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A review by becraynor
The Drowned Detective by Neil Jordan
3.0
I won this book through a goodreads giveaway, so first off, a thank you to the publishers for sending me this book.
There's a few things I want to discuss. Let's start with the writing style. I found it really jarring at first, mainly because of the lack of quotation marks for the dialogue. Normally, I can't stand the lack of punctuation, but for this book, I don't think the story would have worked without it. Having said that, I think I would have enjoyed this book more if the characters were more likable. I couldn't relate to Sarah and found her repulsive. I felt Jonathan should have been more unreliable as a narrator and instead found him aimless. His work ethic made me want to punch a wall. Gertrude was the most interesting character, and yet somehow, I still found her quite boring.
The premise itself was really interesting. The upheaval of the city, the work associated with Sarah and Jonathan, and the relationships between everyone should have made for a compelling story, but I couldn't care less about the characters. And though the writing style worked for telling the story, it almost felt lazy, because the reader was pushed away and made to stand on the sidelines rather than right in the action of the upheaval of both the city and Sarah and Jonathan's marriage.
There's a few things I want to discuss. Let's start with the writing style. I found it really jarring at first, mainly because of the lack of quotation marks for the dialogue. Normally, I can't stand the lack of punctuation, but for this book, I don't think the story would have worked without it. Having said that, I think I would have enjoyed this book more if the characters were more likable. I couldn't relate to Sarah and found her repulsive. I felt Jonathan should have been more unreliable as a narrator and instead found him aimless. His work ethic made me want to punch a wall. Gertrude was the most interesting character, and yet somehow, I still found her quite boring.
The premise itself was really interesting. The upheaval of the city, the work associated with Sarah and Jonathan, and the relationships between everyone should have made for a compelling story, but I couldn't care less about the characters. And though the writing style worked for telling the story, it almost felt lazy, because the reader was pushed away and made to stand on the sidelines rather than right in the action of the upheaval of both the city and Sarah and Jonathan's marriage.