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A review by nicovreeland
Forsaken Country by Allen Eskens
2.0
DNF at 30%. I thought I could power through this one but just dreaded going back to it, so I’ve got to DNF.
I’ve liked Eskens before but he has a tendency to record every. single. thing. that. happens. in. each. and. every. scene. There’s probably a five-minute scene of Max getting a haircut. Shears snipping, snipping, a bit more, the clippers buzz, on and on and on and on and on. I understand it’s meant to be a meaningful moment but these slow and excruciating mechanical details don’t give me any connection to Max or understanding of him.
This kind of thing makes a bit of sense when the scene is a kidnapper taking a child (although even that scene is not worth the pages and pages that eskens gives it).
I seem to be the outlier on this one, so if you’re interested, try a sample. If you don’t mind the style, i think Eskens is strong at everything else.
I’ve liked Eskens before but he has a tendency to record every. single. thing. that. happens. in. each. and. every. scene. There’s probably a five-minute scene of Max getting a haircut. Shears snipping, snipping, a bit more, the clippers buzz, on and on and on and on and on. I understand it’s meant to be a meaningful moment but these slow and excruciating mechanical details don’t give me any connection to Max or understanding of him.
This kind of thing makes a bit of sense when the scene is a kidnapper taking a child (although even that scene is not worth the pages and pages that eskens gives it).
I seem to be the outlier on this one, so if you’re interested, try a sample. If you don’t mind the style, i think Eskens is strong at everything else.