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A review by apcommaille
Our House by Louise Candlish
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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
3.5
This is the second Louise Candlish I've read. If anybody knows how to start a story, it's her!
Just like The Heights, Our House is told through different perspectives, however here they are told concurrently, woven around each other as you go back and forth in time to construct what happened. The story is superbly mapped out.
Fiona's narrative is emotional, as she guides us through the present. Walking up to her house and finding a new family moving in, then dealing with it in real time. Bram tells the story from the end of it, recalling what happened and sometimes feeling a need to excuse himself. The narrative told though the radio show / Twitter feed is the most testing one, especially the unnecessary tweets with the opinions of strangers. They don't add anything.
The only criticism of the story, which has been said over and over again, is that it does get bogged down in the middle and it requires perseverance to get through that very long spell. It is worth it to get to the end, but do we need this test of endurance?
Just like The Heights, Our House is told through different perspectives, however here they are told concurrently, woven around each other as you go back and forth in time to construct what happened. The story is superbly mapped out.
Fiona's narrative is emotional, as she guides us through the present. Walking up to her house and finding a new family moving in, then dealing with it in real time. Bram tells the story from the end of it, recalling what happened and sometimes feeling a need to excuse himself. The narrative told though the radio show / Twitter feed is the most testing one, especially the unnecessary tweets with the opinions of strangers. They don't add anything.
The only criticism of the story, which has been said over and over again, is that it does get bogged down in the middle and it requires perseverance to get through that very long spell. It is worth it to get to the end, but do we need this test of endurance?