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A review by amyvl93
Love is Blind by William Boyd
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Love is Blind is a meandering story, following a young Scottish man - Brodie Moncur - as his life takes him from the oppressive household of his youth, to Paris, to St Petersburg, across the South of France and beyond at the turn of the 20th century. Brodie is a piano tuner, whose skills send him to support the management of a piano showroom in Paris. Whilst there, he becomes entangled with the Kilbarron brothers, John a famous concert pianist, and Malachi his malevolent business manager - and John's partner, a Russian singer, Lika Blum who Brodie falls for.
I would describe Love is Blind as something of a quiet novel. Brodie is a slightly bland protagonist, quietly carrying out his work and despite his great ideas, not a man who will leave much of a mark on the world. Boyd's greatest success with the novel is his drawing of place - every area that Brodie visits feels vividly written and leaps off the page, though I think he is most successful in creating the darkly threatening setting of Brodie's youth. Whilst Brodie does interact with much of the world, it also seems quite odd that there is next to know acknowledgement of the historical context that the narrative is taking place within.
For a novel about apparently about love, it was slightly disappointing how little we ever really learn about Lika. Despite his apparent love for her, Brodie tells us very little about what it is he loves about her (aside from her physicality) - we know little about her personality apart from what she herself tells us. This is unlike most of the male characters in the novel who are all vividly drawn, even those that verge slightly on stereotype.
I did generally enjoy the reading experience of that, it was a slow burn through some great settings but it is not my favourite of Boyd's novels.
I would describe Love is Blind as something of a quiet novel. Brodie is a slightly bland protagonist, quietly carrying out his work and despite his great ideas, not a man who will leave much of a mark on the world. Boyd's greatest success with the novel is his drawing of place - every area that Brodie visits feels vividly written and leaps off the page, though I think he is most successful in creating the darkly threatening setting of Brodie's youth. Whilst Brodie does interact with much of the world, it also seems quite odd that there is next to know acknowledgement of the historical context that the narrative is taking place within.
For a novel about apparently about love, it was slightly disappointing how little we ever really learn about Lika. Despite his apparent love for her, Brodie tells us very little about what it is he loves about her (aside from her physicality) - we know little about her personality apart from what she herself tells us. This is unlike most of the male characters in the novel who are all vividly drawn, even those that verge slightly on stereotype.
I did generally enjoy the reading experience of that, it was a slow burn through some great settings but it is not my favourite of Boyd's novels.