make it worth the effort of getting through the book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Death, Gore, Misogyny, and Pregnancy
Minor: Animal death