A review by bestknownfor
Greenwood by Michael Christie

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

A long (in parts overly long) family history with high highs and low lows. I'm glad I read it, but God it frustrated me.

The brothers were the emotional core of this story for me, and all the other sequences pale in comparison. And that ending -

talk about shooting the shaggy dog. I'll pay it as a twist,  but it didn't even feel consistent with Jake's earlier character.

 

In general the male characters are written with much more depth and compassion. We get 200+ (good!) pages humanising

Harris and Lomax

but

Jake and Willow are flighty and short-sighted, and Temple is cartoonishly perfect.

Nothing would have been lost if the flashback sequences unwound from

Liam dying in the house. The 2038 plot adds nothing and dilutes the themes.