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coldprintcoffee 's review for:
Rust & Stardust
by T. Greenwood
This has so many rave reviews, and maybe it's my mood, something just didn't fit together for me, or I'm not in the headspace for a more fictionalized account, but the chords this was supposed to hit didn't, and those keys weren't plunked. I know very little of the historical account of this kidnapping and have no problem with non-fiction; in fact, it's my preference, and maybe that was the issue I was having while reading. Is it soulless to say that there were parts of this that dragged? We know at some point, they're caught, but it definitely lulled in the middle to examine how the people around her in life were effected by the loss. Everything was just suggested and it's like you drag your fingertips over it but never can wind your fingers in it completely, and then it flits away like a moth. Perhaps that's why it didn't emotionally meld with me the way I was expecting, for such a harrowing situation. Maybe I'm lacking historical-period context.
There's zero insight into Frank except that, well, he's creepy and deranged. Perhaps this isn't the focus of this book and I'm expecting something that wasn't promised at any point, but with all of the perspectives, that's the one we lack. While the chapters about her mother were nuanced, it was extremely difficult to empathize with her. To be fair, her thoughts are partly of a reflection of her time and the religious and small-town culture that pervades the entire story, revealed in small snippets of dialogue and occasionally the appalling thought processes of blame.
There's no problem with showing more than telling, but even those wisps of horror don't move me enough to believe and create a connection with the characters throughout. Near the very end, where the final tragedy is described, the small parts about Al feeling blessed are just painfully cliched and out of place, feeling optimistic and slightly unbelievable in the face of how cruel the whole thing is. Something personal shifted inside while reading the parts with Al admonishing Susan about her mother, about how she treated her. Maybe it comes from having certain substance abuse issues in the family, so I'm familiar with how the selfishness of these diseases are consuming and how they harm others in the family who try to deal with it and help. Ella had issues as well and took them out on children - you don't have to be aggressive or pointed with your behavior to effect your children. Summarily, it was average and didn't meet the expectations I had.
There's zero insight into Frank except that, well, he's creepy and deranged. Perhaps this isn't the focus of this book and I'm expecting something that wasn't promised at any point, but with all of the perspectives, that's the one we lack. While the chapters about her mother were nuanced, it was extremely difficult to empathize with her. To be fair, her thoughts are partly of a reflection of her time and the religious and small-town culture that pervades the entire story, revealed in small snippets of dialogue and occasionally the appalling thought processes of blame.
There's no problem with showing more than telling, but even those wisps of horror don't move me enough to believe and create a connection with the characters throughout. Near the very end, where the final tragedy is described, the small parts about Al feeling blessed are just painfully cliched and out of place, feeling optimistic and slightly unbelievable in the face of how cruel the whole thing is. Something personal shifted inside while reading the parts with Al admonishing Susan about her mother, about how she treated her. Maybe it comes from having certain substance abuse issues in the family, so I'm familiar with how the selfishness of these diseases are consuming and how they harm others in the family who try to deal with it and help. Ella had issues as well and took them out on children - you don't have to be aggressive or pointed with your behavior to effect your children. Summarily, it was average and didn't meet the expectations I had.