24.01.26
This couldn't be more different to the previous book I read - it's all action and gentle British humour. What it does have in common is the lack of character development and emotional engagement, making it instantly forgettable.
Showing posts with label 44. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 44. Show all posts
The Trial - Rob Rinder
22.01.25
I'd never heard of Rob Rinder before this book but apparently it's a bestseller because he's famous so I'd thought I'd better read it. Well, it was no John Gresham, apart from the casual sexism in all the depictions of women. Stereotyped characters, messy and illogical plot, not really any action, not really any suspects - at least it seems he didn't use a ghostwriter.
Rock Paper Scissors - Alice Feeney
29.10.24
No realistic people were harmed in the making of this novel.
House of Hollow - Krystal Sutherland
Unusual, intriguing, unflinching, atmospheric, carefully plotted... and totally ruined by the (authorial? editorial?) decision for a British narrator, living in London, to use American English. And it wasn't just the extensive US vocabulary - there were references to graduating high school, to teachers 'failing' a student in a subject and to paying health insurance. Why? Again and again, it jarringly brought me out of the story's world. Surely American readers, brought up on Harry Potter, can cope with British English. Or just set it in America - it wouldn't have mattered much to the story. And the author is actually Australian. It made me so angry that I've deducted 20 points from the score it would otherwise have had. That'll teach 'em!
Thursdays in the Park - Hilary Boyd
44%
13.04.13
Late-blooming love is rarely examined in modern fiction but it is badly served here. Self-absorbed middle-class Londoners cocooned in their privileged world are annoying enough without the poor quality of the prose to mire it further. Any book that includes a description of a "glass-fronted dresser painted in National Trust Woodlawn Charm blue" needs a decent edit, quite frankly.
The Witch of Portabello - Paulo Coelho
04.08.08
Goodness me, but this was awful. I don't think I missed the point this time, though I did miss three dimensional characters and stylistic judgement (admittedly the translation was stilted). It would have helped if the central character had been interesting in any way but instead we just got a tract on the power of the Earth Mother, which might be the Ultimate Power but unfortunately fails to help the novel along.
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