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bookwormjimmy 's review for:
The Break
by Katherena Vermette
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
When Stella looks out her window one night, she's sees a young woman getting attacked out on The Break. The Break is a strip of land that's far removed from any semblance of civilization, so Stella is the only one who can see what happens. In a moment of panic, all she can think to is to call the police and report what happened.
Told in alternating points of view from a variety of characters, the story revolves around the interweaving relationships all of them have with one another and with the victim, what led up to the attack, and the immediate aftermath. It's hauntingly personal and captures this personal violence with careful honesty. I found it a little difficult to keep track of the large cast of characters because each person really was only featured for a little bit before moving on to the next, and more often than not their story was a deeper reflection of their life than actually pertaining to what was happening in the present moment. This disjointed narrative makes it difficult to keep track of what is happening to whom and when.
While the writing itself is pretty good, I found the narrative to be too dense in the nexus of what the story is about while lacking any substance the further you got away from the core themes of the book.
Told in alternating points of view from a variety of characters, the story revolves around the interweaving relationships all of them have with one another and with the victim, what led up to the attack, and the immediate aftermath. It's hauntingly personal and captures this personal violence with careful honesty. I found it a little difficult to keep track of the large cast of characters because each person really was only featured for a little bit before moving on to the next, and more often than not their story was a deeper reflection of their life than actually pertaining to what was happening in the present moment. This disjointed narrative makes it difficult to keep track of what is happening to whom and when.
While the writing itself is pretty good, I found the narrative to be too dense in the nexus of what the story is about while lacking any substance the further you got away from the core themes of the book.