Helpful Score: 3
I expected and wanted to like this novel. I had been looking forward to reading it for some time. Ultimately, though, it failed for me.
Essentially, the majority of the story is contrived to support a surprise ending. As a result, the narrative voice is neither consistent nor credible: it comes off as romanticized and overly sentimental much of the time; on other occasions, we get forced explanations like this: Even though I had been removed from the House of Special Purpose, I have read so many eyewitness accounts and studied so many documents, that in my minds eye I can picture it all as if it were a movie. (This, of course, is followed by a description of events that the narrator at the time didn't actually see.) Some readers may be willing to forgive 200 pages of maudlin perspective punctuated by the aforementioned lapses because the ending justifies all of this. To my mind, however, the storytelling simply lacks finesse. I doubt I will ever read another book by this writer.
Essentially, the majority of the story is contrived to support a surprise ending. As a result, the narrative voice is neither consistent nor credible: it comes off as romanticized and overly sentimental much of the time; on other occasions, we get forced explanations like this: Even though I had been removed from the House of Special Purpose, I have read so many eyewitness accounts and studied so many documents, that in my minds eye I can picture it all as if it were a movie. (This, of course, is followed by a description of events that the narrator at the time didn't actually see.) Some readers may be willing to forgive 200 pages of maudlin perspective punctuated by the aforementioned lapses because the ending justifies all of this. To my mind, however, the storytelling simply lacks finesse. I doubt I will ever read another book by this writer.
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